Glossary C

Furniture Terms

Besides offering an extraordinary selection of affordable furnishings, we also want to be your go-to authority for stylish décor. This digital glossary was created to help you get better acquainted with the variety of terms used to describe our HomeStore products. The more information we can provide, the more confident you’ll feel about choosing us for your home.

Cabinet furniture

Generic name given to storage furniture.

Cabriole leg

A table or chair leg with a gentle "S" shape which curves outward at the top and then curves inward while tapering gradually. Named after an early French term for "goat" (literally "goat's leg") it is common on Queen Anne and Chippendale style furniture. Occasionally referred to as a Queen Anne leg.

Camel back

Used to describe furniture with a curve like a camel's hump along its back.

Candelabra

A large, branched candlestick.

Canopy

Literally meaning a "roof", as created over either a four-post bed or protruding outwards like a hood from an item of cabinet furniture.

Capital

The uppermost part of a column or pilaster, which crowns the shaft; often decorated.

Cartouche

The French word for cartridge, this refers to a scroll-like ornament, often an oval shape which was frequently used as the central motif in a design, and sometimes in a corner of a coved cornice.

Casegoods or Case Pieces

Furniture industry term for chests or cabinets.

Casters

Small wheels mounted on a swivel frame and then attached to a base or legs to facilitate moving a piece of furniture.

Canterbury

A portable magazine rack.

Cedar Chest

A rectangular storage chest made of sold cedar or cedar veneers to prevent moth damage on woolens.

Center Match

An arrangement of two veneer sheets of uniform size, matched in the center on a single face. Also called balance match.

Chairback Headboard

This is an open headboard style resembling the back of a dining room chair.

Chaise Lounge

An upholstered settee with an arm at one end and a back that tapers down to seating level.

Chamfer

To bevel and edge.

Checkerboard Match

An arrangement of small squares of veneer with their grain lines alternating in direction, producing a checkerboard effect.

Chenille

Fabric with thick needle-punched design; often used on bedspreads and robes as well as casual upholstery.

Chest on chest

A large chest of drawers on which sits a slightly smaller chest of drawers.

Chesterfield

A leather settee with deep-buttoned upholstery and large rounded back and arms.

Cheval Mirror

A long freestanding mirror that swivels through its center to enable full-length viewing.

China Cabinet

A cabinet with a glass front and typically sits on a buffet or shallow cupboard.

Chinoiserie

Painted or lacquered furniture using designs drawn from Chinese art.

Chintz

Printed cotton fabric, frequently glazed, used in country or casual decoration.

Chippendale

Name applied to Thomas Chippendale’s eighteenth-century furniture designs, including the camelback sofa and the wing chair.

Classic

Refers to design based in the artistic standards, principles and methods of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Coffee Table

A long, low table used in front of a sofa. Also called a cocktail table.

Coffer

A storage chest having a hinged lid.

Combing

A decorative paint technique that gives a wall a look of age and depth by layering or ‘washing’ increasingly thinner coats of paint over one another.

Commode

Small, low chest of drawers.

Complementary colors

Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel (i.e. blue and orange).

Concept

A comprehensive idea or generalization that brings diverse elements into some basic relationship.

Core

The inner layer of plywood or particleboard in veneered panels.

Corner Block

Triangular wood block used in the concealed structure under tabletops, inside cases, and at points of stress on upholstered furniture frames.

Corner-breaking

Taking the sharp edges off the corners on moldings, drawer fronts, doors, etc.

Cornice

Decorative section of wood that runs along the top of cabinet furniture and leans out at an angle to provide a pleasing finished appearance to the piece.

Couch

Also called a sofa; it is an upholstered seat typically for more than one person.

Coving

A curved molding connecting the ceiling and wall.

Credenza

A buffet, sideboard, or bookcase, especially one without legs. A piece of office furniture having a long flat top.

Crossbanding

A 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

An enclosed glass cabinet for displaying a variety of products such as glassware and other collectibles. Sometimes simply called a curio.

Cutwork

Embroidered fabric with decorative cut-out designs that are outlined in a buttonhole stitch.

Cyma Curve

A simple double-curved molding with a reversed curve as its profile. Derived from Greek meaning, “wave”.