ID-140 Review Notes

(Furniture, Architectural Detail, Windows, Doors and Stairs)

Furniture
Be able to identify the following generic names of furniture as identified in in the
Furniture Identification Table that is posted on my website. You do not need to
know the period – only the items listed below and underlined in red on the
handout.

Chippendale side chair, Queen Anne armchair, Windsor chair, Lawson lounge
chair, settee , slipper chair, Camel Back sofa, Tuxedo Sofa, Chesterfield sofa,
chaise lounge, wing chair, club chair, ladder-back chair, secretary, Chest on
Chest, French Commode, Highboy, Breakfront, Armoire, Hutch, Buffet, Nesting
tables, Tilt-top table, Gateleg table, Pembroke table, Butler’s tray table, Four-
poster bed, Canopy bed and Sleigh bed.

In addition, you should never refer to a sofa as a couch.

Architectural Detail

Wainscot: a wall treatment that dates back to the Middle Ages, this is the wood
paneling that was applied to the walls typically reaching the height of the doors
or higher. Today, it is often referred to as the portion below a chair rail, however
this is not the most appropriate definition.

Dado: The wall treatment below a chair rail is referred to as the dado. Typically
the chair rail is 30 – 36” high.

Pilaster: A decorative column used as an ornamental motif in which the column

is flattened against the wall or surface. The columns have the appropriate base,
shaft, fluting, and capital.

Beadboard: A popular 19-early 20th century wall paneling consisting of narrow

vertical strips separated by a small rounded vertical bead. It is popular today in
cottage and country style interiors because of its informal design.

Base: Molding used to finish the wall where it meets the flooring. Typically base is
a term used to describe a rubber or vinyl product and baseboard is used to
describe a wood type of base treatment.

Chair rail: This is the molding that is placed at chair height to protect the wall
finishes from being damaged from the backs of chairs. Typical height is 30 – 36”.

Crown: Decorative molding placed where the walls meet the ceiling to add a
finishing touch. They can be very ornate or very simple.
Window styles that you should be able to identify from a picture include:
(Palladian, awning, bay, Jalousie, casement, clerestory, sash, sidelights and
transom.)

Palladian Casement Awning Jalousie

Bay Sash Clerestory Transom

Functions of Windows:
1) Light emission
2) View
3) Ventilation
4) Visual communication
5) Fire escape

Types of Windows:
1) Operable
2) Fixed (only for light and views)

Factors to consider when placing windows

1) Fenestration
2) Heat and cold (orientation)
3) Views
4) Privacy
5) Furniture placement
6) Security
Be able to identify the parts of a window: (Sash, trim, sill, head jamb, side jamb,)

Materials:
Wood and plastic are typically the materials used in holding in a glass. Metal was
popular in the 70’s and is strong and it does not shrink or swell, but it can rust and
have condensation. Wood will shrink and swell and requires a protective finish to
prevent rot, but it does not encourage condensation. Plastic is what most people
use which provided excellent thermal qualities at affordable prices.

Doors:

See attached handout.

Stairs:

Know the parts of a stair on from slide show. (stringer, riser, nosing, baluster,
tread, newel post.)
 .......................... Selectio.n and Detailing Procedures

Sliding doors Special doors

Sliding doors are appropriate when space is Movable walls can be classified as special
tight. They have many disadvantages. They doors. They are used to divide very large
are nor good for frequent use, they are spaces. They are composed of individual
awkward to open and close, and they are solid sections of material that fit tightly
difficult to seal against sound and light. In together when closed. When open, the sec-
addition, they are not acceptable for exit tions come apart and slide into a storage
doors. area. Movable walls are suspended from
ceiling tracks and usually include provisions
Folding doors for sealing the wall against sound trans mis-
Folding doors are also good where space is sion.

limited. However, like sliding doors, they Other types of special doors can be used for
have disadvantages. They are not good for interior construction, but they are not as
normal passage and are best used for closets common as other types. Overhead coiling
and other minor spaces. Accordion folding doors, for example, are sometimes used for
doors can be used as space dividers but are securing large openings during off-hours.
limited in maximum sizeto about 20 ft (6 rn) They can also act as automatic-closing fire
high by 40 ft (12 m) wide. doors for large openings.

Figure 3.1
Door
classification
by operation

operation variations

swinging

hinged
--
pivoted
(offset & center hung)
balanced

aliding

pocket bi-pass surface

folding

bi-fold accordion

special

movable wall overhead coiling revolving

Doors/53
 ~~Ie.ction.and.Det~.iI.i~~.
Procedures .

