Early American furniture is rudimentary, utilitarian furniture made from local woods. It was brought from or modeled after European furniture styles, particularly from England, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Spain.

 

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Appearance

Simple – Straight lines, simple design, and little ornamentation.(Contemporary style shown)

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Chair Arms

	Simple Turning or Flat – Arms are straight with a simple turning or are flat.
	Straight – Arms are straight and perpendicular to the chair.

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Chair Back Material

Wood – Solid wood, horizontal slats, vertical slats, or vertical splats.

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Chair Back Shape

	Banister – Three to six vertical turned slats in the shape of a baluster, flat on the front and round on the back.
	Ladderback or Slatback – Equally spaced horizontal flat slats, either straight or curved.
	Solid – One piece or solid panel chair back.
	Spindle – Simple turned vertical slats.
	Stile and Panel – Wood or cane back panel framed between two straight or turned stiles.
	Turned – Vertical turnings: the Carver design has a single row of turnings and the Brewster design has a double row of turnings.

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Chair Leg

	Round – Round, usually shaped or turned leg.
	Straight – Straight leg, vertical to chair seat.
	Simple Turning – Turned leg with a few types of turnings.
	Square – Flat surfaced leg on all sides.

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Chair Seat Material

	Rush – Woven rush.
	Wood – Various types of wood.

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Chair Seat Shape

Square – Square shaped seat.

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Drawer Pull

	Carved Wood (Simple) – Simple carved handle made of wood.
	Tear Drop – Tear-drop shaped pull attached by a knob to a back plate. The back plate is usually circular, oval, or diamond shaped.
	Turned Wooden Knob – Elongated, turned wooden knob, often 3 inches long and 1.25 inches in diameter.
	Wooden Mushroom-Shaped Knob – Mushroom-shaped wooden knob, often 1 inch high and 1.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter.

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Fabric

	Cretonne – Medium to heavyweight, unglazed printed fabric, often made of cotton or linen in large floral patterns.
	Leather – Material made from the tanning of animal hides.
	Linen – Fabric made from the fiber of the flax plant.

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Finish

	Oil Varnish – Clear finish that emphasized the grain of the wood.
	Paint – Opaque, pigmented finish that obscures the grain of the wood.
	Wax – Paste finish over a sealer, stain, or bare wood.

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Foot

	Block – Flat-surfaced foot.
	Bracket – Angular curved foot, usually used with case furniture.
	Bun – Rounded foot, flatter than a ball foot.
	Continuation of leg – Leg does not terminate into a foot.

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Hardware Material

	Iron – Grayish-brown metal with a dull finish.
	Leather – Animal hide, used in strips as pulls.
	Wood – Various types of wood, carved or turned.

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Joint

Mortise and tenon – Wood joint in which a projecting tenon of one board is fitted into a mortise or hole of another board.

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Line

Straight – Straight lines.

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Motif

	Circle – A spherical shape.
	Diamond – A figure with four equal sides and two obtuse angles.
	Pine Tree – Evergreen tree.
	Rose – Rose or similar flower.
	Scroll – Form that resembles a roll of parchment paper.
	Sunflower – Daisy-like flower.
	Tulip – Cup-shaped flower.

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Ornamentation

	Carving – Cutting or chipping the surface of wood to create a shape or design.
	Finial – Decorative turning affixed to the tops of case furniture, and chair and bed posts.
	Paneling – Raised, recessed, and framed panels.
	Spindle – Turned pieces, split vertically often affixed to the front of case furniture.

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Proportion

Heavy – Sturdy, thick dimensions.(Chippendale style shown)

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Underbracing

Heavy – Sturdy stretchers.(Jacobean style shown)

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Wood

	Ash – Whitish-gray American hardwood with similar graining to oak.
	Birch – Red-brown American hardwood with a close grain.
	Cherry – Red-brown American hardwood.
	Elm – Red-brown American hardwood.
	Fruitwood – Pink-brown American hardwood, including apple and pear.
	Hickory – Red-brown American hardwood.
	Maple – Golden to Red-brown American hardwood with a wide range of figures.
	Oak – Gray-brown American hardwood.
	Pine – Yellow to pink-brown American softwood.
	Sycamore – Creamy-white European hardwood, treated to turn a silvery-gray or pink-brown color.