Glossary · 19 terms
Furniture Glossary
The vocabulary that actually changes a buying decision, defined plainly. If a spec sheet uses it, it is explained here.
Sofas & Sectionals
- Kiln-Dried Hardwood
- Frame lumber dried in an oven to prevent warping and cracking.
- Performance Fabric
- Upholstery engineered to resist stains, fading, and abrasion.
- Eight-Way Hand-Tied
- A premium sofa suspension where each coil is hand-knotted in eight directions.
- Sinuous Springs
- S-shaped steel wire suspension — the modern sofa standard.
Patio & Outdoor
- HDPE Poly Lumber
- Recycled high-density polyethylene boards used in all-weather patio furniture.
- Powder Coating
- A baked-on finish that protects metal furniture from rust and chipping.
- Teak
- A dense, oily hardwood that survives outdoors for decades.
- Resin Wicker
- Synthetic woven strands (usually HDPE) over a metal frame — the outdoor wicker.
Recliners & Chairs
- High-Resiliency (HR) Foam
- Seat foam graded to spring back and survive years of daily use.
Beds & Foundations
- Platform Bed
- A frame whose slats or deck support the mattress directly — no box spring.
- Foundation
- A rigid, non-springy base layer that replaces the old box spring.
- Slat Spacing
- The gap between support slats — a warranty-critical mattress spec.
Lighting
- Lumens (vs Watts)
- The actual light output of a bulb or fixture; watts only measure power draw.
- CRI (Color Rendering Index)
- How accurately a light source shows colors, on a 0–100 scale.
- Color Temperature (Kelvin)
- The warmth of a light source — 2700K is warm; 5000K is clinical.
Small Space
- Apartment Sofa
- A sofa scaled around 68–80 inches wide to fit small rooms and tight stairs.
Materials & Care
- Engineered Wood
- Manufactured boards — plywood, MDF, particle board — used in most modern furniture.
- Rub Count (Martindale/Wyzenbeek)
- An abrasion-test score indicating how much wear a fabric survives.
- Top-Grain vs Bonded Leather
- Real hide layers versus shredded scraps glued to a backing.