Antique furniture glossary by Antiques ANRESTO in Lommel Belgium. ... a passion for quality and authenticity.

	ANRESTO © 2002-2006 Anresto Furniture Glossary describing styles and periods.
	| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
	A
	Acroterium or Acroterion: A Greek ornament on roof-corners of temples. From Greek 'Akro', ' highest' . In classical furniture a figure or ornament positioned at the top corners.
	Acanthus Leaf: A design style and decorative wood carving style based on the acanthus leaf, used in 18th century design.
	Apothecary Chest: A low chest often with small drawers originally used to store mortar and peste, bottles or herbs for medicinal purposes.
	Apron: The wooden panel connecting the surface and legs of a table or chair.
	Armoire: From French "armoire", wardrobe. An higher wardrobe with doors and locks, with shelves for pottery, clothing or any other valuables one wanted to keep locked. In cathedrals since the XII century used to store the bible and holy vases.
anresto	Art style periods: Norman (1066-1150), Gothic Early English (13th century), Gothic Decorated (1300-1370), Gothic Perpendicular (1370-1550), Renaissance Tudor (1485-1560), Renaissance Elizabethan (1560-1600), Renaissance Jacobean (1600-1625), Baroque and Renaissance Palladianism (1600-1750), Queen Anne (1700-1714), Georgian (1714-1810), Regency (1790-1830), Victorian Neoclassisim (1750-1850), Victorian Gothic Revival (1820-1900).
	Art Deco: A streamlined, geometric style of architecture and home furnishings popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The name is derived from the Paris 1925 exhibition " Exposition Internationale des Arts D�coratifs et Industriels Modernes" . Characteristics include geometric with clean lines, rounded or "waterfall" fronts, wood furniture with chrome hardware and/or glass tops.
	Art Nouveau: The term " Art Nouveau" was first used by contemporary critics in Belgium for the art movement of the late 19th century. " Art Nouveau " from French "art" and " nouveau" (new) is a decorative style developed in Belgium and France between 1890 and the first World War (1914). Although the style was not as popular in America as in Europe, Tiffany lamps are an outstanding example of its ornate, flowing lines.
	Arts and Crafts: A style partly inspired by medieval art. A term often used interchangeably with Mission style, popular from the late 1800s through the 1920s. The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against mass-produced, ornate Victorian furniture, and sought to replace it with simple but genuine craftsmanship. Furniture is blocky and rectangular, made of prominently grained oak. William Morris (1834-1896) in England and America's Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) are the best known proponents of the movement.
	Anresto: Antique store and architectural antiques in Lommel (Belgium) specialized in German, Italian, French and Flemish interior antique designs.
	A.S.I.D.: American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), an association of designers who have passed examinations to qualify for membership.
top	B
	Bachelor's Chest: A small low chest with drawers for the storage of clothing, popular among single men in the 18th century in England. Usually with a pull-out tray for pressing of clothes.
	Backsplat: A slat of wood in the middle of a chair back.
	Ball and Claw foot: A carved chair or table foot that resembles a ball held in a bird's claw.
	Balloon Chair: A rounded-back George Hepplewhite-style chair modeled in the shape of a hot-air balloon.
	Banquette: Long upholstered seat or bench, often built-in.
	Baroque: From Spanish 'barrueco', an irregularly shaped pearl. A highly ornate European design style of the late 17th - early 18th century, characterized by flowing and irregular lines and ornate decoration.
	Bauhaus: Bauhaus is taken from the contraction of two German words: bauen (to build) and Haus (house) meaning "House of Building". Bauhaus is a style of 20th-century design taking its name from the German school of architecture founded by architect Walter Gropius (1883-1969). The minimalist and functional style has had a profound effect on modern architecture and furniture design. Gropius directed the Bauhaus in Germany from its founding in 1919 until 1928. He was 35 years old when he was appointed Director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Weimar, Germany. One of his first decisions was to combine this school with the School of Arts and Crafts and rename the new institution the "Bauhaus".
