Remember the game telephone? Someone thinks of a sentence, then whispers it to the next person, who whispers it to the next. The design process also passes through several stages, only in this game the players are the client, the designer and the carpenter, and if you are not careful, your vision can end up as discombobulated as that message you tried to pass in the game.
Communicating design does take time, no doubt about it. But it will save a lot more time by reducing the backlash that occurs when craftspeople don’t have a clear understanding of what it is they are supposed to build. Using technical language can greatly limit confusion, especially if supported visually with CADs or sketches. Here are some architecture and design terms that are useful to know:
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Arch
A curved structure capable of spanning a space and supporting weight.
Astragal
A molding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes (fillets), like a repetitive beaded detail
Baluster
A molded shaft that supports the handrail of a staircase
Balustrade
A railing composed of a series of balusters
Banquette
A built-in or free-standing bench
Bead
A molding detail appearing as a half spherical protrusions, resembling half a bead.
Bench-made
One artisan creates a piece of furniture from start to finish
Bevel
The sloping edge of a material that diminishes the apparent size of the surface, allowing for light to highlight and shade the material.
Beveled Edge
Slanted and polished edge detail.
Bracket
A decorative or structural upside-down L-shaped projection that supports and overhanging structure. See also: corbel
Cabinet
Free-standing or built-in furniture with shelves and drawers for display and storage
Cabinetry
Combination of built-in cabinets
Cable Molding
Molding carved to resemble a rope or cord. Also: Ropework or Rope Molding
Capital
The top of a column
Casework
Custom woodwork of all parts that constitute a finished product
Chair Rail
Any material in a horizontal trim installed on the wall in a room
Coffer
A decorative sunken panel in the ceiling
Column
A structural element that carries the weight of the structure above.
Corbel
A sturctural peice that supports weight above.
Crown Molding
A large family of moldings which are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge, usually between the wall and the ceiling.
Dentils
In classical architecture, one of a number of small, rectangular blocks resembling teeth and used as a decoration under the soffit of a cornice.
Dovetail
A joint formed by interlocking projections and notches shaped like a bird’s tail
Egg-and-Dart
An ornamental design consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart.
Finial
A decorative finish hardware used as a crowning ornament for furniture or architecture
Finish
Refers to the final material outcome or treatment on a surface.
Fluting
A groove or set of grooves forming a surface decoration.
Fret
A classic geometric ornamentation pattern that is repeated within the border
Gadrooning
Carved or curved molding used in architecture and interior design as a decorative motif, often consisting of flutes which are inverted and curved.
Gingerbread
Elaborate lathe-turned or carved wood structures, including brackets, posts, fretwork, pilasters, popular in Victorian design
Hardwoods
Botanical grouping of mostly broad-leafed, deciduous tree
Inlay
Ornamentation process where one material is set into the surface of another creating a pattern
Intrados
The interior curve of an arch.
Jamb
The vertical side pieces of any opening in a wall
Keystone
The stone at the apex of an arch. In architectural millwork, the design that mimics this stone.
Lacunaria
A paneled ceiling, so called from the sunken or hollow compartments composing it.
Latticework
An ornamental framework consisting of a criss-cross diagonal pattern.
Leaf-and-Dart
An ornamental design consisting of water plant leaves and arrows applied to the ogee.
Lintel
A horizontal piece of lumber or stone resting across columns or piers, or upon the jambs of a door or window, or spanning any other open space in a wall or in a columnar construction, and serving to support superincumbent weight.
Miter
An angle of 45°; or, in construction, the union of two pieces of molding at an angle of 45°
Molding
An architectural ornament projecting from the surface with varying contour.
Neck
The part of a column between the capital and the shaft
Niche
A recessed part of the wall with a half domed roof.
Ogee
A molding consisting of two members, the one concave, the other convex, or a round and a hollow, which create an S shape
Ovolo
An egg-shaped molding, a portion of a circle, ellipse or hyperbola
Panel
A compartment with raised margins, moulded or otherwise
Parque
Geometric wood patterns inlaid in flooring or furniture
Pilaster
A slightly projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall.
Quarter Round
A versatile molding profile that is 90 degrees of a whole circle
Rosette
Round, floral decorative element
Scallop
A curved shape repeated along the edge of an object.
Softwood
Mostly evergreen botanical grouping defined by needle-like leaves
Scotia
A concave molding, often used below eye level
Shaft
The part of a column extending from the capital to the base
Soffit
The ceiling on the underside of arches and other architectural elements.
Sunburst
A design commonly used in art nouveau architecture and patterns
Taper
The gradual reduction in size of an object
Transom
A window or element above a door but withing its vertical frame.
Undercut
In moldings, having a section which overhangs, giving a deep hollow or dark shadow beneath.
Veneer
A layer wood applied to the surface
Volute
A spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order.
Wainscot
The wooden lining of walls, generally in panels and along the lower portion only of their height.
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References*
- Interior Design Glossary of Terms
- Glossary of Architectural Terms, architecturaltrust.org
- Glossary of Architecture, Wikipedia
