Bachelor's Chest: A small low chest originating in the 1700's. Find a chest of drawers.
Backing: A coating that is applied to the back of fabric to prevent seam slippage and excess wear.
Backsplash: A small strip (usually wood) placed against the wall or on the back of a dry sink or console.
Backsplat: A slat of wood in the middle of a chair back.
Baffle: A device fixed to a light fitting to prevent light from glaring into the eyes.
Bag Table: 18th Century serving table with drawers and a cloth bag attached.
Bagging: A painting technique in which a crumpled bag (or other material) is dabbed onto a glazed or emulsioned wall to create textured patterns.
Baguette: A small convex molding with semi-circular contours.
Bail: A metal ring or hoop forming a handle.
Baize: Wool fabric resembling felt (usually green) used on gaming tables.
Bakelite: A trade name for one of the first plastics to come into widespread use. The colors of this plastic are usually limited to browns and blacks. Bakelite was a popular material used in producing early pieces of modern furniture.
Baker's Rack: Commonly an open slatted back storage unit with shelves used for storing goods in the kitchen such as cook books, wine, etc. Most commonly made of wood and metal or a combination of the two. Find a baker's rack.
Balance: The arrangement of objects around an epicenter, or creating an even feel or atmosphere in a room.
Ball & Claw: A carved lions or birds claw clutching a sphere, usually at the end of a cabriole leg or tables base.
Ball Foot: The rounded end of a turned leg having a hooded effect.
Balloon Back Chair: A rounded back Hepplewhite style chair in the shape of a hot-air balloon. Find a chair for your living room or dining room.
Balloon Shade: A window treatment with gathered fabric and soft billowy folds. Find window treatments and curtains.
Baluster: A small turned, square or flat column that supports a rail. Also used to form chair backs.
Bamboo Turning: Style of turning and painting wood to resemble bamboo. Popular in the 19th Century.
Banding: An Inlay or Marquetry that produces a color or grain contrast along the perimeter of a surface such as a tabletop.
Bandy Leg: American colonial term for the cabriole, or curved leg.
Banister-Back Chair: Generally made of maple and often ebonized. Features vertical split banisters in the back. Widely used in rural America in the 1700's.
Banquette: A long upholstered seat, settee or bench, that's usually built-in. Term also refers to the ledge at the back of a buffet.
Bar: A counter like piece of furniture or built-in cabinetry typically used for mixing and serving drinks. Find a bar or pub table.
Bar Stool: A stool that has a seat height of about 30", opposed to a counter stool that normally has a seat height of 24" to 26". Find a bar stool.
Barkcloth: A soft and textured fabric that resembles the bark of a tree.
Barley Twist: A furniture leg that's turned so that it resembles a screw thread.
Baroque: A highly ornate decorative style that originated in Italy in the 1600's. The style is characterized by irregular curves, twisted columns, elaborate scrolls and oversize moldings. The Italian equivalent of French "rococo".
Barrel Back: A chair or sofa with the arms and back forming a continuous curve. Find living room furniture.
Barrel Chair: A semicircular upholstered chair with a loose seat cushion. Find a living room chair.
Bassinet: A bed for a baby. Originally basket shaped. Find baby furniture.
Batik: Form of hand-printing fabric that originated in Indonesia; technique involves using wax as a resist to create a negative image.
Batten: A strip of wood that's attached to a wall to provide supports for fixing fabric or paneling.
Batting: Thin layers of natural or synthetic cloth used to line cushions, pillows, quilts or crafts.
Bauhaus: A style of the early 1900's taking its name from the German School of Architecture. This minimalist style has had a great effect on contemporary architecture and furniture design.
Bead: A small, convex molding of a nearly semi-circular section.
Beadboard: Traditionally, wood paneling that's routed vertically so that parallel lines span the height of the board. Beadboard is often used as a wall material, wainscoting and on cabinet doors.
Beading: A decorative detail that resembles a row of flattened beads.
Beau Brummel: A Georgian dressing table for men. Named after an English fashion arbiter.
Bed Frame (or Bed Base/Frame): A frame or type of platform that a bed rests on. Usually, a metal or wooden frame with legs used to raise the bed off of the floor, headboards can be attached to most bed frames. Find bed frames and bedroom furnishings.