	Beds: single bed, double bed, twin bed, king-size bed, queen-size bed, panelled bed, four-poster bed, feather bed, Colonial bed, canopied bed, Empire bed, day bed, chaise longue, convertible sofa, sofa bed, futon, divan, davenport (US), bunk bed, crib, cot, cradle, berth, hammock, foldaway bed, zed (or Z) bed, camp bed, truckle (or trundle) bed, water bed, bedstead, headboard, footboard.
	Beading: Decorative detail resembling a row of flattened beads.
	Biedermeier: Derived from Gottlieb Biedermeier, a fictional character invented by a German satirical journal. A Central European design style from the first half of the 19th century, approximately 1820-1845. Identifying features are based on Empire style, simple lines and light woods accented with black enamel or lacquer accents.
	Bentwood: A process of steaming wood for shaping into furniture parts.
	Berg�re: An upholstered French arm chair with closed arms, exposed wood frame, wide proportions and a loose seat cushion, mostly from the 18th century (Louis XV and XVI), yet reproduced nowadays.
	Block Foot: A square vertical foot at the base of a straight leg.
	Block Front: An 18th century American furniture form, used primarily in chests. The front is divided into three vertical segments: a mostly recessed concave panel in the center and convex panels on either side.
	Bombe: A low, baroque-style chest with bulging, convex sides.
	Bonnet Top: An enclosed, hooded top, usually on a secretary or china cabinet.
	Boss: A round or oval ornament applied to a surface.
	Boston Rocker: A large wooden American rocker with spindle back and wide top rail, often is painted or stenciled.
	Boulle or Buhl: After Andr�-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) famous French furniture-maker of Louis XIV's reign. Sumptuous funiture style with tortoiseshell or brass marquetry, known as Boulle work.
	Bow Back: A type of Windsor chair.
	Bow Front: Rounded curve on the front of a piece of wooden furniture.
	Bracket Foot:A low foot running both ways from the corner of case goods to form a right angle.
	Bradford Chair: An American colonial style chair from the 17th century with large turned posts and spindles. Similar to the Brewster chair.
	Breakfront: A china cabinet divided vertically into three of four segments, with the middle segment projecting forward.
	Brewster Chair: An American colonial style chair from the 17th century with large turned posts and spindles. Similar to the Bradford chair. Many new copies made to-date, even fooling the Henry Ford Museum in 1970 (a few years later X-ray pictures revealed modern machine made drilling marks.)
	Broken Pediment: Ornamental crest running across the top of a tall 18th century piece such as a high boy or chest. The pediment is interrupted or "broken" by an opening that highlights a carved detail such as an urn or a flame.
	Buffet: A sideboard with no hutch or storage cabinet on top.
	Bun Foot: A round ball used as a foot on a chest or seating piece.
	Burl: Wood cut from a large, rounded growth on a tree. Burl has strong, distinctive grain and is used as a special veneer.
	Bureau: From French 'bureau', office or desk. A desk or a dresser used to store clothing.
	Butler's Tray Table: A tray with four, flip-up handholds that can be removed from the table legs on which it stands. An oval tabletop is created when the sides are down.
	Butterfly Table: Small drop-leaf table with wing brackets to support the leaves; opens into a narrow oval shape.
top	C
	Cable: A moulding design resembling twined rope.
	Cabriole Leg: A decorative S-shaped chair or table leg that curves outward at the knee then tapers at the ankle. Found on Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture.
	Camelback Sofa: An 18th-century style distinguished by a curve (or camel back) along its back.
	Canopy: A fabric covering attached to a frame at the top of bed posts.
	Captain's Chair: Windsor chair with a lower, rounded spindle back.
	Casegoods: Furniture designed to provide storage space. The designation includes bedroom and dining room furniture, desks, bookcases and chests.
	Certosina: 15th century North Italian intarsia, with pieces of wood, bone and mother-of-pearl.
	Chaise Longue: From French, just meaning 'Long Chair'. upholstered armchair with the back and seat lengthened for reclining. Styles ranges from 19th century formal to contemporary.
