Home Design Glossary

Home Design Glossary

 

Armoire

A large cabinet for storing clothes, a bar, or a TV set.

Baseboard

A board that goes around the base of the wall, covering up the seam between the floor and the wall.

Bearing wall

A wall that holds up the weight of the building.

Bolster

A cushion placed on sofas and other furniture in the house.

Casing

Wooden material that surrounds a window or door.

Commode

A small cupboard found next to the bed, previously used for storing chamber pots; also, known as a nightstand.

Finial

A small decorative element attached to the end of a curtain rod; usually has the shape of a ball.

Fixture

Anything attached to the surface of the wall or the floor, such as a sink, bathtub, HVAC unit etc.

Girder truss

Rigid beam that supports other wooden beams holding the roof in place.

Hearth

Floor-level platform in front of the fireplace that catches the embers and sparks flying out of a fire.

HVAC

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning unit.

Incandescent lighting

Any form of lighting that uses small metal filaments encased in a vacuum and heated by the electric current.

Kiln-dried

Any wood dried in a kiln for the purposes of sealing its pores and preventing the moisture from seeping in and causing it to crack.

Knock-down

Any furniture sold in pieces, which the buyer must assemble on his own.

Lites

Small sections of glass within a larger window, forming a mosaic.

Lumbar pillow

Any small pillow designed to support the lower back, usually found on sofas.

Rebar

Steel rod that goes on the outer edges of a building and reinforces concrete parts of it.

Runner

Any long and narrow rug designed to go into hallways.

Sconce

Hard-wired wall-mounted light fixture.

Sisal

Material extracted from the leaves of the sisal plant, used mostly for rugs.

Sheathing

Outer layer of a roof section or a framed wall.

Slider door

Door that opens side-to-side instead of in and out.

Soffit

Filler element installed above the wall cabinets and below the ceiling in order to fill the gap.

Split Level

Any house which has different heights of floors and ceilings on the same floor.

Stringer

Support that carries the weight of the stair section and the traffic, normally built at an angle.

Stud

A member used to create walls, usually in the vertical framing form.

Termite Flashing

A metal sheet used to block termites gnawing their way into the wooden structure of the house.

Tint

Any decorative color that’s been mixed with white.

Transom window

Small window placed above the doorway.

Tufting

Stitching upholstery in such a way that it creates small folds of fabric known as “tufts”.

Wall Cabinet

Overhead cabinets, hung on the wall, usually above a cabinet installed on the floor.

Wardrobe

Tall cabinet, also known as armoire.

Window sill

Horizontal part of the window found on the outside of the house, projecting outwards.

Wing-back chair

Any armchair that, at head level, has projections on either side.

Xenon

A colorless noble gas, used in lighting equipment.

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