Furniture Terms and Descriptions

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Upholstery & Leather Terms

Faux Leather / Leatherette

Artificial leather is a material intended to substitute for real leather in upholstery, clothing, footwear, and other uses where a leather-like finish is desired but the actual material is cost-prohibitive or unsuitable. It is marketed under many names including "leatherette", "faux leather", "vegan leather", "PU leather", and "pleather".

Bicast Leather (Bycast Leather)

Bicast leather (also known as bycast leather, split leather, or PU leather) is a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed. Originally made for the shoe industry, it was later adopted by the furniture industry. The result is a product that is cheaper than top grain leather but has a more consistent texture and is easier to clean and maintain.

Bonded Leather / Leather Match

Bonded leather, also called leather match or reconstituted leather, is an artificial material composed of 80–100% leather fibers (often waste scraps from tanneries) bonded together with latex binders. It creates a look and feel similar to genuine leather at a fraction of the cost. Common products made with bonded leather include sofas, chairs, bibles, diaries, and bags.

Leather Gel / Leather Aire

Leather Gel is a composite of leather and a gel medium with a breathable quality that looks and feels more like real leather. New leather gel products blend raw leather material with a gel to produce a uniform leather-like covering that mimics the look and feel of high-end Italian leather, then fused to a high-performance breathable fabric backing.

Top Grain Leather

Full-grain or top-grain leather refers to the upper section of a hide. Full-grain leather has not been sanded or buffed to remove imperfections, allowing the best fiber strength and greater durability. It has natural breathability for greater comfort and will develop a natural patina over time. The finest leather furniture is made from full-grain leather, available in aniline and semi-aniline finishes.

Wood & Construction Terms

Solids and Veneers

When "solids and veneers" is used to describe furniture, it refers to the use of real solid woods combined with wood veneers over MDF or particle board. Most items have solid wood legs and trim moldings, while large flat surfaces use wood veneer over MDF to keep costs down and prevent warping or twisting caused by heat or moisture. Molded accents and details are typically applied polyresin material.

Wood Veneer

In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood (usually thinner than 3mm / 1/8 inch) that are glued onto core panels — typically wood, particle board, or MDF — to produce flat panels such as doors, tops, and cabinet panels. Plywood consists of three or more layers of veneer, each glued with its grain at right angles to adjacent layers for strength. Veneering is an ancient art dating back to the ancient Egyptians.

Wood Finish Terms

Wood finish refers to the coloring of the wood on an item, not the specific species of wood it is made from. Terms like "rustic", "distressed", or "weathered" describe the finish and infer a rough or distressed surface — typically on table tops and matching items in the same design group.

Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF)

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down softwood into wood fibers, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming panels under high temperature and pressure. It is denser than standard particle board and is widely used in furniture construction for flat panel surfaces due to its stability and resistance to warping.

Fabric Terms

Velvet and Velvet-Like Fabrics

Velvet fabric has a smooth surface with a highly dense and evenly cut pile (cut threads) that shimmers when exposed to light. The direction of the pile may change when touched, causing the reflection of light to vary at different angles — making velvet appear to change color in natural or bright light. This characteristic makes velvet one of the most luxurious and visually distinctive upholstery fabrics available.

Learn more: Why does velvet fabric look different from other fabrics when exposed to light?