A Glossary of Furniture and Upholstery Terms

Here at Corn Upholstery, we want to empower interior designers and professional furniture dreamers to create their perfect custom upholstered furniture. The key to starting any build is having the right building blocks. Every new custom furniture build starts as a plan. The building blocks to create that plan consist of components and dimensions to achieve a perfectly comfortable and beautiful piece of furniture. In this article, we’ll explain the many terms and upholstery techniques that we use here at Corn Upholstery to build our custom upholstered furniture pieces.

Booth and Banquette Breakdown

Recessed Base - The recessed base (also known as a plinth base or toe kick) is the foundation of the banquette. This structure serves to both give the banquette a solid footing, but to also make housekeeping easier by providing a barrier from objects and dust from accumulating underneath. The base is usually recessed to allow feet and heels to rest comfortably while seated. This recess can be shallow or deeper, but can only go so deep as to avoid the seating tipping forward.

Apron - The apron is a separation between the base or legs and the seat. It can either be a decorative feature or a functional structure that a removable seat sits upon or the legs tie into. In either case, it can be dressed up as either exposed wood or fully upholstered. They are not a required component to banquette seating as some banquettes feature tight seats that go all the way to the base.

Seat - The seat of the banquette is the area where guests sit upon. This can either be an upholstered seat with a cushioned support system within, or just a solid surface of exposed wood like a bench or pew. Most upholstered seat support systems consist of polyurethane foam over steel springs or just foam over a solid substrate (e.g., upholstered pads).

Inside Back - The inside back of the banquette offers a place for the seated individual to lean back against. The angle of the seat back in relation to the seat can help define the type of banquette each seat is. A 90-degree seat back does not provide much comfort while sitting. A general dining seat back pitch is around 98-degrees while a more lounging banquette can feature a seat back pitch in excess of 105-degrees. The inside back of dining seating is usually the most visible component of the seating as it is not blocked by a dining table. Since it is more visible, there tends to be more decoration added here including tufting, channeling, or patterned fabrics.

Upholstered Pad Components

Upholstered Pad - Upholstered pads can are used in many different furniture and interior design applications. On a banquette, they are great for providing thinner seat and back cushions. Some banquettes consist of mostly exposed wood frames where thinner seat and back cushions work better, custom upholstered pads are perfect for this application. Upholstered pads are also great for window or niche seat cushioning as well as wall pads.

Finished/Unfinished Ends - The finished end(s) are the side of a banquette that aren’t concealed by a wall or niche. Since this side of the banquette is visible, it is given the same craft and care as the rest of the banquette. It is fully padded and upholstered to extend comfort all the way to edge. Alternatively, there are unfinished ends. This is the end of a banquette that is up against a wall or niche. It is usually still upholstered to ensure there is no raw frame showing, but it is not padded so it fits flush against the wall.

Arms and Wings - Arms and wings both flank the sides of seating. Most notably on armchairs, banquette seating can also be customized to have wings or arms. Wings tend to extend from the top of the seat back and can flow with swooping curves or just extend the square shape of the seat back further along the side of the banquette. An arm extends from the seat back as well, but usually sits lower to offer a surface which to rest your own arm atop.

Head Roll - A head roll is a horizontal channel located at the top of the banquette seat back. This component adds dimension to the seat back. It creates contrasting lines to the seat back and is mostly just decorative.

Wood Cap - A wood cap is a decorative wooden accent that covers the top of the seat back. It “caps” off the top of the banquette and can be used as a contrast to the seat back upholstery or as a way to tie in the seating to other wooden millwork that surrounds the piece.

Outside Back - The outside back of the banquette is just that. This is the backside of the seating that is often concealed against a wall or other banquette/booth seating. When the outside back is concealed, it is rarely needed to have it finished with similar upholstery as the rest of the banquette. In this instance, we normally enclose the outside back with black cambric to close it off. If the outside back is visible, there are a handful of ways to finish it. The most common finishing is to just upholster it with the same fabric as the rest of the banquette, similar to how sofa backs are finished out. Another way to finish your custom banquette is to apply wood paneling. This premium finish gives a solid look to the seating as well as adds durability in commercial settings.

Upholstery Designs

Smoothly Upholstered - This upholstery style simply refers to the material being applied to the banquette seating with no tufting, channels, quilting, or other techniques that pull the material in a certain way. The upholstery is visually and tactilely smooth on the piece. This style is the most simple and straightforward application of the upholstery which also results in the most affordable application. If you are looking to “value engineer” your banquette project, consider adjusting your design to have simple, smooth upholstery rather than tufting or channels.

Vertical Channels - Channeling or Fluting is an upholstery tufting technique that pulls the material in evenly spaced sections or tubes creating channels between each padded section. These channeled sections can come in different widths to create a different visual interest.

Horizontal Channels - Horizontal channels are a very similar upholstery design as vertical channels. These channels flow horizontally and are usually located on the inside seat back of the banquette. Channeling is a great way to add visual interest to your seating design.

