Acrylic – a man-made fibre that is soft to the touch and has good colour retention.

Alpaca - a natural fibre made from the hair of the alpaca, a domesticated member of the llama family.

Angora - can refer to the fabrics made from either the hair of the angora goat or the fur of the angora rabbit.

Armoire - a tall, upright cupboard or wardrobe containing shelves rather than drawers.

Are Deco - a style movement that officially dates from the Paris exposition of 1925. It arose in reaction to the more elaborate art nouveau period that preceded it and introduced sleeker, more streamlined forms in architecture, furniture, ceramics and metalware. These strongly geometric designs were usually made with materials that exhibited inherent decorative qualities, such as timbers with exotic wood grains.

Art Nouveau - a style emanating from around 1875 that took the inspiration for its free-flowing, free-form designs from the natural world. In French the term literally means “new art”.

Arts and Crafts - a style that emerged in England in reaction to the heavy decoration of the Victorian era. It celebrated craftsmanship: forms were simple; ornamentation was sparse and functional; woodwork, including joints, was often exposed to view.

Baroque - a highly decorative style emerging in Rome in the 17th century. The style is characterized by elaborate ornamentation, including wild curves, twisted columns and oversized scrolls.

Bentwood - the term given to lengths of timer bent into curved shapes while wet to form furniture parts. Nineteenth-century designer Michael Thonet is commonly associated with bentwood furniture. His classic bentwood chair design is still reproduced today.

Boucle - a yarn made by looping one of the composite strands at intervals to form a curly, knotted yarn. Also used to describe the fabric made from such yarn.

Broadcloth - a plain-weave fabric usually made in cotton or cotton/polyester blends.

Broadloom - any carpet with a width of more than 1.8 metres.

Brocade - a heavy, jacquard-type fabric with an all-over raised pattern, usually floral.

Buffet - a sideboard fro the dining room, designed to hold platters and serving dishes.

Burlap - a plain-weave fabric, loosely woven and heavy in weight, commonly used as a carpet backing or sewn into sacks for grain or rice. It can be used for rustic upholstery or drapery.

Burn-out - a pattern created on fabric through the application of a chemical which literally burns the textile. It can be used to create detailed eyelet patterns (in which case the chemical burns right through the fabric) or more subtle raised patterns (in which case the chemical may act on only part of the pile of a fabric, such as velvet, leaving the base fabric unharmed).

Calico - a tightly woven cotton fabric.

Canvas - a strong, closely woven cotton fabric; it was originally made of unbleached hemp and used for sailcloth’s and as tent fabric.

Chaise lounge - literally a ‘long chair’ with an upholstered back and an extended seat designed for reclining. These days, it’s usually a single piece of furniture, but historically it comprised an armchair and a large, low, upholstered stool.

Chambray - a plain-weave fabric made by weaving a white yarn through a coloured warp. It can be made of natural or synthetic fibres, but is most commonly associated with a pale blue fabric made from cotton.

Chenille - a fabric with a long, velvety pile made with soft, fuzzy yarns. The name comes from the French word for ‘caterpillar’.

Chesterfield - an overstuffed, fully upholstered sofa with no exposed timber. Commonly, the back and arms of the piece from on a continuous curve.

Chiffon - a lightweight, extremely sheer fabric. It is usually made of silk fibres, but can also be made from man-made fibres, including rayon.

Chintz - a glazed cotton fabric, typically printed with a floral pattern.

Chippendale - a style of furniture developed in the 18th century in England and named after its designer, Thomas Chippendale. The style is characterised by delicate decoration and elegant proportion.

Colourfastness - a dyed fabric’s ability to resist fading due to washing or exposure to the sun.

Combed cotton - a cotton fabric with a silk-like finish.

Commode - initially referred to a specific piece of furniture, common in France, that is a chest of drawers set on legs. These days the term is often used to describe any low chest containing doors or drawers.

Console - a term originally used to describe the bracket used to support cornices or shelves. Later, it was applied to tables that were fixed to a wall along the back edge and supported with legs at the front. These days, the word describes all types of tables used along a wall (these are normally long and narrow).