	Chairs: wooden chair, bentwood chair, captain's chair, cane chair, box chair, barrel chair, straight chair, Shaker chair, ladder-back chair, wheel-back chair, panel-back chair, rocking chair, Boston rocker, nursing chair, bucket seat, dining chair, upholstered chair, leather chair, armchair, easy chair, Morris chair, Queen-Anne chair, Sheraton chair, Windsor chair, wing chair, club chair, reclining chair, recliner, lounge chair, side chair, carver chair, folding chair, otserna chair, swivel chair, deck chair, highchair, camp chair (or seat), stool, milking stool, bar stool, stall, choir stall, bench, settle, couch, studio couch, Grecian couch, sofa, chesterfield, chaise longue, settee, Brewster chair, divan, love seat.
	Channeling: A grooved or furrowed effect.
	Chesterfield: Wide chairs with sofa style with deep button tufting and large rolled arms in mostly leather. From the Victorian period.
	Chest on Chest: A tall chest with a larger chest of drawers supporting a slightly smaller chest.
	Charles of London: A style of sofa or chair with a low, rolled arm.
	Cheval-Glass:From French, cheval = horse. Standing tall mirror in a free-standing vertical frame.
	Chintz: Printed cotton fabric, often "polished" or glazed, frequently used in country or casual rooms.
	Chinoiserie: Decoration inspired by Chinese art, painted or laquered on furniture or used as themes on wallpaper and fabric.
	Chippendale: The elegant, formal late 18th century furniture style following Queen Anne. Its design is more rectangular and heavier than Queen Anne, features include cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, and highboys with broken pediment tops. Newport, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were centers for some of the best American Chippendale design.
	Classicism: (see Neo-classic)
	Colonial: American furniture from roughly 1650 through the Revolutionary era. Formal styles are usually mahogany, cherry or walnut with simpler furniture in pine, oak and maple; ornamentation can be simple or rich. Queen Anne and early Chippendale are sometimes included in the category, although the term is sometimes used for furniture that is high-backed, bulky and casual.
	Colonial Revival (also known as Revival): Reproductions of classic 18th century American styles, although not always accurate in detail. Revival pieces were popular from the 1870s through the period following World War I.
	Commode: Small, low chest with doors or drawers.
	Contemporary: A term covering several styles of furniture that developed in the latter half of the 20th century; an updated look that softened and rounded the lines of stark modern design.
	Corniche: Molding that crowns or runs along the top of a cabinet. From French ' corniche', glacier overhanging.
	Credence:From Italian: credenza, side-board. Originally a table or shelf in a church to hold the sacraments. Nowadays any sideboard or buffet. In office furniture, a horizontal filing cabinet often placed decoratively behind a desk.
top	D
	Daybed: A seating piece that also can serve as a bed.
	Dentils or Dentil Molding: Rectangular, tooth-like blocks spaced at equal intervals along a cornice molding. Found in 18th century architecture and design.
	Directoire: Furniture designed during the era of the French Revolution, it bridges the more formal Louis XVI and the more restrained Empire style. Period 1793-1804
	Dowel: A headless wooden pin used in furniture construction.
	Dresser: A chest of drawers used to store clothes.
	Drop Front: The hinged front of an upright desk which drops down to provide a writing surface.
	Drop Leaf: A dining or occasional table with hinged leaves that can be lowered when not in use.
	Dustboard (Dust Panel): A board placed between drawers in a chest or dresser to eliminate dust.
	Duncan Phyfe: A Scottish born furniture designer and US cabinet-maker (1768-1854). Furniture style popular in the American Federal period (late 18th to mid-19th century), also called Federal Style, characterized by feet with a graceful outward curve on both tables and sofas. Seating pieces often have lyre-shaped backs, rolled top rails and arms.
	Dutch Belly: A type of desk originating from Holland (18th century) with a typical round (belly) front shape.
	Dutch Foot: A type of pad foot used on the legs of chairs.
top	E
	Early American: American furniture design of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, adapted from such heavy European styles as Jacobean or William and Mary. The look is characterized by straight lines and minimal decoration. Tables are gateleg and trestle styles, chairs include ladder and slat backs. The style merged into what is now called Colonial, featuring Queen Anne and Chippendale design.
	Ebenist: From ebony (lat. Ebenaceae). The woodwork-master who is specialized in inlay decoration and marquetry with ebony. French ebenists of the 18th century were obliged by law to sign their work. Jaak Vanderhoydonks of Anresto is an ebenist too.