Diamond Tufted - This decorative technique pulls in the material with either sewn-in patterns or folding the fabric in a repeating diamond pattern using pulls at the intersecting lines usually covered by buttons. This classic design was initially used to keep furniture stuffing in its place, but now is used more as a luxurious design touch. Diamond tufting is a more skilled and involved technique resulting in higher cost of manufacturing.

Biscuit Tufted - Much like diamond tufting, this decorative upholstering technique creates a grid pattern using either sewn-in or folded intersections with buttons typically pulling in the intersecting lines. This design creates a grid of squares rather than a grid of diamonds.

Button Tufted - Button tufting uses buttons to pull in the upholstery just like diamond and biscuit tufting, but with this technique there are not sewn-in or folded grids connecting the buttons. We don’t recommend using button tufting within the banquette’s seat as the buttons can catch guest’s clothing and be easily damaged or pulled out.

Blind Tufted - This tufting technique features pulled in tufts using only thread with no buttons or other objects to pull the fabric in. True blind tufting is not recommended for commercial or hospitality applications as this technique can’t stand up to the high traffic in those settings.

Banquette Upholstery Options

Woven Fabrics - Woven fabrics consist of either natural or synthetic threads woven together to create a cloth material. This material can have patterns, printed designs, or an endless array of solid colors. This material is valued for being soft and warm for a comfortable sitting experience. Woven materials aren’t as durable as other materials and are best suited for residential applications as well as seat back material that doesn’t experience as much traffic. More delicate woven fabrics can increase their durability by adding a backer fabric.

Vinyl/Faux Leather - Vinyl fabric comes in many varieties. When trying to resemble a leather look, it can be known as faux leather or vegan leather. There are also vinyl materials made with woven textures and patterns. All of the fabrics are manmade from a vinyl/plastic top layer on a woven backer fabric. The benefits of vinyl include durability, easy to clean and maintain, huge variety of styles, and more affordable than leather.

Genuine Leather - Leather is a durable and luxurious upholstery material. Made from the hides of cows, sheep, goats, pigs, alligators, and even ostriches, this natural material has been used for centuries for upholstering furniture. Leather has been continually used for centuries for a reason; it is a beautiful material that ages well and stands up to high traffic. It does require regular maintenance and upkeep as this natural material can dry out over time. It is important to regularly condition the leather so it stays supple.

Velvet/Mohair - Velvet and Mohair are very similar fabrics. Both are tightly woven with thick, short piles to create that soft, “velvety” feel. Velvet can be made of different materials such as silk, nylon, or polyester. Silk is the most luxurious velvet, but it can also be very delicate and prone to bruising. Synthetic velvets offer more durability and easier maintenance. Mohair has a similar pile and feel but it is made specifically with the wool of the Angora Goat. Both offer a soft feel and an eye-catching sheen that stands out.

Furniture Legs and Base Designs

Great furniture design flows from the very top of the piece all the way to the floor. Many times the focus is more on upholstery design and fabrics than the legs or base the furniture sits upon. It’s important not to ignore this design element when specifying your custom furniture piece. Whether long or short legs, a solid base, or a combination of both, it’s great design work to build your seating from a strong, attractive foundation.

Various Leg Designs

Tapered Square Leg

Round Tapered Leg

Turned Wooden Leg

Upholstered Leg

Decorative Turned Wooden Leg

Dowel Leg

Seat support systems

Coil Springs - Whether hand-tied or connected together by the manufacturer with wire or cloth pockets, steel coil springs are a high-quality and reliable way to support a furniture seat. Steel coil springs can be arranged in different sizes, tensions, and spacings to create a comfortable ride for upholstered furniture. Coil spring seat support is the “Cadilac” of seat support systems. There is a minimum seat thickness coil springs can be used in, so they are not a great option for thin seat cushioning.

Sinuous Springs (“No Sag” or ”S-Springs”) - Sinuous springs are a high-value approach to supporting furniture seats. They are steel wires bent into a sinuous shape and installed with a bit of a crown to help keep the seat fabric lifted and taught. These springs are seen mostly in residential sofas, but can also be used in commercial seating to provide a springy support at a lower cost.

Foam on Solid Substrate - This seat support system relies on the bounce-back nature of polyurethane foam to provide the comfort for the furniture seat. All foam over time will lose some of its bounce, so it is recommended to used denser, high-resiliency foam to maintain the seat’s shape and comfort.

Webbing - Upholstery webbing is used as a seat support in dining chairs, antique pieces, or some lower-end furniture. It is usually made of semi-elastic natural or synthetic materials and is woven together to create a basket for the seat cushion to sit on. It can stretch and wear over time, so it is not the best choice for longevity in some applications.

Hand-tied springs

While we try to be comprehensive within this article, it’s nearly impossible to be complete with the amount of upholstery stylings available out there. We hope you’ve enjoyed expanding your custom furniture knowledge. If you have any further questions or are inspired to create your own custom booth or banquette seating, please don’t hesitate to reach out at our Contact page.