Furniture Glossary
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Antiquing Process of making wood or fabric look old and used. Can be done through a finish, artificial weathering, or distressing
Apron Board placed at right angles to the underside of a tabletop or seat of a chair, extending between the tops of legs. On case furniture, the perpendicular face below the lowest drawer between bracket feet.
Armoire Tall, movable wardrobe with doors. Often sold as a bedroom piece instead of a chest of drawers.
Bachelor's Chest A small-scaled chest of drawers (normally with three or four drawers) originally used to hold small items of men's apparel.
Banquette An upholstered bench or settee.
Blanket Chest Low storage chest with a hinged lid and often a lower drawer, serving also as a bench.
Bleaching A method of chemically treating wood to provide a lighter, more uniform color.
Bookcase Headboard A headboard for a bed with space to store books, radios, clocks, and other small items. Sometimes called a storage headboard.
Book Match Method of veneer matching where pairs of adjacent slices of veneer, as they are cut from the log, are opened up like the pages of a book, producing a mirror image of the grain pattern.
Box Match A veneering pattern similar to diamond match, but angled to create a series of consecutive squares radiating out from the center.
Brace Block Piece of wood or metal fitted into an angle of a piece of furniture to add strength or rigidity.
Brocade A rich jacquard-woven fabric with interwoven design of raised patterns, giving it an embossed appearance.
Buffet French term referring to a sideboard used to store china, silver, and linens. The top surface is used as a counter for serving. Buffets usually have drawers as well as doors.
Bureau A low chest of drawers, usually with a mirror. Also called a dresser.
Butt Joint A type of joint where wood ends meet perpendicularly at right angles without overlapping or notching.
Butt Match Veneer arrangement similar to book match, but joined end-to-end in a continuous strip. Also called end match.
Canopy Covering over a bed or other furniture, suspended by posts; generally a wood frame with fabric.
Case Goods Term used for pieces of furniture that are wood and not upholstered, especially those used in the dining room and bedroom.
Casters Small wheels mounted in a swivel frame attached to base or legs to facilitate moving a piece of furniture.
Center Match Arrangement of two veneer sheets of uniform size, matched in the center on a single face. Also called balance match.
Chairback Headboard An open headboard style resembling the back of a dining room chair.
Checkerboard Match Arrangement of small squares of veneer with their grain lines alternating in direction, producing a checkerboard effect.
Chenille A type of novelty yarn that has short, cut fibers protruding from it. Fabrics woven from this yarn have a plush or furry surface.
Cheval Mirror A full-length, swinging mirror hung between two posts anchored by a cross beam.
Chintz Plain woven cotton fabric with a glaze finish giving a soft, lustrous appearance.
Core The innermost layer of plywood or particleboard in veneered panels.
Corner Block A triangular wood block used in the concealed structure under tabletops, inside cases, and at points of stress on upholstered furniture frames.
Credenza Small buffet or sideboard used for serving, storage, or display
Crossbanding Veneer banding in which one layer of veneer runs at a right angle to the next layer in order to offset shrinking, swelling, and warping.
Curio Cabinet A glass-enclosed cabinet for displaying a variety of products such as glass-ware and other collectables. Sometimes simply called a curio.
Damask Firm, glossy patterned fabric with jacquard weave. Similar to brocade, but flatter.
Daybed Couch with low head and footboards, usually placed lengthwise along a wall. Removable cushions allow a daybed to serve as either a seating piece or a bed.
Diamond Match Four pieces of relatively straight-grained wood veneer are cut diagonally and joined to meet in a central diamond shape.
Dinette Small-scaled dining furniture with a table and four to six chairs. Originally designed for kitchen use, but also used in small dining areas.
Distressing An antiquing process to make new woods look old and used. Usually entails surface marks and indentations added during the finishing process.
Dovetail A type of joint generally used to join the front and sides of a drawer by having wedge-shaped projections on one piece of wood interlock with grooves in the other piece.
Dowel A round grooved wooden pin, peg, or rod that is fitted into holes in two pieces of wood to hold them together.
