Posted on: December 8, 2010
Pocket Translator
Don’t know a jabot from a sabot? Get your style on with a quick review of – or introduction to – some essential décor vocab
By Angie Jaime
CTW Features
Ottoman: A footstool, which, Griffin says was originally inspired by the Turkish "hassock,” a stool for kneeling.
Ever have trouble explaining exactly what you want in a piece of furniture? Read on to find the right words so that you can hold your own the next time you’re face-to-face with retailer or designer.
Acanthus leaf: Any of several plants in the genus Acanthus, typically found on the Mediterranean. In furniture speak; these ornate leaves decorate everything from tables to cupboards.
Jabot [jab-oh]: French for the frill on the throat of a garment, a jabot is “the cascading piece of fabric that is folded in pleats or tapered, usually hung on either side of a swag or valance for decoration,” says Susan Fredman, Chicago-based interior designer.
Volute [vuh-loot]: Fredman describes this as “A spiral or twisted formation of an object. In furniture-speak, the scroll-like structure at the bottom of a staircase.”
Lambrequin: A short, fixed and firm covering attached to the exterior of a window with little “legs” that extend down either side, a lambrequin is fixed; while a jabot floats, explains Elaine Griffin, New York-based author and design expert at HomeGoods home furnishing stores.
Pier mirror: “A long, narrow mirror hung usually between two mirrors, or above a low console-type table,” Griffith says.
Sabot [sab-oh]: From the French for a shoe carved from a single block of wood traditionally worn by farmers. Fredman says that in furniture-speak, “sabot refers to the cuff at the bottom of a chair leg.”
Transitional: A mix of past and present, traditional and contemporary, “with the ‘antique’ sometimes tweaked for today – like Neo-Regency!” Griffin says.
Tufting: For Griffin, “What furniture with buttons is really called.”
Wingback chair: “A tall, upholstered chair with ‘wings’ extending along both sides,” Griffin says, that was originally meant to protect sitters from drafts and trap the heat from a nearby fireplace.