Bed Rails: Metal or wooden frames that join a headboard and footboard together and also support the mattress set. Most commonly used bed rail styles include hook-on and bolt-on designs.
Bedding Ensemble: Can be any combination bedspreads, pillow shams, bed skirts, etc. Find bedding sets.
Bedspread: A decorative covering for a bed that can reach to the floor on either side and usually is large enough to cover the pillows. Find a bedspread.
Bell Flower: A hanging flower of three to five petals carved or inlaid one below the other in strings. Used primarily down the legs of tables and chairs, or on chair splats.
Bench: A long seat that can seat at least two people. Benches can be made from any material from wood to concrete. Find an entryway bench or bedroom bench.
Bench Cushion (or Bench Seat): A long seat cushion that covers the entire deck area of a sofa, loveseat or settee, opposed to individual cushions.
Bentwood: A process of steam bending wood for shaping into furniture parts, particularly chairs.
Bergère: An upholstered French arm chair with closed arms. Features include an exposed wood frame, loose seat cushion and wide proportions. Popular during the Louis XIV and Louis XV periods. Find a living room chair.
Bias: The cutting and sewing of fabric at a diagonal or 45 degree angle in relationship to the fabrics pattern.
Beidermeier: A German furniture style from the first half of the 1800's. The furniture is often plain and squared in form and borrows elements from many styles, particularly French Empire. The Beidermeier style concentrates on strength and comfort at the expense of grace and refinement.
Bibliotheque-Basse: A low cupboard with shelves for books. Doors are often of glass and sometimes fitted with grilles.
Bird's-Eye: A marking of small spots often found in the wood from sugar maple trees. Highly prized throughout furniture history.
Bishop's Sleeve: A drapery treatment with side panels of lightweight fabric tied back slightly above the midpoint to form a billowing drape above and a flowing effect below. Find window treatments and curtains.
Bistro Table: Term conventionally refers to a round table about 40" in height designed for small spaces and intimate dining. It is common for people to also refer to bistro tables as pub tables. Find a pub table.
Blanket Chest: A low box-like chest for storing blankets often called a hope chest. Used during Colonial times for storage and as a bench. Find a cedar blanket chest or hope chest.
Blinds: Window coverings designed of either horizontal or vertical slats. Blinds can be made of wood, aluminum, fabric, or other materials. Horizontal blinds traditionally open from the bottom up, while vertical blinds open and close to the side. Find window blinds.
Block Foot: A square foot at the base of a straight leg.
Block Front: An American furniture form of the 1700's, used primarily in chests. The front is divided into three vertical segments consisting of a concave panel in the center and convex panels on each side.
Bobeche: A glass ring placed at the base of a candle to gather wax or dangle crystals. Find candle accessories.
Body Impressions: The "normal compression" of upholstery layers as they lose resilience over time. Often mistaken for sagging on mattresses, sofas and other upholstered furniture. Find a new mattress set.
Boiserie: Carved panels used on French pieces from the 17th Century.
Bolster: A long and usually cylindrical stuffed pillow or cushion. Also an oversized backrest or pillow which can be rectangular or wedge-shaped. Find accent and throw pillows.
Bombe: Traditionally a low baroque style chest with bulging convex sides originated in France. Term can also apply to some commodes, bureaus and armoires. Find living room furniture.
Bonheur-du-jour: A small French writing table that usually features tall legs; sometimes fitted to hold toilet accessories and miscellaneous items.
Bonnell Coil: An hourglass-shaped mattress coil that's cylindrical at the top and bottom and tapered in the center. Mostly used in promotional and lower-priced bedding today. Find a new mattress set.
Bonnet Top: A hooded top usually found on secretaries, china cabinets, bookcases and curios.
Book Matching: Two adjacent sheets of veneer that are opened like a book and glued side by side to produce a symmetrical pattern.
Bookcase: A piece of furniture with shelves that is normally used in an office or study for storing books. Find a bookcase.
Borax: Borax really isn't a period of furniture as it is a term that refers to lower priced, mass produced furniture from the 1920's to current day. Upholstered pieces are characterized by a large overstuffed design and usually have wood trim. Case pieces are often decorated with veneer panels and plastic moldings. A popular design of Borax furniture is a "waterfall" front.
