Interior Design Glossary: T

T

Table Ambulante: A French term referring to a small, portable occasional table.
Table Lamp: A freestanding lamp designed to rest on surfaces such as an end table or nightstand.
Table Runner: A narrow decorative strip of fabric that runs along the center of a dining table.
Tabouret: A small seat or stool that can also serve as a stand.
Taffeta: A fine, plain-woven fabric that is smooth on both sides.
Tailored Upholstery: A furniture frame covered with fabric that is fitted and permanently attached.
Tallboy: A tall chest featuring a larger chest of drawers that supports a slightly smaller chest.
Tambour Desk: A roll-top desk with a flexible draw-down cover made of "tambours," consisting of a series of narrow strips of flat wood adhered to a stiff backing like canvas.
Tape Edge: The cord-like seam stitched around the perimeter of a mattress, joining its tops and sides.
Tapered Leg: A leg that gradually becomes smaller towards the bottom.
Tapestry: Traditionally a "heavy" woven fabric displaying decorative designs or images meant for wall hanging. Nowadays, the term typically refers to highly decorative fabrics with woven patterns.
Tavern Table: A small, sturdy rectangular table supported by four legs, often braced with stretchers and usually featuring one or two drawers in the apron. Commonly found in 18th-century taverns.
Tea Table: A small, portable table often used instead of a coffee table, typically with raised edges resembling a tray and side pullouts for candles.
Teapoy: A small freestanding furniture piece intended for holding tea.
Tee Cushion (or T-Cushion): A loose seat cushion with front edges extending laterally in front of the arm of an upholstered piece.
Teen Bedding: Bedding items like comforters and sheets designed with themes that are generally less elegant or expensive than adult bedding but not childish like children's bedding.
Tertiary Color: A color produced by mixing two secondary colors.
Tester: A wooden framework that supports draperies or a canopy at the top of a poster bed.
Therm Leg: Refers to a square or four-cornered tapered leg used on chairs or tables.
Three-Way Switch: A type of switch commonly found on lamps that provides three different levels or degrees of light.
Throw: A lightweight fabric item meant to be used as a light blanket or as a decorative accent, typically placed at the foot of a bed or draped over a sofa back. Throws usually measure approximately 64" x 72".
Throw Pillow: A small, decorative pillow usually found on couches or armchairs, available in various sizes and shapes.
Thrown Chair: A chair constructed from turned wooden pieces.
Thumbpiece: A flange attached to a hinged lid that raises the lid when pressed by the thumb.
Tieback: A decorative fabric, cord, or metal hook used to hold a drapery open.
Tight-Back Sofa: A sofa featuring a completely smooth back with no indentations.
Tight Seat: Upholstered furniture with fabric pulled directly over the springs, with a layer of padding in between, plus additional padding over the springs.
Tilt Top: A small occasional table with a hinged top that can stand vertically when not in use.
Toile (Toile De Jouy): A plain-woven cotton fabric printed with repeating patterns of country scenes, animals, people, or other motifs on a solid background of one color in another color.
Tongue & Groove (or Matching): Wood pieces that connect at the edge, featuring a groove on one piece and a corresponding tongue on the other for interlocking. Commonly used in furniture doors, for example.
Top Grain Leather: The uppermost layer of a hide, representing the highest quality part and the most desirable for leather upholstery.
Torchiere Lamp: A floor lamp designed to direct light upward from a reflective bowl or inverted cone shade.
Traditional: Furniture styled traditionally is available as both original antique pieces and quality reproductions, typically reflecting a particular period style such as Georgian, Tudor, Regency, or Louis XV.
Traffic Pattern: The flow or direction in which people move through a room.
Trail: Undulating bands featuring formal-looking leaf, berry, or floral patterns.
Transitional: A design style that blends influences from various style categories.
Traverse Drapery: Drapery that opens or closes across a window using a traverse rod from which it is hung.
Tree-Of-Life: Refers to a carved tree or vine design featuring fruit and often birds or animals among the foliage.
Trefoil: A three-leaved or three-cusped ornament typically enclosed within a circle.
Trespolo: Elegant three-legged tables usually designed to stand against a wall.
Trestle: A braced framework that serves as the entire support for a tabletop.
Trestle Table: A long, narrow table supported by two T-shaped uprights joined by a single stretcher for added stability.
Tri-fold Mirror (or Tri-View): A mirror that either sits on or hangs above a dresser, featuring a center mirror panel flanked by two side mirrored panels to create three reflections of the person looking into it.
Trim: Decorative elements like fringe on an accent pillow or moldings on a bookcase.
Tripod: A small table or stand with a round top supported by a three-legged pillar, originally designed for serving tea, favored by Adam and Chippendale.
Triptych: A large, three-part hinged mirror, panel, or screen.
Trivet: Traditionally a three-legged stand or small table that typically flanked a fireplace; the term now often refers to a wall decoration or accessory for placing hot dishes on a table.
Trompe l'oeil: A French term meaning "fool the eye." Trompe l'oeil usually refers to a two-dimensional painting designed to resemble a three-dimensional object or scene.
Trumpet Leg: A leg shaped like a trumpet, characterized by its flared profile.
Trundle Bed: A low bed designed to roll under another bed for storage when not in use.
Trunk: Typically a rectangular container or open chest with a hinged top for storing clothes or other personal items, often used for extended trips or as decorative pieces in entryways or as coffee tables.
Tuckaway Table: A hinged leaf gate-leg table with cross legs that fold into one another, allowing for compact storage.
Tudor-Elizabethan: This phase of the English Renaissance spanned from the 1500s to about 1603. Furniture shapes are typically straight and stiff (like Gothic) with elaborate carvings and decorations. All pieces in this style are large and often made of oak, featuring sturdy underbracing.
Tudor Rose: A decorative motif combining the white and red roses.
Tufting & Buttoning: A method for securing the filling of an upholstered furniture piece by pulling stitches through the material and anchoring them to the frame, usually finished with buttons that are typically upholstered.
Tulip: A decorative motif in the shape of a tulip, often carved or painted on American furniture, particularly Shaker designs.
Turning: The process of shaping table and chair legs, etc., through lathing.
Tuxedo: A sofa or chair design featuring a square frame, created by the arm and back rests being equal in height.
Tuxedo Arms: Arms found on upholstered pieces that are slightly flared and match the height of the back.
TV Armoire: An entertainment center designed to hold a TV, styled like an armoire.
TV Stand: A small, low cabinet for placing a TV on, often equipped with shelves or doors for additional storage.
Twill: A fabric with a diagonal ribbed texture, resulting in a strong weave.
Twin Bed: A bed intended for one person, also known as a single; twin mattresses measure 38"x75".
Twin Extra Long: A twin mattress measuring 38"x80".