Down Soft, fluffy feathers from very young birds or from the undersides of older birds or fowl. Used for stuffing pillows and cushions, often combined with polyester fibers.
Drawer Guide/Slide Strips of wood or metal placed under the center or on the outside of drawers to serve as a track on which they are drawn back and forth.
Drop-Leaf Table Type of table with hinged leaves that fold down to shorten, or up to lengthen the surface.
Dust Panel Thin, horizontal board between two drawers in a chest to diminish dust accumulation.
Edging Method of protecting veneer panel by applying a thin strip of solid wood, metal, or plastic at the edge of the panel. Also called banding.
Embossing Decoration by producing a design on a surface by hammering, stamping, pressing, or molding.
Enamel Finish A coating of paint brushed and sometimes rubbed to a high gloss.
End Table Small side table, used at the end of a sofa or beside a chair.
Engineered Wood Any restructured composite of wood, including oriented strand board, particleboard, and plywood.
Faux A term to describe anything simulated to look or feel like something it is not.
Fiberfill Soft, synthetic material used as cushioning in upholstered furniture, bedding, and comforters. Polyester fibers are most commonly used.
Filigree Ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design, usually done in gold or silver wire.
Finish A treatment applied to wood to protect the surface, to make it more durable and resistant to stains and burns, to accentuate the natural grain, to lighten or deepen the color, to make a dull or glossy surface, or to change the color completely as by painting, lacquering, polishing, antiquing, distressing, etc.
Fire-Cut Veneer A combination straight-grain and heart figure veneer produced by slicing half of a log directly through the center or heart.
Flock Short fibrous particles applied by various processes to the surface of fabric, paper, or wood to give the appearance and feel of velvet or suede.
Fluting Vertical grooves repeating along columns, furniture legs, table aprons, etc.
Footboard Supporting piece at the foot end of a bed, sometimes decorative.
Four-Way Match Veneer pattern produced by the combination of book matches and butt matches.
Frame Supporting structure of a piece of furniture.
Fretwork Interlaced ornamental woodwork, usually in a complicated repeating, geometric pattern. Often used in backs of chairs, beds, in china cabinet doors, or on table aprons and legs.
Frieze Heavy pile upholstery and drapery fabric with rows of uncut loops. Usually made of mohair, wool, cotton, or man-made fibers.
Futon A folded mattress in a frame that can be folded up for seating or down to form a sleeping surface.
Grain Variations in color and texture made by the size and arrangements of cells and pores of a living tree and revealed when wood is cut through the trunk in an essentially horizontal direction.
Hardware In cabinetry, metal handles, pulls, escutcheons, hinges, decorative push plates, etc.
Hardwood General term for the lumber of broad-leafed or deciduous trees in contrast to evergreen or coniferous trees, which are termed softwoods.
Hassock Stuffed cushion used for a footstool or ottoman.
Headboard Panel rising above mattress at head of bed. Often supports the bed rails.
Homespun Originally a fabric loomed by hand at home, but now the name of a loose, coarsely woven, power-loomed fabric that uses textured and bulky yarns to create a hand-woven look.
Hutch A top cupboard usually placed above buffet or sideboard for display of plates, cups, and utensils—often of Early American or country styling.
Inlay A technique in which a design is cut out of the surface to be decorated and then filled in, flush with the surface, with other contrasting materials cut to fit exactly into these openings.
Innerspring Mattress Mattress with a center core of springs for buoyancy and resilience. A protective pad surrounds the springs.
Jacquard Weave A weave with intricate, multi-colored patterns produced on the type of loom created by Joseph-Marie Jacquard in the early 19th century that allows the mechanical production of fabric design. Damasks, tapestries, and brocades are all jacquard weaves.
Joint In furniture making, the junction at which two pieces of lumber unite to form a support or make a closure.
Kiln-Dried Wood that has been dried in a control-heated chamber, as opposed to air dried, which is more likely to warp because the drying is less even.
