Antique Furniture and Reproductions Key Terms

Learning the names and design styles help you know what to look for in antique furniture
By Michelle Cramer Antique furniture is a great investment. Whether you're a collector, you enjoy finding antique masterpieces and reselling them, or simply want to decorate your office with beautiful pieces, you need to know what to look for so you are sure to get your money's worth. There are vast quantities of furniture styles, pieces and embellishments that have obscure names. This guide will help you understand a few of them.

Highboy

A highboy is a very tall chest of drawers that consists of two separate pieces that fit together. It often has a decorative broken pediment crown on top.
Try:  The Art and Antique Emporium describes the history of the highboy and what made it so popular back in the 18th century.

Chiffonier

A chiffonier is a practical piece of furniture used for extra storage. The original translation of the word means "rag catcher." It usually consists of one or two drawers or cabinets and a shelf.
Try:  The Antiques Bible further explains the origins and uses for the chiffonier.

Klismos chair

A small ancient Greek chair design, with legs that curve or splay -- usually in opposite directions -- a curved back rail and a concave, narrow back rest. While none of the original Greek chairs exist, there are still reproductions of this chair being made.
Try:  House Beautiful has a feature article and slide show devoted to this increasingly popular chair design.

Hoosier cabinet

Used predominately in the early 1900s, the Hoosier cabinet was a convenient kitchen work space. It is best known for its features, such as cabinets, drawers, pull-out work areas for extra counter space, storage bins, pan racks and even a bread drawer.
Try:  Visit Amish Peddler for more information on this classic piece of furniture.

Chaise

A chaise, also known as a chaise lounge or chaise longue (French for "long chair"), is a long chair made somewhat like a couch with a back and arm rest on only one side, typically for one person to recline in.
Try:  Visit Chaise Lounges for more information on this type of furniture.

Marquetry

Marquetry is a decorative furniture embellishment consisting of wood inlays in an intricate pattern, usually applied to a veneer surface and different in color than the original furniture piece.
Try:  Inlay provides a detailed explanation of marquetry. For more antique furniture key terms, visit Buffalo Architecture and History or Welton USA.