Lamination - a method of gluing together sheets of wood with the grain in different directions to produce a material that is thinner and lighter than solid wood


Lawson - an overstuffed sofa that has square seat cushions, short backrests, and high arms


Lincoln rocker - an upholstered rocking chair with an exposed wooden frame, high back and padded armrest


Linen-press - a cupboard with shelves for storing linen and clothes


Loo table - a large Victorian card or games table


Loose pillow back - a pillow treatment which can be removed from an upholstered piece


Loper - a pullout arm used to support the hinged fall of a bureau


Love seat - smaller version of sofa typically made up of two seating cushions to accommodate two people


Lowboy - American term for a small dressing table



M



Marquetry - the use of veneer and other inlays to make decorative patterns in wood


Married - term referring to an item of furniture that has been made up from two or more associated pieces, usually from the same period


MDF - medium density fiberboard; made from compressed particles of wood and used in the construction of furniture


Modernism - style of the 1920s and 1930s, which rejected ornamentation in favor of geometric forms and smooth surfaces


Modular seating - upholstered seating units which can be joined and rearranged with other units to form different seating arrangements


Mortise-and-tenon joint - a carpentry joint formed by inserting a tab or tenon into a closely fitting slot or mortise. Dovetailing is one variation


Motion furniture - furniture containing a mechanism or mechanisms, such as reclining backs or extending footrests, which allow it to adjust to your body for increased comfort


Mule chest - chest with drawers in the base; forerunner of the chest-of-drawers


Muntons/Muntins/Muttons/Mutons - dividers over glass panels in windows and china cabinets



N


Neoclassic - Mid to late 18th century of architecture and decoration based on the ancient forms Greece and Rome.


Nest of tables - a set of occasional tables that slide one beneath the other when not in use


O


Ogee - descriptive of an edge or foot consisting of two curves, the top convex and the bottom concave, forming an S-curve


Ottoman - an upholstered footstool



P



Pad or club foot - a rounded foot that sits on a circular base; used in conjunction with cabriole legs on furniture


Parquetry - geometric marquetry made from veneers of various woods


Parsons leg - a long fully upholstered leg


Pedestal desk - a flat desk, usually with a leather top, that stands on two banks of drawers


Pedestal table - a table supported by a single central base


Pediment - equivalent in Classical architecture of a gable; a triangular head or topping


Pegged furniture - early joined furniture constructed by a system of slots and tenons, held together by dowels


Pembroke table - a small two-flap table that stands on four legs



Pencil-post bed - a bed with four slim posts; used alone or with a canopy


Pie-crust top - an ornately carved decorative edge of a dished-top tripod or tea-table


Pilaster - a false column used for decorative purposes


Platform base - three- or four-cornered flat table bases supporting a central pedestal and standing on scrolled or paw feet


Plywood - form of laminated wood with the grain of the alternate layers set at right angles


Post-modernism - a reaction against Modernism that began during the 1950s and promoted the reintroduction of bright colors and decorative components