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How do you express yourself? When words like "thingy" and "whatchamacallit" just won't do; or when you want to learn a little bit more about the language behind your decorating experience – we're here to help. Here's a list of some of the most commonly used terms in the furniture and decorating worlds.
A - C D - L M - R S - Z
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Sateen: A textile, usually of cotton, with a polished finish resembling the luster of satin.
Seating: General term for furniture crafted for the purpose of providing a sitting position for the body. Not specific to size or style.
Seam strength: The durability of the binding that joins one piece of fabric to another.
Sectional: A sofa created by a group of pieces or units rather than of a single frame construction.
Seersucker: A lightweight textile with a puckered surface and a striped pattern.
Self-deck: To cover the frame area of an upholstered piece beneath the seat cushions with a body or cover cloth as opposed to muslin or other neutral fabric.
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Selvage: The end(s), sides or edges of a textile that are tightly woven to prevent unraveling or fraying.
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Semi-attached back: Loose back pillows or cushions attached with a zipper or seam to the inside back of an upholstered item.
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Settee: A seating piece of narrow length with a full height back similar to a small sofa.
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Shabby chic style: A design that uses a slipcover in light neutrals or colors. Occasionally, used to describe light-colored patchwork fabrics on loose-fitting slipcovers.
Shaker style: A style of furniture and objects originated by the Christian sect of Shakers. Items were finely crafted of quality materials, simply styled for function and free of ornamentation.
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Shirred skirt: A skirt in which the fabric is gathered or ruffled.
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Side chair: A chair with no arms. Typically referring to a dining chair.
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Silhouette: The shape of a piece of furniture.
Silk: A natural fiber derived from the silk worm. Admirable characteristics: soft, smooth hand, lustrous, color-fast and somewhat abrasion resistant.
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Slipcover/slipcover look: An upholstery cover sewn complete or in parts and then pulled over the frame of a piece of furniture without fastening. Usually loose and drapery-like. Original slipcovers were designed to protect upholstered furniture during periods of storage or lack of use.
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Slipper chair: A fully upholstered chair without arms and usually skirted.
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Spiral welt: Decorative welt trim featuring one or multiple colors of yarn, arranged in a spiral pattern.
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Splat: The vertical back support(s) of a chair or bench.
Split leather: Leather that has been created by separating the layers of the animal hide. The layer under the top layer.
Spring and down: A seat cushion combining feathers and enclosed springs. A number of Norwalk products can be made with spring and down cushions.
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Square leg: A post supporting a piece of furniture with no change in dimension from top to bottom and equal dimensions on all sides.
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Stain: 1- To apply color to a surface. 2- The pigmented material applied to a surface to provide a semi-transparent color.
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Stretcher: The joinery between legs of a table or seating piece. Provides stability.
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Suspension: The components in an upholstered piece that provide the support and comfort for the seating and back areas. Coils, sinuous springs, webbing and foam are common components.
Swivel chair: A seating piece that allows for rotation or spinning in position.
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Tapered leg: A post of a piece of furniture with dimensions that are wider at the top than the base and typically reduce in a uniform rate.
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Tapestry: 1-A heavy textile usually depicting scenes or landscapes with high yarn pile and often multi-colored. Much of the coloration in the design comes from multi-colored warp yarns. See Warp. 2- An art piece crafted by the weaving of colored yarns.
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T-cushion: The back or seat cushions of an upholstered item that have square extensions on one corner.
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Tight back: An upholstered style in which the cover is pulled tight over the inside back frame and padding of the piece, then attached. Pillows or back cushions are not required for use.
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Tight seat: An upholstered style in which the cover is pulled tight over the seat frame and padding, and then attached. No seat cushion is required for use.
Toile: A lightweight textile that is usually printed with domestic or pastoral scenes in one or two colors.
Top grain leather: Leather created from hides that need some correcting of blemishes, scars or discoloration.
Traffic patterns: The direction in which people move through a room.
Transitional style: A generic label given to styles that combine elements of traditional and contemporary design.
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Trim: An embellishment added for decoration or functional purpose. Examples: fringe on a skirt or pillow, moldings on an armoire.
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Turned feet, legs, posts: Elements of a piece of furniture that have been processed through a lathe or otherwise shaped to create balls, buns, spirals, ropes or clubs, etc. The name is derived from a craftsman holding and turning a piece of wood against the lathe till the desired form is achieved.
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Tuxedo style: A style of upholstery with straight lines, higher back and arms. Usually, the arms are the same height as the back.
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Two-over-two: A reference to seat and back cushion configurations: two back cushions over two seat cushions. Three-over-three is also a common combination. A number of Norwalk styles can be ordered with two or three seat options.
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Ultra-soft: A cushion option created from a blend of fiber and feathers.
Upholstery: Products combining frame, suspension and cover to provide seating.
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Vegetable dye: Colors derived from the pigments of plants and botanical products.
Victorian style: Reference to characteristics of design during the latter half of the reign of Queen Victoria of England, 1837 to1901. Objects were massive in scale and heavily ornamented. Elaborate and delicate carvings and turnings were also popular.
Voile: A lightweight, simply woven textile that is semi-translucent.
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Warp: The yarns that run vertically with the roll of goods or parallel to the selvage. See Selvage.
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Waterfall skirt: A skirt style cascades over the seat and front of a piece.
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Webbing: A type of seating suspension that uses bands of interlaced flexible materials.
Weft/fill: The visible yarns in a textile that are woven through the less visible foundation of warp yarns. Weft yarns run perpendicular to selvage. See Selvage.
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Welting/piping: A cord of paper, fiber or plastic, wrapped in fabric or leather and used to trim upholstered items and/or to secure a seam. Almost all Norwalk upholstered pieces feature welting/piping.
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William & Mary style: A style of architecture and furnishings, sometime referred to as early Queen Anne, and made popular during the late 1600s. Dutch, Spanish, French and Oriental motifs were introduced into English design at this time.
Williamsburg style: Inspired by the 1632 colonial settlement of Williamsburg, Virginia. Many early American and primitive designs originated here. Many 18th century reproductions are modeled after items from this region and period.
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Wingback chair: A chair, usually fully upholstered, with wings rising up from the arm and joining the back at a 90-degree or wider angle. The original purpose for the wings were assumed to be to prevent drafts in old houses from reaching the upper body or to protect the delicate skin of gentrified ladies from the heat of a roaring fireplace.
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Zigzag: Refers to a method of stitching. A movement or shape of alternating stitching or threads usually indicated by sharp changes in direction.
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