Interior Design Vocabulary

Front 1

Acanthus

Back 1

a type of plant-deeply divided leaves

Front 2

all'antica

Back 2

based on antique models

Front 3

architrave

Back 3

the lowest part of classical entablature
top of door case

Front 4

atlantes

Back 4

plural form of a supporting male figure
-human form colonnades

Front 5

art deco

Back 5

a style of linear symmetry during 1920s-1930s

Front 6

art nouveau

Back 6

a style of asymmetric flowing curves during 1890-1910s

Front 7

balustrade

Back 7

a series of short pillars in a sequence for supporting a rail

Front 8

blind arcade

Back 8

a blank arcade w/o openings

Front 9

baroque style

Back 9

extravagant european architectural style 17/18th c.

Front 10

beaux-arts style

Back 10

elaborate late 19th/early 20th classical architectural style

Front 11

book matched

Back 11

a pattern created in wood or marble
-two side my side mirrored laminates

Front 12

buttery

Back 12

a room in a medieval house for storage of beer

Front 13

came

Back 13

lead strip holding stained glass

Front 14

caryatid

Back 14

supporting female figure

Front 15

cavetto

Back 15

a hollow moulding of a near 1/4 circle

Front 16

chair rail

Back 16

moulding places on the wall to keep chairs from marring wall

Front 17

clerestory

Back 17

a horizontal row of high-level windows

Front 18

chevron

Back 18

a zig zag pattern

Front 19

chinoiserie

Back 19

european style evocative of chinese art

Front 20

cyma

Back 20

an s-shaped curved moulding

Front 21

diaper work

Back 21

all over surface decoration composed of repeating diamond pattern

Front 22

diocletian window

Back 22

half round window in 3 sub sections

Front 23

drugette

Back 23

a sturdy fabric floor covering used to protect valuable surfaces

Front 24

engaged column

Back 24

a column, not freestanding but imbedded 3/5 into the surface behind it

Front 25

egg and dart

Back 25

a molding resembling eggs alternating with darts

Front 26

elevation

Back 26

any of the drawn vertical faces of a building exterior/interior

Front 27

enfilades

Back 27

a series of rooms with doors aligned

Front 28

fanlight

Back 28

semi circular window over the door

Front 29

federal style

Back 29

american neoclassical architecture 1776-1820

Front 30

fresco

Back 30

a painting with pigment applied to wet plaster

Front 31

georgian style

Back 31

english architectural style 1714-1780

Front 32

girandole

Back 32

ornamental candelabra often with crystals and/or reflecting mirror at back

Front 33

hammer beam

Back 33

a short roof timber cantilevered out to carry an upright

Front 34

inglenook

Back 34

a recess for a bench or seat built beside a fireplace

Front 35

historiated

Back 35

depicting a narrative

Front 36

joist

Back 36

horizontal supporting member running from beam to beam

Front 37

keystone

Back 37

the wedge shaped element found at the top of an arch

Front 38

linenfold

Back 38

tudor paneling ornament carved to mimic a vertical linen fold

Front 39

loggia

Back 39

a gallery with an open colonnade along one/plus sides

Front 40

lozenge

Back 40

a diamond shape

Front 41

louver

Back 41

a series of overlapping slats designed to block the view but not airflow - shutter

Front 42

palladian window

Back 42

window supporting an arched window with 2 straight sidelights