Knitted Fabrics Fabrics formed by knitting. The interlocking of loops of yarn rather than interlacing two sets of yarn as in weaving.
Lacquer A colored or opaque varnish made of shellac dissolved in alcohol, sometimes with pigment added.
Ladder Back Type of chair with back posts joined by a series of horizontal rails, resembling a ladder, used instead of a vertical splat.
Lattice An openwork crisscross or fretwork made of thin, flat strips of wood or metal. Usually found in chairs and headboards.
Leaf A board or panel used as a tabletop extension. Some leaves are hinged to the table surface and must be raised to a horizontal position, as in a Pembroke or gate-leg table. Other leaves are drawn out from beneath the table surface, as in the draw table. In other tables, the top can be separated and extended so leaves can be placed in the opening.
Loveseat An upholstered seating piece, sofa, or settee for two persons.
Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) See PARTICLEBOARD
Mortise-and-Tenon Joint A method of joining two pieces of wood where the projecting tenon of one piece fits into the opening (mortise) of the other.
Muslin A plain-weave fabric that may be bleached or unbleached. Usually used as undercovering on upholstered pieces to tie in the stuffing and padding materials prior to putting on the final upholstery fabric.
Naugahyde® A trademark name for vinyl upholstery and wall-covering fabrics produced by the United States Rubber Company.
Nightstand Occasional table, sometimes with cabinet, drawer, or shelf, used beside a bed to hold such items as a lamp, clock, or telephone. Also called a night table or bedside table.
Nonwoven A class of fabrics produced by the bonding or interlocking of fibers, or both. The nonwoven fabric is made by mechanical, chemical, thermal, or solvent means, or with an adhesive, or any combination of these, as distinct from weaving, knitting, or tufting.
Occasional Furniture Term applied to small furniture items such as cocktail tables, end tables, sofa tables, nightstands, chests, commodes, and pull-up chairs designed to permit varied uses in a room.
Olefin A synthetic fiber that is extremely light, soil resistant, and an excellent insulator. Often used to produce outdoor carpets and sturdy upholstery fabrics resistant to abrasion, pilling, and aging.
Onlay Surface decoration of wood or other material appliquéd on wood or simulated wood panels. Also called overlay.
Ottoman Low upholstered seat without arms or back approximately the same height as a companion chair seat, often used as a footstool.
Particleboard Panels manufactured by bonding wood particles with synthetic resins under heat and pressure. Used as the core for many plywood panels, as panels to be printed (engraved), or other uses in furniture construction. Also called fiberboard, chipcore, hardboard, and medium density fiberboard.
Patina Softening of color and texture of a surface through age, wear, or rubbing.
Pickled Finish The result of rubbing white or off-white paint into previously stained and finished wood.
Pie Match See SUNBURST.
Pile Cut or uncut loops that stand up on the face of a fabric, making it thick and three-dimensional, in contrast to flat-woven cloth.
Plain Weave A basic weave in which the warp and weft are the same size and alternate under and over each other in a regular manner.
Platform Bed A mattress set on top of a wood or plastic platform or pedestal. Sometimes the mattress is recessed into a frame on the top of the platform, and there is a shelf that may go partially or completely around the perimeter.
Plywood Structural material made of very thin layers of wood bonded together with the grain of each layer, or ply, at right angles to that of the next.
Polyfoam A synthetic resin that simulates latex foam rubber and is used for upholstered furniture, pillows, mattresses, etc.
Print Surface having a pattern imposed with ink or dye by means of stencils, rollers, blocks, or screens.
Pull Handle to open drawers or doors of cabinets.
Quilted Fabric Two layers of fabric with padding between the layers, held in place by stitches that usually follow a definite pattern.
Rabbet Joint A joining technique for supporting shelves or drawer bottoms in vertical units. The edge of the vertical piece of wood fits into a groove in the horizontal piece. Also called a dado joint.
Random Match In veneering or decorative surfacing, a casual, unmatched effect with no attempt at a symmetrical or repetitive pattern.