Corduroy - a fabric with a cut-pile weave construction. Usually made of cotton, the fabric displays prominent ridges. The name comes from the French corded u roi, meaning ‘cord of the king’, because this hard-wearing fabric was originally worn by the servants of French royalty.

Credenza - a serving table with a cupboard below the table top.

Crepe - a term used to describe all kinds of fabrics – including wool, cotton, silk, rayon and synthetic textiles – that have a crinkly crimped or grained surface.

Crepe de chine - a fine, lightweight crepe made of silk.

Cut pile - any carpet made with cut rather than looped yarn.

Daybed - any type of elongated seat designed for resting rather than sleeping. Usually, it has a raised end (distinguishing it from a conventional bed). A chaise lounge is an example of a daybed.

Denier - a unit by which the weight of a fibre is measured: the lower the number, the finer the fibre; the higher the number, the heavier the fibre. Specifically, a denier is the equivalent to the weight in grams of 9,000 meters of fibre.

Denim - a cotton-like fabric with a twill weave and made with different coloured yarns in the warp and the weft. The twill construction means that one colour will predominate on the surface of the fabric.

Dobby - a type of fabric with a pattern of simple geometric motifs created in the weaving process.

Face - the ‘right’ side of the fabric, usually the side that displays the print.

Flame resistant - a term used to describe a fabric that burns very slowly.

Flame retardant - a chemical with the effect of significantly reducing the flammability (potential to burn) of a fabric to which it is applied.

Flannel - a soft, warm fabric made with either a twill or plain weave. The fabric is finished by brushing on both sides, an action that lifts the fibre ends out of the base fabric to create a soft, fuzzy surface. The name comes from the Welsh word gwlanen meaning wool.

Flannelette - a fabric made in the same manner as flannel, but of a lighter weight.

Flocking - a type of fuzzy, raised decoration created by applying an adhesive in a specific pattern, then dusting the sticky surface with a coating of finely chopped fibres.

Georgette - a sheer, lightweight, plain-weave fabric with a fine, wrinkled surface similar to crepe. It may also be called crepe georgette or georgette crepe.

Gingham - a checked or plain (tartan-style) fabric made of yarn-dyed, pure or blended, cotton. The name comes from the Malay term ging gang, meaning striped.

Hemp - a coarse, durable fibre made from the inner bark of the hem plant.

Herringbone - a type of twill weave in which the twill is reversed at regular intervals, producing a zigzag effect.

Houndstooth check - a variation on the twill weave construction in which a broken check effect is produced.

Inlay - a pattern formed by inserting a material such as timber, metal, tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl. The insert sits flush with the surface.

Interfacing - any of the material used to support, reinforce and give shape to fabrics in sewn products. Interfacings are usually placed between the lining and the outer fabric and can either be stitched in place or fused to the outer fabric by means of a hot iron.

Interlining - an insulation of padding material sewn either to the wrong side of the lining or the inner side of the outer fabric. It is used primarily to provide warmth.

Jute - a fabric derived from the stems of jute plants. Jute is commonly made into snacks and bags, but can also be used for flooring material.

Lawn - a light, fine cloth made using linen or cotton. The fabric is crease-resistant and is often associated with fine quality handkerchiefs.

Linen - a fabric woven from the fibres obtained from inside the woody stem of the flax plant. Linen is cool, highly absorbent, strong and lustrous, but wrinkles easy.

Looped pile - any carpet formed by looping unbroken strands of yarn; pile can be short and compact o long and shaggy.

Love seat - a small sofa or double chair, originally associated with Queen Anne’s reign (1665-1714).

Madras - a lightweight, plain-weave cotton fabric with a striped or checked pattern.

Matelasse - a luxurious, heavyweight fabric with a quilted surface, used in upholstery, bed covers and drapery.

Mercerised - the term given to fabrics woven with yarns that have been fluffed up to produce a rounded thread; the fabric has a distinct sheen.

Mohair - a yarn made from the hair fibres of the angora goat.

Muslin - a loosely woven, medium-weight, plain-weave cotton fabric.

