Aniline Dying: The process of coloring
leather using non-toxic aniline dyes. Aniline dye has no pigment, which
allows for the natural signatures of leather to shine through.
Antiquing: A method of aging the appearance of a hide that is usually done by hand for making a strong type of leather.
Apron - Rail around the table found under the tabletop.
Art Deco
- Decorative style from the early 20th century characterized by
geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of plastic and glass.
Bating: Process usually preformed at the same time as deliming, used to impart softness, stretch, and flexibility to the leather.
Beech - Lasting hardwood with light grain patterns. This wood is perfect for stained and painted finishes.
Beveled glass
- Glass are characterized by 1/4 inch-thick 'bevel' around the edges of
the glass sheet, creating a beautiful soft edge that catches the light.
Birch - Durable close-grained hardwood.
Bleaching - A technique to lighten the overall color of a wood.
Bombé - Shape style often used in Louis XV pieces. Bomb� table have bulging body on top that bends inward towards the bottom.
Breathability: How the leather adjusts to the temperature and wicks away moisture. A characteristic of full grain leather.
Buffet - A console table comprising drawers or shelves
Buffing:
The treatment of leather using sand paper to create appearances such as
nubuck, or to eliminate unsightly imperfections and correct the grain.
The effect is a more consistent, albeit synthetic, finish.
Burl - Decorative wood veneer made out of overgrown knots or outgrowth.
Cabriole - A leg shape of Queen Anne and
Chippendale tables that bends outward on top, and tapers as it goes
downward into an ornamental foot.
Cane - Straight wooden stick that is often used in occasional table designs with spilt rattan.
Casting - A process in which metal is melted to be molded in a specific shape.
Casual Style
- These tables are usually displayed in a comfortable, warm, relaxing,
homey part of the house. Overall, they have simple design, textured
elements, soft details, and restful horizontal lines.
Chenille - Extremely soft and bunchy fabric.
Chippendale
- Wooden furniture featuring fretwork created by Thomas Chippendale in
the 18th century; this is characterized by flowing lines and often
rococo ornamentation.
Chrome Tannage: A one
bath tanning process with leather using mostly chromium salts. It
creates softer and more pliable leather with a higher thermal
stability.
Coffee table - A coffee table is a
low table that sits in front of a sofa. Usually wide in shape, this
table is used to serve drinks. Magazines or books are often displayed
on top.
Cocktail Table - Cocktail and coffee
tables are often considered interchangeable. Cocktail tables are often
curvier and smaller in size than coffee tables.
Colonial - Style generated by the colonial interaction between Europe and their colonies.
Combination Tannage: Leathers tanned with chrome and vegetable tanning agents, resulting in both softness and body in the hides.
Console table
- Also called a 'sofa table', this is a long, thin and tall table often
located on the side of a sofa or against a wall. This table is used for
storage and display of decorative items.
Contemporary style
- This is not quite "traditional," not quite "casual." This style tends
to have straight, clean lines and edges, open curvature, and very
little carvings or decorative touches.
Corrected Grain:
When the surface of the hide is sanded or buffed to minimize flaws,
then pigmented and embossed with a new grain. A type of leather.
Country
- These tables are casual and unpretentious. They will combine
simplicity and traditional designs. Almost exclusively light and warm
colored woods, this can be thought of having "rustic class".
Crocking: The result of poorly dyed leather, in which color begins to rub off of the furniture.
Demilune
- Half-moon tables that are perfect to put against the wall. They
usually come with matching mirrors that are perfect for your living
room or hallway.
Dinette - French word for casual dining pieces.
Distressing - An aged wood finish created by scratches, dents and wear.
Dovetail - A decorative, durable joint formed by tight interlocking wedges.
Dowel - A type of joint where round wooden pegs are inserted into into wood parts for added strength.
Drop Leaf - A table top that has leaves that can raised or lowered down as needed.
Embossing - Decorative designs molded or carved on the occasional table
End tables
- Usually bought in pairs, they accent the style of the coffee table or
other furniture. Usually placed at the end of the sofa, it is a very
important piece of a living room set.
