Furniture Glossary

Furniture Glossary

A
Apron Also referred to as a skirt it is the horizontal piece of wood that is attached underneath the table top. It is available on the leaves to make it flush with the side of the base top.

Armoire A furniture type that can either be used for clothes storage or entertainment unit. For clothes storage it is designed with drawers and opening with shelves or a clothes rod with doors to close over the opening. For an entertainment unit it is designed with drawers and a opening for a TV and a shelf for an electronic component.

B
Base Size The size of the table without leaves

Bedside Chest Also called a nightstand. It usually has 3 drawer.

Beveled A specialized cut to wood or glass to where the edge is cut a downward angle.

Bifold Doors A style of door that is hinged in the center so when opened it is able to fold in half and then off to the side. This door style option is found on our entertainment centers.

Blum Undermount Drawer Slides Drawer slides are installed under the drawer instead of on the sides.

Brown Maple Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

Buffet Buffets are a furniture piece that is most commonly found in dining rooms. It provides a serving area as well as necessary additional storage for dining room items.

Bun Feet A decorative furniture foot style that has rounded sides and a flat bottom.

C
Cabriole Legs A style of leg that is usually associated with the Queen Anne Style. It is a curved leg with an out curved knee and in curved ankle.

Casters Small wheel on the bottom of desk chairs to make it easier to roll.

Chamfer Edge A type of beveled cut that the angle of the cut is about 45 degrees. The cut angle is less than that of a standard bevel edge.

Cherry Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

Corbels A bracket of wood projecting from the side of a piece of furniture (whether be a table leg, dresser, nightstand, etc) as extra support of the top or as decoration. Most commonly found on Mission style pieces.

D
Dadoed Joint Joint formed by intersection of two boards, one of which is notched with a rectangular groove. Used with shelving in order to make the shelves support more weight.

Distressed Look A finishing technique that give the furniture piece the look of aging or of an antique.

Dovetail Interlocking joint that provides additional strength in construction, especially drawers.

F
Flush Door & Drawers When the door and drawer fronts are even with the unit face creating a smooth surface.

Fluted A decorative design that has vertical grooves that gives the appearance of close ruffles.

Full Extension Slides Drawer slides that enable the drawer to be fully extended out.

G
Gentleman's Chest A piece of furniture that is an alternative to a traditional chest. It is designed with a drawer and door combination that gives ample drawer and shelf space. Our Gentleman Chests comes with 6 drawers and 2 adjustable shelves.

Glacier Glass Style of glass that that looks like frozen water. Shown with a gray background.

H
Hickory Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

I
Inlays A decorative piece of contrasting wood that is set into the surface of a piece of furniture. Some of our furniture is available with an ebony or walnut inlay.

L
Leaf A wood plank that extends the table in order to seat more people. Each leaf is a standard 12" unless specified.

Lift-Top An option for several of our coffee tables that allows the top to be raised closer to dining table height.

M
Maple Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

Mission Edge An edge style that is square and occasionally rounded at the top edge.

Mitered Corners are fitted together with the ends of two parts cut at 45 degrees and joined together to form a 90-degree angle.

Mortise & Tenon Joints Simple and strong, the mortise and tenon joint is used as a method of joining two pieces of wood together. The basic idea is that end of one of the wood piece is inserted into a hole cut in the other wood piece. The end of the first wood piece is called the tenon, and it is usually narrowed with respect to the rest of the piece. The hole in the second wood piece is called the mortise. The joint may be glued, pinned, or wedged to hold it in place.

Mule Chest A Mule Chest is the largest furniture piece built. It is a combination of dresser, chest and armoire with a base of drawers and a top of shelves (like an armoire). Most Mule Chests will have 8 or 9 drawer and 4 doors.

Mullions A nonstructural vertical and horizontal strips between the panes of a window

O
Ogee Edge An edge style where it is cut in a tiered patterned with the bottom tier larger than the top.

P
Pocket Doors A door style that when opened has the ability to slide into the compartments that are adjacent to the walls in order hide the doors inside the unit. This options is available primarily on our armoires and entertainment centers.

Q
Quarter Sawn White Oak Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

R
Raised Panel A piece of wood that is the center of a door or side panel to give the affect of the wood being raised.

Recessed Lighting A lighting technique that is available on our hutches. The bulb is set inside the casing so that the bulb is not visible when looking at it from the side.

Red Oak Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

Reverse Panels A style of paneling that has a raised trim to give the appearance of inverted center.

Roundover Edge An edge style that is rounded so that the edge is smooth.

Rustic Cherry Wood See our Hardwood Information page.

S
Seeded / Seedy Glass Glass style that looks like frozen water droplets. Shown with a gray background.

Skirt Also referred to as apron, it is the horizontal piece of wood that is attached under the table top. It is available on the leaves to make it flush with the side of the base top.

W
Watered Glass Style of glass that looks like water movement. Shown with a gray background.

Furniture Glossary

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