Nap - the fuzzy surface created by fibre ends that rise from the basic fabric structure. Most noticeable in a fabric such as velvet.

Nylon - the first fabric ever to be made from completely synthetic fibres, developed in the 1930’s. Nylon is lightweight, strong, resilient and flexible.

Organdie - a stiffened sheer, fine, lightweight plain-weave fabric, commonly made of silk, rayon, nylon or polyester.

Ottoman - an upholstered bench seat with no arms or back.

Panne velvet - a type of lustrous, lightweight velvet in which the pile has been flattened in on direction. Commonly made of silk or a synthetic fibre.

Percale - any fabric, usually of cotton or polyester or a blend of the two, made with a very fine weave. Poly-cotton percale is one of the strongest fabrics available and is often used for bedlinen.

Pill - tiny, tangled balls of fibre that appear on a fabric surface due to constant wear of friction.

Pique - a woven cotton fabric with a raised waffle or diamond-shaped pattern, created during the weave. The fabric is commonly associated with polo shirts (first designed by French tennis champion Rene Lacoste in the 1920’s).

Polyester - a strong and resilient synthetic fibre introduced in the early 1950’s.

Poplin - a durable, plain-weave fabric usually made of silk, cotton, synthetic fibres or wool.

Rayon - manufactured fibre composed of regenerated cellulose derived from processed wood pulp.

Sailcloth - any heavy, plain-weave fabric, usually made of cotton.

Seersucker - a cotton fabric with permanent crinkled stripes. The stripes are produced by moderating tension control during weaving.

Selvage - the thin edge of a fabric, woven so as to prevent unraveling. It runs parallel to the warp.

Shag pile - any carpet where the pile measures 25mm to 50mm.

Sideboard - a piece of furniture for the storage and presentation of food, designed to be positioned against a dining-room wall. Commonly, it has a wide, central drawer with drawers or cupboards on either side.

Silk - fabric made from the fibre produced by the silkworm in the construction of its cocoon.

Sisal - a strong fibre derived from the leaves of the agave plant. Sisal can be used as twine or woven into floor coverings.

Sleigh bed - a style of bed developed in America in the early 19th century. The shape of the bed, with its high-standing headboard and slightly lower footboard, resembles that of a horse-drawn sleigh.

Slipper chair - a high-backed chair with unusually short legs, intended for use in the bedroom. It was developed in America in the 18th century.

Stainless steel - a blend of steel containing chromium, an addition which makes the steel resistant to rusting and tarnishing. The strength of the stainless steel increases with the proportion of nickel in the blend.

Thread count - a measure of the number of stitches per unit of area; the imperial measure is given as stitches per square inch, the metric measure as stitches per 10cm square. High-quality bed linen typically has a thread count of between 280 and 310 stitches per 10cm square.

Ticking - a tightly woven, very durable fabric, usually black and white, made of cotton and commonly associated with mattress and pillow coverings.

Tufted - any cut-pile or looped-pile carpet made by punching individual fibres into a base material.

Tweed - a heavy, twill-weave fabric with slubbed (unevenly textured) woolen yarns.

Twill weave - a basic weave that produces parallel diagonal ridges.

Velour - a soft fabric with a close, dense pile having a plush feel. It resembles velvet, but it has a lower-cut pile.

Velvet - a closely woven, cub-pile fabric with a rich, soft texture. Traditionally made of silk, velvet can also be made of cotton or synthetics.

Velveteen - a velvet made with cotton rather than silk fibres.

Veneer - a very thin sheet of timber of other material attached on top of an underlying layer for the purpose of decoration.

Victorian - a term used to describe a furniture style prominent during the mid-years of Queen Victoria’s reign, superficially the middle to the latter years of the 19th century. The style is characterized by lavish carving, exaggerated size and opulent upholstery.

Viscose - a soft fabric made of fibres derived from regenerated cellulose. It is a variety of rayon.

Warp - the yarns strung lengthways on the loom, also running lengthways in the finished fabric.

Weft - the yarns that are interwoven crossways to the warp.

Wing chair - an upholstered chair with ‘wings’ or sidepieces that project from both sides of the back.