Art Deco - Decorative style from the early 20th century characterized by geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of plastic and glass.

Ash - Hardwood. The characteristics of ash are pleasant contrasting color when stained, distinct straight grain with open pores, toughness, heavy weight, hardness, and good shock resistance. Ash is often used in constructing bentwood chairs.

Beech - Hardwood. The characteristics of beech are hardness, greater strength, good shock resistance, and conspicuous wood rays with tiny and virtually invisible wood pores. Beech is used for curved parts of furniture and in Scandinavian type furniture.

Birch - Hardwood. The characteristics of birch are hardness, weight, greater strength, beautiful natural finish, small wood pores, and good shock resistance. Birch is used for structural and exposed parts of furniture and veneers. It is also used as a substitute for mahogany and walnut.

Bleaching - A technique to lighten the overall color of a wood.

Burl - Decorative wood veneer made out of overgrown knots or outgrowth.

Casters - Wheels on the bottom of a chair allowing it to be mobile.

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.

Cedar - Cedar is knotty, highly aromatic, moderately hard, brittle, resistant to decay, light weight, holds paint, and (red cedar) repellent to moths. Cedar is used for unfinished and outdoor furniture. Red cedar is used for lining drawers and chests.

Chenille - Extremely soft and bunchy fabric.

Cherry - Hardwood. The characteristics of cherry are moderate hardness, greater strength, durability, good shock and wear resistance, rich color, and straight grain with small individual pores. Cherry is often used as a veneer and for Provincial and Early American Furniture.

Chippendale - Wooden furniture featuring fretwork created by Thomas Chippendale in the 18th century; this is characterized by flowing lines and often rococo ornamentation.

Colonial - Style generated by the colonial interaction between Europe and their colonies.

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.

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".

Damask - figured fabric, originally a single colour, where the figure and the ground are in contrasting weaves, generally warp-satin and weft-sateen. Tipical patterns were inspired in floral designs. Now it is used using more than one color and with different weaves techniques.

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.

Embossing - Decorative designs molded or carved on a piece of furniture.

Finger Joint - also called "box combing", this is a technique to join two specifically cut pieces. Each piece has fingers' matching the other one to perfectly fit into each other.

Fretwork - Ornamental and decorative three-dimensional wood accent.

Finishes - A quality finish involves three main steps: sanding, staining, and finishing. If any one of these steps is not done properly, the finish does not look as good as it should.

• Sanding - The manufacturer may do a good job of staining, finishing, and polishing, but if the beginning surface has any trace of roughness, not enough sanding, or sanding across the wood grain, the stain and finish will only emphasize all the bad points. Areas not sanded properly absorb more stain.
  To check for adequate sanding, look at the finish from different angles with the light reflecting onto the wood surface. Is the finish blotchy or cloudy in some areas or does it have dark lines running across the grain? If the wood surface is blotchy, cloudy, or has dark lines running across the grain, the wood surface may not have been sanded smooth before staining.

• Staining - A good stain can enhance the natural beauty of wood, add color and character to wood, make one wood type . look like another, and make different woods look similar. To evaluate the quality of staining, check the wood surface to see if the stain is evenly applied. There should be no dark spots where there is more stain in one area than another. One side of the furniture piece should not be darker than the other, and the ends should be the same tone as the other surfaces. Sometimes additional color is added to make the furniture look old. In some cases the wood surface is actually hit with a chain to make dents and nicks. This is called distressing.

• Finishing - Finishes range from high-gloss to low-gloss in varying qualities. A high-quality finish is satiny smooth and free of rough spots, dust specks, or bubbles. A good way to check the smoothness of a finish is to put a nylon over your hand and run it over the finish. If the nylon catches or snags, it has not been sanded or finished properly. Look for depth and richness in the finish, which comes from several light coats of finish with sanding between the coats. Inspect the finish in good light. The edges and ends of the wood piece should be coated with the top finish and free from finger marks. Make sure the filled cracks and holes are covered with the top finish. A high quality chair or bench should be finished on the back and on the underside, to reduce the chances of swelling or shrinking.
  Poorly finished wood may have any one or more of these characteristics in the finish: rough, very glossy, cloudy so you can not see the wood grain, splintered edges, scratches, dents, or dust specks. Look for dull spots, which indicate that some areas of the wood were either missed or not given enough coats. In addition, a poor finish will have “teardrops” around the edges and on the up-and-down surfaces of the wood. Teardrops are formed when excess finish drys on the edges and vertical surfaces of the wood.