Enhanced Grain: The process of creating a uniform grain pattern by altering the natural texture of leather.
Finger Joint
- also called "box combing", this is a technique to join two
specifically cut pieces. Each piece has f'ingers' matching the other
one to perfectly fit into each other.
Fretwork - Ornamental and decorative three-dimensional wood accent.
Full Aniline: An aniline dyed and finished hide will have no color adjustment and all natural markings will be visible. A leather term.
Full Top Grain:
Premium leather that has been aniline-dyed but otherwise unaltered. The
natural markings that remain provide the unique appeal of leather.
Glaze - A finish process of a thin smooth shiny coating to highlight grain characteristics of wood.
Global/Exotic style
- This style is inspired by the materials and design of tropical or
far-away places. These pieces are typically non-western and
non-traditional in design.
Grain - The pattern of the fibers in wood that create the oval or curvy patterns found in wood furniture.
Hand: A term used in the leather industry to describe the softness or fullness of upholstery leather.
Hand-Antiqued: The application by hand of a darker color over a lighter color in order to create a unique aged effect.
Hardwood - Durable wood of trees that replace their leaves every year.
Hutch - A compnenet with doors or shelves that is placed on top of a base piece of furniture, such as a desk or buffet.
Inlay
- Decorative technique that consists of implanting wood, metal, stones,
leather, or other materials into a piece of furniture or veneer.
Kiln-dried Hardwood - Specially treated
hardwood to reduce the moisture found in the lumber, thereby ensuring
that the frame will not crack, split or warp.
Knot - Knot shapes are carved on wood to bring extra ornament and style, or can be a natural darker area in the grain of the wood.
Laminate - Thin layers of material formed together to create a solid piece to craft into furniture or tabletops.
Lamp table - Similar to an end table, lamp tables are small and short, and are often round. These are perfect for holding lamp.
Leather Match:
An alternative to 100% leather, combines top-grain leather seating with
skillfully matched vinyl on the sides and back of the furniture. A
leather alternative which combines top-grain leather seating with
skillfully matched vinyl on the sides and back of the furniture.
Louis XV and XVI
- Extremely refined designs inspired from French period of the 18th
century, typically utilizing rich fabrics and an abundance of carving
and gilding.
Mahogany - Durable tropical wood with handsome grain in a reddish color.
Machine-Antiqued: The application by machine of a darker color over a lighter color in order to create a dramatic and creative appeal.
Maple - A hard, heavy, and light-colored natural grain wood.
Marquet - Beautiful pattern displayed by inlays of a material (contrast wood, metal, or ivory) into the veneer of wood.
Matte - In contrast to shiny or glossy looks, matte finish displays rough and warm surfaces.
MDF - Medium density fiber board - a man-made material used as a durable alternative to wood.
Microfiber:
A very popular leather alternative consisting of ultra-fine
manufactured fibers that are easier to clean and maintain than genuine
leather or suede. It is finer than cotton and even silk, and offers
superior hand and softness.
Mission/Shaker style
- Design philosphy developed in early American furniture-making. A very
simple design featuring stripes of wood, mission and shaker furniture
and is built on concepts of order, utility and durability.
Modern Style
- Clean lines, art, industrial elements and bold color characterize
these tables. This style is known for its underlying simplicity of
line, shape, form, and attention to practical functions.
Molding
- Decorative shape protruding inward or outward from the surface of
tables. It results from the use of mold to shape intricate design.
Mortise and Tenon
- Simple joinery where the mortise is a cavity into a piece of wood
receiving a tenon to create a solid stable angle of a table.
Natural finish - This finish utilizes the original, light color of the wood as a finish.
Nesting tables - Usually a set of 3 tables that can be stored together under one another.
Novelty style - This style table concerns original pieces that make a statement or adhere to an overall theme.