	Eclectic: A decorating style harmoniously combining furniture and accessories of various styles and periods.
	Egg and Dart: A classic design of alternating oval and dart shapes, applied to cornices.
	Empire: A neoclassical design style inspired by the first Napoleonic Empire from 1804, it includes heavy looking designs, classical design elements and combines straight lines and curves, as in sleigh beds.
	Escutcheon: The shield-shaped ornamental device or metal fitting behind a drawer pull or surrounding a keyhole, to protect the wood.
	Etagere: A free-standing open cabinet with shelves for displaying accessories.
top	F
	Fauteuil: Upholstered French armchair with open sides.
	Faux:From French 'false'. A simulation of something else. Faux marble, for example, is a marble-like surface painted onto walls, furniture or other surfaces (see trompe l'oeil).
	Federal: The design period following the American Revolution and running roughly through the 1820s. Early Federal refers to the end 18th century period. Federal style incorporates the neo-classic influences of Duncan Phyfe , Hepplewhite and Sheraton including straight and delicate lines, tapered legs, inlay and contrasting veneers.
	Fiddleback: A backsplat in the shape of a violin or fiddle seen on Queen Anne chairs.
	Finial: A carved or shaped decorative detail used to ornament the top of an upright such as a bedpost, in the opening of a broken pediment or topping a lamp. Motifs include flames, urns, pineapples and other vertical motifs.
	Flemish: From 'Flanders', the northern Dutch-speaking region of Belgium known for its 17th century golden age baroque paintings of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dijck and its furniture.
	Four Poster: A bed with posts tall enough to hold a canopy.
	French Provincial: Rustic versions of formal French furnishings of the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles.
	Furniture Styles: Louis Quatorze, Louis Quinze, Louis Seize, Tudor, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Queen-Anne, Adam Hepplewhite, rococo, Georgian, William and Mary, French provincial, colonial, Early American, Early Federal, Shaker, Empire, Sheraton, Regency, chinoiserie, boulle, Gothic, baroque, Biedermeier, Victorian, Morris, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, Scandinavian.
	Fretwork: Open or pierced wood carving with an oriental influence, used as a decorative element in Chippendale and Chippendale-style furnishings.
	Futon: A Japanese-style quilted mattress placed on the floor or a folding wooden or metal frame.
top	G
	Gallery Rail: A small, slender railing, usually brass, bordering a table or sideboard.
	Gateleg table: A type of drop-leaf table with leaves supported by extra legs that swing out like gates.
	Georgian: A style during the reigns of George I to George IV (1714-1830). Elegant 18th century design, generally heavier and more ornate than Queen Anne. Features include highly carved cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, ornate carvings and pierced backsplats.
	Gesso: From Italian 'gypsum'. Gilded or painted bas-relief plaster decoration.
	Gothic Revival: A style influenced by medieval and Gothic influences popular in the mid-1800s, characterized by lines flowing up to a pointed arch and other Gothic architectural features.
top	H
	Harvest Table: A narrow rectangular table with hinged drop leaves, this colonial design takes up very little space but offers a good deal of surface area when the leaves are up.
	Hassock: From Old English meaning: a thick cushion for kneeling. Upholstered footstool large enough to be used as seating.
	Hepplewhite: From George Hepplewhite, furniture designer 1727-1786. A late 18th century style published in 1788 related to the Federal style in the United States, a neo-classic furniture style that followed Chippendale from the late 1700s to roughly 1820. It overlapped with Sheraton style and shares restrained design, tapered legs and classical ornamentation like urns and shields (including shield back chairs) or American carved eagles and stars.
	Highboy: A tall chest of drawers, developed in 18th century. Usually composed of a base and a top section with drawers, often topped with a decorative broken pediment crown.
	Hitchcock Chair: A black-painted chair with a stenciled design on the backrest, named after its American designer.
	Hoop Back Chair: Queen Anne or Hepplewhite chair with a top rail curving directly into the arms.
	Huntboard: A type of sideboard used for serving food and drinks after a hunt. Designed to be light and portable so it could be moved outdoors.
