Interior Design Glossary: H

H

Hadley Chest: A colonial chest with a drawer, traditionally used as a hope or dowry chest.

Haitian Cotton: A textured woven fabric with a loose, rolled cotton weft.

Hall Tree: Furniture for entryways or hallways, often featuring hooks for coats and hats, a mirror, and sometimes a table surface or storage bench.

Halogen: Lighting that emits true colors, unlike fluorescent lights that tend to cast a yellowish hue. Halogen light remains neutral.

Hand: Refers to the feel or texture of cloth or leather.

Hand Distressing: A technique that creates an aged look on furniture by intentionally marring its surface.

Hand Tied: Coil springs attached to webbing with links and then tied by hand to each other and the frame for varying elasticity. Two, four, and eight-way hand ties are common.

Handkerchief Table: A small, triangular table with a leaf. When closed, it fits in a corner; when opened, it becomes a small square table.

Hardwood: Wood from trees like oak, beech, maple, mahogany, and walnut.

Hardwood Frames: Upholstered furniture frames made from hardwoods, typically kiln-dried to resist splitting.

Harvest Table: A narrow rectangular table with hinged drop leaves, providing space-saving design and a larger surface area when the leaves are up.

Hassock: An upholstered footstool, often large enough to serve as a seat, similar to an ottoman.

Headboard: The upright structure at the head of the bed, rising above the mattress.

Heading: The stiffened, hemmed top portion of curtains or drapery.

Heat Transfer Printing: A method of printing designs on fabric by transferring them from pre-printed paper.

Helical Wire: Thin wire spirals that connect adjacent rows of mattress coils, often running horizontally or vertically, except in individually pocketed coil mattresses.

Hepplewhite: A neoclassical furniture style from the late 1700s to early 1800s, known for its tapered legs and classical ornamentation like urns and shields.

High Relief: Refers to deep carving on the surface of any material.

High Resiliency Foam: Durable foam with a unique cell structure, offering long-lasting support and shape retention.

Highboy: A tall chest of drawers developed in the 1700s, typically with a decorative top and drawers in both the base and upper section.

Highlighting: A finishing technique used to accentuate the natural grain of wood by removing color.

Hinged King: A king-size mattress with a divided border rod, allowing for slight bending without damage.

Hitchcock Chair: A black-painted chair with gold stenciling of fruit and flowers, designed by Lambert Hitchcock in the 1800s and influenced by Sheraton designs.

Hitchcock Style: The style of furniture designed by Lambert Hitchcock in the early to mid-1800s, known for chairs but also including stools, settees, and other items.

Hock Leg: A cabriole leg with a broken curve on the inner side of the knee.

Hood: A shaped top on cabinets that overhangs the vertical sides.

Hoop Back Chair: A Hepplewhite or Queen Anne chair with a top rail that curves into its arms.

Hope Chest: A hinged-top chest traditionally used to store household goods in preparation for marriage, also known as a dowry chest.

Hue: Refers to a specific color, such as red, yellow, or blue.

Huntboard: A light, portable table used for serving food and drinks after a hunt, often moved outdoors.

Hutch: An enclosed cupboard with shelves, typically resting on a solid base like a buffet or desk.