Nubuck:
Top grain aniline leather that has had the upper layer removed via
buffing or sanding, to create a nap effect. Due to the lack of a
protective top layer, nubuck is prone to stains and requires more care
than other leathers.
Oak wood - Durable wood of any of numerous deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Quercus, bearing acorns as fruit.
Occasional table - Category gathering any small tables, but generally concerning coffee tables, end tables and sofa tables.
Ottoman - A armless low upholstered seat that can also serve as a table.
Overlay - Decorative layer on surface of a table.
Paint finish
- This implies the use of a decorative color to finish a table. Paints
can range from simple monochrome to very complex multi color paintings.
Parquet - Geometric wood patterns put together in a decorative veneer to accent a accent a furniture.
Patina -A fine coating on any metal surface, the result of age and use.
Pigment Finish: With leather it is the coloring of a hide with opaque pigments. Colored hides are more uniform and fade-resistant.
Pine
- A soft, durable wood that is light in color with a straight, medium
coarse grain; ideal for distressed and rustic, decorative finishes.
Plating:
With leather it is a smooth, glossy finish created by pressing
stainless steel plates into the hide with varying degrees of heat and
pressure.
Plywood - Layers of wood attached
to each other using a cross grain method. This type of material
provides flexibility combined with strength.
Polyurethane - A clear plastic overlay.
Protected Aniline: Aniline dyed leather which has been pigmented to ensure color consistency and stain resistance.
Pure Aniline:
Leather which receives its color from aniline dyes with no topical
applications, such that natural signatures of leather are visible.
Queen Anne - Very famous 18th century style characteristically known for simple designs and soft shapes.
Sauvage: A two-tone or marbled effect
that adds depth and character to the leather. It may be created through
tumbling, printing or painting the hide.
Sheraton - Straight line style.
Sideboard - A long Buffet table used to hold serving dishes or platters during a meal.
Sofa table
- A sofa table is very similar to a console table. It is designed to
stand against a sofa. They are perfect to display flowers, decorative
items and lamps.
Softwoods - Lower density wood than hardwoods. Usually used for more decorative purposes or economic alternatives.
Stain - Finish applied with a chemical that provide color and highlight wood grains.
Staining - The step in the finishing process that applies color to a piece of furniture, while allowing the grain to show through.
Tapered Leg - A leg that narrows down towards the bottom.
Tapestry - Decorative fabric that features pictures or intricate designs, often similar to large wall hangings made for castles.
Teak - Durable tropical hardwood
Tempered glass
- Made to last because it is stronger than regular glass. tempered
glass, when broken, is shattered into many small manageable fragments
as opposed to large shards.
Top Grain: In
leather it is when a hide is split into layers, the surface layer is
referred to as top grain. Top grain is the most durable part of a hide
split due to the strength of the fibers.
Traditional Style
- Based on historic design models, this style is characteristically
ornate, ordered and bold. Straight lines are often contrasted with
curved details, brass, iron, and hand painted wood.
Varnish - A finish that is meant to protect the wood and provide some darker finish
Vegetable Tanning:
The use of vegetable tannins to convert rawhide into leather. Provides
more firmness and a greater body to the leather as opposed to chromium
tanning.
Vegetable Tannins: Tannins that are extracted from the wood, bark, and leaves of trees and are used during the Vegetable Tanning process.
Velvet - Soft fabric made of silk, rayon or nylon having a smooth, dense pile and plain underside.
Veneer
- Thin leaf of wood applied onto panel or frame of solid wood. It
displays richly grained effects inexpensively. Common veneers are
rosewood, maple and mahogany.
Victorian - Traditional style of furniture that is also referred to as: Gothic, Victorian Rococo, or Victorian Renaissance.
Walnut - European hardwood with dark brown color.
Wax - Finish to add protection and finish to enhance the natural appearance of wood
Welding - The type of joinery for metal by using heat and flux.
Wengea - Walnut like color dark colored wood
Wet blue: The light blue color that a hide turns as a result of the chrome salts used during the chromium tanning process.
Wool - One of the finest fabrics for making woven clothe.
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