Revolving doors are commonly used for shown in Figure 3.3. Many variations are
building entrances to prevent air infiltration possible within most of the type/material
and to accommodate many people. How- combinations.
ever, they are not acceptable as exit doors or
accessible doors. Smaller revolving doors are
Components of opening
available that provide seals against light for
assemblies
darkrooms.
There are four major components of a door
Door types and materials system: the door itself, the frame, the hard-
Doors are also classified by their type and the ware, and the partition in which the frame
material from which they are made. Com- and opening are placed. Each must be coor-
mon door types include flush, panel, lou- dinated with the others and must be appro-
vered, sash, glass, and Dutch. Common priate for the function of the door as well as
materials for doors include wood (and wood the design intent. This concept is especially
with plasticlaminate facing), steel (also called important when detailing and specifying
hollow metal), aluminum, glass, and other fire-rated opening assemblies. As with door
metals, such as brass, bronze, and stainless types and materials, there are many possible
steel. Combinations are also possible, such combinations and variations of these four
as ornamen tal sheet metal laminated to wood components, but some are never used. For
or steel doors. Not all door types are avail- example, a steel door is never placed in a
able or possible in all materials. The com- wood frame, but wood doors are commonly
mon type and material combinations are set in steel or aluminum frames.

Door handing The standard method of referring to the way a door swings is called the door hand or the
i~ handing of the door. Handing is used by designers, specifiers, and hardware suppliers to
l
-)i
communicate how a door swings and what kind of hardware must be supplied for a specific
opening. Some hardware will only work on a door that swings a particular way because of the
way the strike side of the door is beveled. Hardware that can work on any hand of door is
called reversible, or nonhanded.

The door hand is determined by standing on the outside of the door, as shown in Figure 3.2.
The exterior of a building is considered the outside, as is the hallway side of a room door, the
lobby side of a door opening into a room, or the room side of a closet door. In situations where
the distinction is not clear, such as between two offices, the outside is considered the side of
the door where the hinge is not visible.

When standing on the outside looking at the

door, if the door hinges on the left and
swings away, it is a left-hand door. Ifithinges
on the right and swings away, it is a right-
hand door. If the door swings toward you, it
is considered a left-hand reverse or a right-
left hand right hand left hand right hand hand reverse, depending on the hinge loca-
reverse reverse
tion. Sometimes a left-hand reverse door

outside
may be referred to as a right-hand door and
a right-hand reverse door as a left-hand
Figure 3.2 door, but it is better to use the correct
Door handing terminology.

54 1 Doors
1
 242 Chapter 9

series of tables. Such pieces must be custom designed Contract Considerations

and built for a particular set of dimensions-they cannot
be ordered from a catalog. Custom designs help establish
a distinctive look for an interior because they are one of a
Ergonomics
kind, created for a unique set of requirements. Unlike residential work, in which the designer often
knows the users and can cater to individual body sizes
and types, contract design entails the ergonomic chal-
Other Furniture Types lenge of selecting furniture for a continually changing
The vocabulary of furniture selection includes the names group of users whom the designer has never seen. In
of a wide variety of types. These are not styles, but sim- many interiors, a profile of the typical, or target, user can
ply different kinds of pieces with varying functions that be created from demographic information supplied by
are often available in a wide range of styles. Table 9.1 il- the client. For example, target users in a fine restaurant
lustrates many types of furniture. will be different from those in a sporting goods store or

Table 9.1 I Furniture Identification ~u~~~_~~~~] _

Side Chair Side Chair Side Chair

No Arms No Arms No Arms

Hitchcock, nineteenth century Sheraton, eighteenth century -X- .

Chippendale, eighteenth century

Open Armchair Open Armchair Open Armchair

With Arms Belter Designer Hoffman Designer

'*" Queen Anne, eighteenth century Rococo Revival, nineteenth century Prague chair, twentieth century
 Furniture Selection 243

Table 9.1 Furniture Identification (continued)

Fauteuil Fauteuil Fauteuil

French Open Arm French Open Arm French Open Arm

Regence, eighteenth century Rococo, eighteenth century Neoclassic, eighteenth century

Bergere

French Closed Arm

Bergere

French Closed Arm j

* Windsor Chair.
Bow Back

Rococo, eighteenth century Neoclassic, eighteenth century American, eighteenth/nineteenth centuries

Windsor Chair

Comb Back
Windsor Chair

Pierced Splat
*' Lawson Lounge Chair
Rolled Arm

American, eighteenth/nineteenth centuries English, eighteenth/nineteenth centuries Contemporary (continued)

 244 Chapter 9

Table 9.1 I Furniture Identification (continued)

Armless Chair Ottoman 4. Settee

Upholstered Footstool Deacon's Bench

Contemporary Contemporary American, eighteenth/nineteenth centuries

_sette~ Settee Sofa

Double Pierced Splat Bentwood ~camelBacL

Chippendale, eighteenth century Thonet, late nineteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

