Wood Furniture Terminology

There are so many choices available today in furniture for every room. When you're shopping for new furniture you may know what you're looking for, but you're not quite sure what it is called. Listed below are some of the most common forms of furniture.

Armoire is a the largest chest. It is also a tall wardrobe. Armoires have two or four doors and adjustable shelves.

Breakfront is a large cabinet with a protruding center section.

Chests come in different styles and sizes. The smallest is the lingerie chest, followed by the drawer chest with deep drawers. The largest chest is the door chest with drawers on the bottom, and doors on the top. The top has shelves and/or pull out trays.

Commode is a low chest of drawers with legs, sometimes with a bowed front, and one to three rows of drawers.

Credenza is another name for a sideboard or buffet. A serving table with storage below.

Dressers come in two different styles and sizes. Door dressers are larger and have two doors which conceal shelves or pull out trays. Drawer dressers are smaller and have three to five drawers.

Etagere is a stand with open shelves often used to display collectibles.

Highboy is a tall chest of drawers mounted on legs.

Hutch is a case piece that consists of two seperate parts. The top is comprised of open shelves and the bottom is a cabinet enclosed with two doors.

Imprinting is an inexpensive way of simulating the look of veneer by reproducing the grain of veneer photographically. The image is then applied to flat panels such as fiberboard. Much less expensive than veneer.

Lingerie Chest is the smallest chest and is comprised of several small drawers.

Occasional Tables are small, portable tables designed for a variety of uses.

Sideboard is a table for serving with a central drawer and storage in the form of shelves and compartments on either side.

Wardrobe is an armoire with a rod on which to hang clothing.

Wrap Groups are case pieces such as desks, chests and desks that are exactly the same height and depth, usually eighteen inches high and 30 inches deep. This allows them to be pushed together to form one long surface that can "wrap" around the entire room. The top surfaces are generally made of formica or laminate.

Youth Furniture is small scale bedroom furniture designed for children and teenagers.

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