Relief Three-dimensional ornament or shape projecting from a flat surface upon which it was worked, by modeling or carving.
Reverse Box Match A decorative veneer technique similar to a reverse diamond match, but aligned to create a cross-patterned center with right-angled patterns going off in four directions.
Reverse Diamond Match Four wedges of wood or veneer set together to form an X at the center with consecutively smaller V's radiating out from the center in all four directions. Also called butterfly match.
Rotary-Cut Veneer A slice of veneer made by cutting a log in a circular manner around the circumference. A bold, variegated grain is produced because the cut follows the log's annual growth rings.
Rush Long stem of marsh-growing plant. A variety of sea grass used to weave chair seats.
Sateen Strong, lustrous, satin-weave cotton fabric. May be bleached, dyed, printed, or made with woven patterns.
Sectional Furniture Referring generally to upholstered furniture composed of complementary sections that can be grouped in a variety or arrangements or used separately.
Semainier Tall, narrow seven-drawer chest introduced in the Louis XV period, with one drawer for each day of the week. Also called a lingerie chest.
Serving Table Side table with drawers for use in a dining room. The larger units are similar to buffets and many contain cabinet space.
Settee Long seat with side arms and back, sometimes upholstered.
Sheen In wood finishing, degree of luster of a dried film.
Sideboard Originally an open-shelf dining room piece, literally a side board or boards. Now a piece with cabinet and/or drawers below and sometimes open shelving above for the display of plates and silver.
Skirt Fabric valence around the base of an upholstered chair, sofa, etc., to hide the legs and wood construction of the seat.
Sleigh Bed A bed with large scroll-like footboard and headboard, similar to old-style sleigh fronts.
Slip Cover A removable fitted cover made to protect upholstery fabric, or to cover worn upholstery , or to provide a change for a new season.
Sofa Bed Generic term referring to a variety of sofa with mechanisms that allow them to convert from a sofa to a bed. Also called a sofa sleeper or convertible sofa.
Softwood Wood from one of the evergreen trees such as the pine with needle-like, scale-like, or coniferous leaves.
Staining In wood finishing, process of applying coloring matter to the outer surfaces of wood to enhance the grain, provide uniform overall color, or to imitate or match other cabinet woods.
Sunburst A figured wood grain in which rays radiate outward from a central point. Also called pie match.
Ticking Closely woven fabric used to cover mattresses, box springs, pillows, and cushions, historically with a stripe design.
Tongue-and-Groove Flush wood joint in which a long, straight projection of one board fits into a corresponding groove in another.
Trundle Bed A pullout bed on casters somewhat smaller than the bed under which it is set.
Tufting An upholstery technique where the covering fabric and the padding are tied back in a definite pattern, creating little "pillows" between depressions.
Twill A strong, durable fabric woven with filling threads crossing the wrap in a staggered pattern, producing an effect of parallel diagonal lines, which can be varied in size and shape.
Ultrasuede® A Japanese-created washable microfiber fabric that has much of the same look and performance of natural suede.
Velour A soft pile upholstery fabric, generally woven in a satin weave or plain weave, resulting in a short, thick pile.
Velveteen Pile fabric often of cotton or rayon with short, nappy surface.
Veneer Thin slice of wood used to resurface wood or particleboard.
Vinyl Nonwoven plastic material capable of being embossed or printed to give a wide variety of finishes.
V Match Veneer cut and butted together to form a decorative pattern in which the wood grain radiates from a center line to form a pattern resembling a series of V's set one over the other.
Weave The process of making fabrics by interlacing warp threads with weft or filling yarns.
Webbing Strips of tightly woven plastic, nylon, rubber, elastic, or metal used in upholstery construction as a support for, or in place of, springs under cushions.
Welting Fabric-covered cord sewn into the edge seams of upholstery where a firm, defined edge is needed as for a box-shaped cushion.
Wicker Strong woven matting of willow, reed, or rattan cut into different diameters and used to construct furniture, often for outdoor use.
Yarn Dyed Fabric where the yarn is dyed before it is woven or knitted.