Faux Suede - Translation as fake suede, usually microfiber, extremely soft and durable material.

Glaze - A finish process of applying a thin smooth shiny coating to highlight grain characteristics of wood and provide a protective finish.

Grain - The pattern of the fibers in wood that create the oval or curvy patterns found in wood furniture.

Hardwood - Durable wood from trees that replace their leaves every year. Furniture built from hardwood is extremely solid and will last for a long time. Normal wear and tear doesn't decrease the beauty of these pieces.

Inlay - Decorative technique that consists of implanting wood, metal, stones, leather, or other materials into a piece of furniture or veneer.

Jacquard - a fabric woven on a jacquard loom, where the pattering mechanism allows individual control on any interlacing of up to several hundreds warp threads. Patterns and design figures are usually called jacquard, given the complexity of the designs

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.

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 - Hardwood. Durable tropical wood with handsome grain in a reddish color. The characteristics of mahogany are even texture, medium hardness, greater strength, heavy weight, easy to carve, beautiful finish, and predominate grain pattern with open wood pores. Mahogany is used for veneers and carved wood pieces. It is also an inexpensive wood that can be stained to look like more expensive woods.

Maple - Hardwood. A hard, heavy, and light-colored natural grain wood. The characteristics of maple are heavy weight, hardness, greater strength, good shock resistance, and straight grain with tiny wood pores. Maple is often used in bench tops. The grain of maple is not very beautiful, unless it is bird’s eye maple.

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.

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.

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.

Oak wood - Hardwood. Durable wood of any of numerous deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Quercus, bearing acorns as fruit. The characteristics of oak are heavy weight, hardness, greater strength, durability, carvability, wearability, and striking grain pattern when stained. Oak is often used for paneling, veneers, and solid wood furniture.

Ottoman - A armless low upholstered seat that can also serve as 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 furniture.

Patina - A fine coating on any metal surface, the result of age and use.

Pecan - Hardwood. The characteristics of pecan are its greater weight, closed wood pores, contrasting grain color when stained, hardness, and strength. Pecan is used for furniture and wall paneling.

Pine - A soft, durable wood that is light in color with a straight, medium coarse grain; ideal for distressed and rustic, decorative finishes. Pine is soft, light weight, easy to work, less strength, and holds paint and varnishes well. Western pine is a little harder than the other varieties of pine. Pine is used for cabinets, unfinished furniture, outdoor furniture, and some high-quality furniture.

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-like layer that provides a durable, protective finish on wood surfaces.

Poplar - Hardwood. The characteristics of poplar are its closed wood pores, even staining, durability, and greater strength. Poplar is often used inside of upholstered and wood furniture.

Queen Anne - Very famous 18th century style characteristically known for simple designs and soft shapes.

Redwood - Redwood is light weight, moderately hard, stable, very strong, and resistant to decay, rot, and weather. Redwood is used for outdoor furniture and unfinished furniture.

Sheraton - Straight line style.

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.

Teak - Hardwood. Durable tropical hardwood. The characteristics of teak are heavy weight, expensive, greater strength, oiliness, and toughness. Teak is often used in paneling and furniture. Teak is often found in Oriental furniture.

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

Velvet - Soft fabric made of silk, rayon or nylon having a smooth, dense pile and plain underside. Cut warp-pie fabric, in which the cut fibrous ends of the yarns form the surface of the fabric. The pile may be left erect or it may be laid in one direction during finishing to gove a very high lustre. Generally very soft. Crushed Velvet, pile fabric where the pile is laid in different directions in finishing, giving the fabric varied lustre.

Velour - A heavy pile fabric with the pile in one direction. A napped-surface woven fabric or felt where the surface fibers are laid in one direction to give smooth appearance. Generally very soft

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. The characteristics of walnut are hardness, greater strength, great stability, expensive, heaviness, durability, carvability, and good shock resistance. Walnut is used for veneers, paneling, and solid furniture.

Wax - Finish to add protection and finish to enhance the natural appearance of wood.

Wengea - Walnut like color dark colored wood

Wool - One of the finest fabrics for making woven cloth.