	Hutch: Enclosed cupboard with shelves resting on a solid base.
	Hutch top: A storage unit with shelves, often sitting on a desk or chest.
top	I
	Inlay: Wood ornamentation using exotic woods or ivory, set into the surface of wood furniture.
	Intaglio: From Italian, 'incision'. A design or illustration cut into a surface, the opposite of ' relief '.
	Intarsia: Originally from Italian style of marquetry of the 15th century. A decorative technique of inlaying a design on a wooden surface in colored wood or mother-of-pearl across the entire surface.
top	J
	Jacobean: Early 17th century English furniture style with a medieval appearance and dark finish. Furniture from this period can be extremely simple or covered with carvings. Also called Early Stuart.
	Japanning: A painting technique requiring several coats of heat-hardened lacquer, used in creating chinoiserie designs.
top	K
	Knock down (or KD): Furniture sold unassembled or partially assembled.
top	L
	Lacquer: A hard varnish applied in several layers, then polished to a high sheen.
	Ladder-back: A country style of chair with a back resembling a ladder.
	Lawson: A sofa or chair with a trim, lowered arm accented with a slight roll. Mostly with square cushions.
	Lincoln Rocker: An upholstered rocker with an exposed wood frame, high back and padded armrest.
	Louis XIV (Quatorze): Classic French furniture design, from the period of the Sun King, 1638-1715. A rich formal style with baroque influences.
	Louis XV (Quinze): Classic French furniture design, from 1723-1774. Smaller, more intimate style less plomp baroque. Louis XV is a simpler style than Louis XIV but with curved lines and some rococo ornamentation.
	Louis XVI (Seize): Classic French furniture design, roughly from 1760 to the French Revolution in 1789. Louis XVI furniture style shows greater solidity and has straight lines, geometric shapes and minimal ornamentation.
	Lommel: City in Belgium with largest architectural antique and interior antique dealer.
	Love Seat: A smaller, two-seat version of a sofa.
	Lowboy: A low or short chest or table with drawers, often on short legs.
top	M
	Marquetry: Decorative patterns made of inlays of wood or ivory, usually applied on veneered surfaces. From the popular Italian art of the 15th century, "re-invented" in Germany in the 16th century and spread to France in the 17th century.
	Mission: A heavy, dark-oak style with spare, rectangular lines popular in the early 20th century. The style grew out of the English Arts and Crafts movement and was a reaction to the excesses of Victorian furniture.
	Modern: Clean, architectural and streamlined 20th century furniture with roots in the German Bauhaus School of architecture and Scandinavian design. Sometimes known as International Style.
	Modular: Units of furniture that can be stacked or rearranged in different configurations.
	Molding: Shaped ornamental strips applied to and projecting from a surface.
	Morris: After William Morris (1834-1896), British designer and artist. Founder of "The Firm" producing wallpaper and furniture. Influenced the Arts and Crafts style.
	Motif: A decorative theme, element or component.
	Motion furniture: Reclining chairs or sofas with mechanisms allowing the user to extend their legs and/or lean back.
top	N
	Neo-classic: Design featuring elegance and simplicity, with motifs borrowed from ancient Greece and Rome. The look was seen throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries and relates to the Empire, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Federal periods as well as the later Biedermeier style.
top	O
	Occasional table: A generic term for small pieces like end and coffee tables.
	Ottoman: A low upholstered seat, usually square without back or arms, used as a footstool.
top	P
	Papier (or Paper) Mach�: A material made from paper pulp and molded into various products, suitable for painting and varnishing when dry.
	Parquetry: Furniture inlaid with geometrical designs similar to parquet floors.
	Parsons table: A simple, squared-off table with legs and apron of equal widths. The name is taken from the Parsons School of Design, where the table was developed during the 1950s.
	Patina: The softening effect which age, use and care impart.
	Pedestal table: A table supported by a single, center base.
	Pediment: An ornamental crest running across the top of tall 18th century piece such as high boy or chests.
	Pembroke Table: A drop leaf table with leaves that drop almost to the floor.
	Pencil-post Bed: A bed with four slim posts rising six to eight feet. Design is generally simple with straight lines; the beds can be used alone or with a canopy.