Border Rod: A heavy wire that's normally placed around the perimeter (top and bottom) of a mattress and/or box spring. The border wire is attached to the outermost coils to provide the shape and form for the mattress set.
Boss: An oval or round ornament applied to a surface. Term also applies to works in relief.
Boston Rocker: A large wooden rocker with a spindle back and wide top rail, which is often painted or stenciled. Originated in America in the 1800's. Find a rocking chair.
Boudoir Pillow: A small or baby size decorative pillow, usually measuring about 12" x 16". Find a decorative throw pillow.
Boulle: A designer of the Louis the XIV period who was famous for his inlays of metal and tortoise shell. "Boullework" can be used as a descriptive phrase.
Bowback: A popular type of Windsor chair, also the style of a back such as a bow back rocker. Originally popular in America during the 18th Century. Find a dining room chair.
Bowfront: A rounded curve on the front of a piece of wood furniture to appear convex.
Box Pleat (or Boxpleat): A symmetrical skirt pleat made by folding the fabric to the back of each side of the pleat to create a dentil pattern.
Box-Spring: A foundation that's designed to support an innerspring mattress. Find a mattress or box-spring set.
Boys and Crowns: A very old term for a type of carved ornamentation used on the cresting of chairs, daybeds, etc.
Bracket Foot: A low foot running both ways from the corner of wood furniture to form a right angle.
Braganza: An inscrolled or knurled foot, also commonly called a Spanish foot.
Break Front: A china cabinet or bookcase that's divided vertically into three segments with the middle segment projecting forward. Find a china cabinet or bookcase.
Brewster Chair: An American Colonial style chair with large turned posts and spindles. Named for Governor Brewster of Massachusetts.
Broadcloth: Dense cotton fabric with a smooth, semi-gloss finish.
Brocade: A rich fabric with a raised pattern woven into it. Brocades use richly colored, sometimes metallic threads that make the design stand out against the background.
Broken Pediment: An ornamental crest running across the top of a tall piece such as a highboy or chest. The pediment is interrupted or broken by an opening that highlights a carved finial such as an urn or other shape.
Buffet (or Sideboard): A sideboard without a hutch or storage cabinet on top. The French definition of the word is "a small sideboard, a place to keep dishes." Find a buffet or sideboard.
Bullion Fringe: Corded fringe that's twisted into a rope or braid. Primarily used on the base of upholstered furniture, window treatments, accent pillows and lamp shades. Also called bullion trim.
Bun Foot: A flattened ball or bun shaped foot with a slender ankle above, normally used on a chest or seating piece. Very popular during the William and Mary period.
Bungalow Style: An architectural style of a small house or cottage usually having a single story and sometimes an additional attic story. Most commonly associated with Victorian and Craftsman period bungalow homes and decor.
Bunk Bed: Two beds that are joined together so that one is placed above the other. Find kid's furniture.
Bunkie: Commonly refers to a twin-size mattress used on bunk beds.
Bunkie Board: A platform type of base or a board usually covered with fabric. Used to support a bunkie mattress on a bunk bed.
Bureau: A dresser used to store clothing also a piece of furniture with drawers used as a desk. Bureau's normally feature either a fall-front, which slopes at 45 degrees, a tambour front or a cylinder front. Find bedroom furniture.
Burjar: A large upholstered arm chair style that was made by Thomas Chippendale.
Burl: Wood cut from a large rounded growth on a tree. Burl is characterized by a strong distinctive grain and is often used as a special veneer or inlay.
Butler's Tray Table: A tray with four flip-up handholds that can be removed from the table legs on which it stands. When the sides are down an oval tabletop is created. Find coffee and cocktail tables.
Butt Joint: The junction of the ends of two pieces of wood such as on a sill.
Butterfly Table: A small drop-leaf table whose leaves are supported by a swinging support resembling a butterfly wing on a rudder. Find dining room and kitchen tables.
Button Tufted: Buttons that are fabric covered and sewn through the upholstery surface and tied down. The placement of the buttons and their resulting folds produce geometric patterns.
Byzantine Chair: A three cornered chair originated in the Orient and later used in Italy.
Note: Some terms in this glossary may no longer be in common use and are posted for reasons of historical interest.
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