Sofa Sofa Sofa

Bow Back -* Tuxedo Lawson with Rolled Arms

Hepplewhite, eighteenth century Contemporary Contemporary

 Table 9.1 I Furniture Identification (continued)

Sofa Chaise Longue Chaise Longue

'*- Chesterfield with Tufted Back and Rolled Arms Reclining Sofa Pony Chaise

Contemporary American Empire, nineteenth century Le Corbusier, twentieth century

-fWing Chair Wing Chair

Also Called Chaise Lounge Upholstered Wings Upholstered Wings

Contemporary Queen Anne, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

Tub Chair -*' Club Chair ~ Ladder-Back

Rounded Back Oversized Upholstered Sausage-Shaped Turnings/Rush Seat

Contemporary Contemporary, Victorian reproduction American, eighteenth/nineteenth centuries

(continued)
2461 Chapter 9

Table 9.1 I Furniture Identification (continued)

Ladder-Back •.~ Ladder-Back Ladder-Back

Chaise a Capucine Pierced Slats Rocker

~ ~

. ,

;:;:;:=
"=- <, :;;:;
~~ I""
~ 1

Country French Chippendale, eighteenth century Shaker, nineteenth century

Ladder-Back Table Desk Knee-Hole Desk

Hill Chair French Bureau Plat Space for Knees

Mackintosh, twentieth century Neoclassical, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

Rolltop Desk Rolltop Desk Tall Case Clock

Tambour Top Rolls Shut French Bureau a Cylindre Also Called Grandfather Clock

"--=

American, early twentieth century Rococo, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century
 Furniture Selection 247

Table 9.1 Furniture Identification (continued)

."'* Secretary
Drop-Front Desk with Bookcase
*Chest
•
on Chest

Stacked Double Chest *- Chest of Drawers

French Commode

Chippendale, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century Rococo, eighteenth century

Chest of Drawers ~ Highboy Highboy

Block Front Chest on Raised Legs Also Called Tall Boy

Chippendale, eighteenth century Queen Anne, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

Front Breaks or Comes Forward

* Armoire

Closet: Also Called Wardrobe

"*
•.. Hutch
Open Cupboard

Chippendale, eighteenth century Country French American vernacular

(continued)
 2481 Chapter 9

Table 9.1 Furniture Identification (continued)

-"*' Tilt-Top Table ,

±BUffet ""* Nesting Tables
Serving Piece: Also Called Sideboard •Stack Underneath One Another Top Tilts, Also Called Tip-Top

Hepplewhite, eighteenth century Hepplewhite, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

Pedestal Table

Also Called Tripod

-*' Gateleg Table
Legs Swing Out on Drop Leaf
Butterfly Table

Small Drop Leaf

Shaker candlestand English/American vernacular Vernacular, seventeenth/eighteenth centuries

-.:it Pembroke Table Tea Table Flap-Top Table

Tea Table-Sized Drop Leaf Small Tall Table Top Opens for Games

'II

It ~
\'

Hepplewhite/Sheraton, eighteenth century Queen Anne, eighteenth century Duncan Phyfe, nineteenth century
 Furniture Selection 249

Table 9.1 I Furniture IdentificaHon (continued)

Console Table Console Table ~ Butler's Tray Table

Goes Against the Wall French Used as a Coffee Table

American Empire, nineteenth century Rococo, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century

-* Canopy Bed ~ Sleigh Bed

No Canopy Posters Topped with Canopy Headboard/Footboard Same Height

Chippendale, eighteenth century Chippendale, eighteenth century Country French

, pediatrician's office. While individual patrons and em- decorative, even outrageous furniture to evoke a memo-
ployees will change, their statistical similarities in age, rable impression during the short time the target user is
height and weight, physical condition, and special needs present.
will remain fairly constant. The designer's goal is to select
f II rnishings of the right height, shape, and feel to satisfy
t he user that the particular interior is intended to serve. Durability
In some interiors, the ergonomics of furniture selec-
While it may be obvious that furniture selected for con-
t ion are governed by the interests of the client rather than
tract use needs to be durable, it is worth considering spe-
those of the users. You may have noticed that the seat-
cific characteristics that can help furniture meet the test
i ng in fast-food restaurants, airports, and shopping malls
of hard wear over time:
is somewhat uncomfortable. This is not an accident; the
rnMlagers of these locales intend to discourage loitering. • Patterns, lightly textured surfaces, and medium-dark
Visually, too, the furniture in a contract interior may be colors camouflage dirt and scratches better than sol-
I('ss "comfortable" than that in a residential one, where ids, smooth surfaces, and light colors.
the same users will live with it day after day. Hotel lob- • Materials and finishes should be suitable for thorough
bics, restaurants, and retail stores may utilize elaborately cleaning with detergents or other solvents.