	Piecrust Table: A round occasional table set on a three-legged pedestal base, ornamented with a edging resembling a crimped pie crust.
	Pier Glass: A large, window-height mirror suspended above a table.
	Piercing: Carved or cutout decorative detail seen in chair splats and other 18th century furniture.
	Pilaster: A flattened column-like detail applied to furniture, bookcases, etc. for decorative purposes.
	Plinth: The base of a chest of column that rests solidly on the floor, as opposed to sitting on legs.
	Premiere Partie: 17th century French marquetry in which a pattern of brass and pewter is set on a base of tortoiseshell. The opposite is called "Contre Partie". The greatest artist in creating furniture with these techniques was Andr�-Charles Boulle.
top	Q
	Queen Anne: A major furniture style of the 18th century, a period rich in innovative design. Graceful and elegant, the style (named after the 18th century English monarch) is characterized by curved lines such as cabriole legs, broken scroll pediments and rounded aprons in tables and lowboys.
top	R
	Rail: The horizontal member running across the top of a chair back.
	Recamier: From 'Madame Recamier', a society hostess of the early 19th century. An elegant sofa or chaise popular in the Empire and Victorian eras. Sometimes called fainting couches, Recamiers have a sloping back not much higher than the seat at one end, with the other end rising to meet a high and often rolled, arm.
	Refectory Table: A long narrow table, originally used in the dining rooms of religious orders.
	R�gence: Early French rococo style, after the regency of Philip of Orleans (1715-1723).
	Regency: Britain Regency period from 1811-1820, furniture style from 1800-1830. Rather heavy furniture with a neo-classic influence, with dark exotic woods like rosewood and veneers set off by ormolu mounts and grilles for doors.
	Relief: Raised, sculptural ornamentation.
	Reproduction: New furniture that is an authentic copy of an antique. Also called fake.
	Restorations: Antiques or collectibles that have been brought back to original condition through reconstruction and/or replacement of missing parts and refinishing. Anresto is specialized in restoring antiques from the 16th to 19th century.
	Return: The element of an L-shaped desk that is perpendicular to the main desk, providing extra working surface.
	Rice Carved Posters: Tall, heavy bedposts carved with decorative details such as rice and tobacco plants, symbolic of the wealth of plantation owners in the Carolinas and northern Georgia, where the style originated.
	Rococo: From French, 'rocaille' and 'barocco'. Very elaborate European design style, originating in early 18th century France. A style characterized by its curved forms, slender proportions, asymetry and pastel colors.
	Rococo Revival: An especially florid Victorian style popular from the 1850s-70s, best known for elaborately carved rosewood parlor furniture, triple-crested sofas and balloon-backed chairs.
	Roll Top Desk: A desk with a curved, slatted panel that rolls down to hide its writing surface.
	Runner: The curved rocker of a rocking chair.
	Rush Seat Chair: A rustic French or American chair with seats woven of rushes.
	Rustic: Simple style typical of country life.
top	S
	Sabre Leg: A leg with a sabre-like curve.
	Secretary: A drop-leaf desk sitting on a base of drawers, usually with cubbyholes and slots for organizing papers and bonnet tops reflecting their 18th century origins.
	Semenier: A tall, narrow, seven-drawer chest, mostly used for lingerie in the 18th century.
	Serpentine Front: A waving curve on the front of a chest or desk.
	Serving Table: A long narrow table with drawers for silver, linens, etc.
	Settee: A long seat or bench with a back and arms seating two or more people.
	Settle: A wooden bench with high back and solid arms, often with drawers or a hinged seat covering storage space, brought to this country from England by the pilgrims.
	Shaker: American religious sect in the 18th and 19th centuries that practiced simple living and fostered a genius for excellent design combining functionality and beauty. Design features include straight, tapered legs, and woven-strap chair seats.
	Sheraton: From Thomas Sheraton, 1751-1806 an English furniture designer. A formal style that developed from Hepplewhite, Sheraton features delicate straight lines, tapered legs (usually turned rather than square) and expert veneer and inlay. The period is known for handsome sideboards and neo-classical decorative elements including small urns and fluted columns.
	Shield Back: A chair with a back in the shape of shield.
	Sideboard: A serving piece with drawers and/or open shelves for displaying plates and silver.
	Slat-back: An early American chair form incorporating horizontal slats.
	Sleigh bed: A 19th-century American adaptation of a popular French Empire design. The sleigh bed has a high, scrolled headboard and footboard resembling the front of a sleigh.
	Slipper chair: A low, armless upholstered chair, often with a skirt.
	Slip seat: A removable, upholstered chair seat.
	Splat: A flat, vertical support piece in the middle of an open chair back, often carved or ornamented.
	Stretcher: A horizontal brace in an H or X shape, often decorative, connecting the legs of a table or chair.
top	T
	Tables: dining table, side table, end table, pier table, drop-leaf table, coffee table, tea table, Pembroke table, gate-leg table, console table (or console), bedside table, dressing table, pedestal table, paying table, card table, gaming table, worktable, kitchen table, writing table, library table, desk, writing desk, escritoire, secretaire (or secretary), davenport, roll-top desk, trestle table, slant-top (or slope-top) desk, knee-hole desk, bureau, reading desk, lectern, board (Lit).
	Tea Table: A small portable table, frequently used in place of a coffee table. Table top often has raised edges resembling a tray and side pull-outs for candles.
	Tester: Wooden frame supporting a canopy or draperies at the top of a poster bed.
	Tilt Top: A small table with a hinged top that can stand vertically when not in use.
	Torchiere: A torch-like floor lamp that directs light upward with a flared shade.
	Transitional: Design that blends influences from various style categories.
	Trestle Table: A long, narrow table with two T-shaped uprights that are joined by a single stretcher; usually used in country-style schemes.
	Trompe l'oeil: French for "fool the eye"; a two-dimensional painting designed to look like a three-dimensional object. Successful trompe-l'oeil occupies a very shallow space between the picture-pane, or actually seems to project beyond the picture surface.
	Turning: The shaping of legs or trim on a lathe.
	Tuxedo: A style of sofa or chair with a square frame created by arm and back rests of equal height.
top	U
	Upholstery: Fabric-covered sofas and chairs, with most wood construction features hidden under layers of padding and fabric.
	Uprights: The outer vertical posts of a chair.
top	V
	Veneer: A thin layer of wood permanently bonded to a thicker core. The most beautiful grain patterns are used for the outermost layer (or face veneer) of furniture piece, greater strength is achieved by bonding woods at right angles to each other.
	Victorian: A furniture style popular from the middle to end of the 19th century, named for England's Queen Victoria. Furniture is usually walnut, mahogany and rosewood in dark finishes, often highlighted with elaborate, carved floral designs. Oval chairbacks are common, as are marble tops on tables and dressers.
	Vitrine: China or curio cabinet with glass doors.
top	W
	William and Mary: This style, an English derivative (1689-1702) of the Louis XIV (Louis Quatorze) style furniture, named for the 17th century English King and Queen. Innovations included the cabriole leg, high-backed, upholstered armchairs, highboys and lowboys. Cabinet furniture was finely veneered and design elements include curved lines, bun or ball feet, marquetry, inlay and oriental lacquerwork.
	Windsor Chair: A popular 19th century wooden chair with spindle backs shaped in fans, hoops or combs.
	Wing chair: A high-backed upholstered lounge chair with wings on either side of the chair back.
	Wooden: lacquered, painted, inlaid, marquetried, parquetried, upholstered, built-in, straight, ladder-back, panel-back, rocking, reclining, folding, drop-leaf, gate-leg, roll-top, slant-top (or slope-top), knee-hole, panelled, canopied, convertible, foldaway.
	Woodwork, decorative: wood inlay, Certosina work, intarsia, horn inlay, mother-of-pearl inlay, tortoiseshell inlay, brass inlay, metal inlay, silver inlay, gold-sheet inlay, true inlay, marquetry, boulle (or boullework), floral marquetry, seaweed marquetry, oysterwood marquetry, oyster pieces, brass on shell, premi�re partie (Fr), shell on brass, contre partie (Fr)