Glossary

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
G Lamp	A spherical or globe-shaped bulb.
Gable	It is the triangular portion of the end wall of a sloped roof formed by continuing the end wall up within the roof. Thus , the gable has two slopes with ridge in between.
Gadroon Molding	A rounded molding carved in convex curves that is used along the edges of table tops and chairs.
Gainsborough Chair	A deep armchair with an upholstered seat and back, padded open arms, and carved decoration. Find a living room chair.
Galerie	A covered porch on the houses of French influence.
Gallery	An intermediate floor or platform projecting from a wall of an auditorium or a hall providing extra floor area , additional seating , accomodation etc.
Gallery Rail	A small slender railing, usually brass, that borders a sideboard or table.
Gambrel Roof	A roof line with a double pitch, flatter at the top and steeper at the bottom like a red barn.
Garage	A building or portion thereof used for shelter , storage or parking of a wheeled vehicle.
Garden Wall Bound	This type of bond is suitably adopted for one brick thick wall which may act as a garden wall or a boundary wall.
Gargoyle	A grotesque carved figure or head. Were originally used to carry rainwater from the gutters.
Garland	An architectural ornamentation representing foliage, flowers or fruits plaited and tied together with ribbons.
Garnetting	A production process in which short cotton fibers are combed into a specific orientation and formed into layers.
Garret	Same as attic.
Gate Valve	This type of valve is used to control flow of water or for completely stopping the flow of water in a pipe line.
Gateleg Table	A style of drop-leaf table with leaves that are supported by extra legs that swing out like gates. Developed during the Jacobean period and was popular in Colonial America. Find dining room furniture.
Gate-Leg Table	A style of drop-leaf table with leaves that are supported by extra legs that swing out like gates. Developed during the Jacobean period and popular in early America as well. Still used in many compact spaces.
Gauge	The measure of the diameter of wire used in furniture and mattress springs. The lower the gauge, the heavier/thicker the wire. Find a new mattress.
Gauged Brick Arches	Gaiged bricks are those which have been accurately prepared to a wedge shape for the arch construction.
Gazebo	A small, open garden house.
General Contractor	A builder who is licensed to construct or oversee construction of all building phases.
General Lighting	See ambient lighting.
Generic	A general type of man-made fiber that is significantly different from other fibers and thereby has been granted a name, such as nylon, by the Federal Trade Commission. Within each generic group are up to dozens of trademarks or trade names produced by various chemical companies.
Genuine	Wooden furniture construction with veneers of a particular wood, over hardwood plywood, on all the exposed parts of a piece.
Geodesic Dome System Construction	A building system enclosing spaces with curved, triangular steel truss work. The interior structure must be independent of the dome.
Geometric Design	A classification of decorative design based on geometric shapes circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles.
Geometric Panels	Decorative panels forming or consisting of regular lines, curves and angles.
Geometrical Stair	This is similar to the open-newel stair with the difference that the open well between the forward and the backward flight is curved.
Georgian	Elegant design of the 1700's, which is heavier and more ornate than Queen Anne. Georgian features include elaborately carved cabriole legs, ball and claw feet, pierced back splats and ornate carving.
Gesso	A painted or gilded bas-relief plaster decoration.
Giclee	French term meaning sprayed. A process by which an image is rendered digitally by spraying a fine stream of ink onto archival art paper or canvas. Similar to an airbrush technique.
Gilded Glass	Glass that has been encased in a layer of gold.
Gilding	A coating with a thin layer of gold or gold-like substance.
Gimp	An ornamental flat braid or round cord used as a trimming.
Ginger Jar	A bulbous oriental ceramic pot and lid, designed to hold ginger.
Gingerbread	Ornate scroll-sawn wood applied to gothic-revival homes.
Gingham	A fabric with a checked pattern that's created by weaving together two different colored yarns.
Girondole	Term refers to a round, convex mirror used as a wall ornament.
Girt	A heavy horizontal beam located above the posts in seventeenth-century framed homes. These beams often supported the floor joists.
Glare	Strong, steady, daylight or artificial light that can cause irritation, fatigue, and heat buildup.
Glare-Free	Lamps that have silvered lining.
Glass	A hard, brittle material of molten silica sand and soda or potash, lime, and possibly metal oxides. Clear, transparent, or colored; used for window glazing, mirrors, walls.
Glass Block	Semihollow blocks of translucent glass primarily for non-load-bearing walls.
Glass Curtains	A historic term for sheers shirred onto a curtain rod and placed next to the glass.
Glass Partitions	These are the partitions which are made either from the sheet glass or hollow glass blocks.
Glass Tile	Vitrified tiles of dense glass composition. imported from France.
Glass, Architectural Glazing	Glass used to fill window openings; term usually refers to nonresidential installations.
Glassblowing	The process of gathering molten glass onto the end of a blowpipe and forming it into a variety of shapes by blowing and manipulating it as the glass is rotated.
Glastonbury Chair	An X-framed Gothic seat with a sloping paneled back. Arms had a drooping curve in which a priest's vestments rested.
Glaze	Glassy melted coating on a clay surface. Glaze has a similar oxide composition to glass, but includes a binder.
Glazing	Glazing consists in securing glass , in prepared opening in iron , steel , masonry or wood work.
Glide	The mechanism on the bottom or sides of a drawer upon which it slides.
Globe Valve	This is the most commonly used type of valve for manually controlling or completely closing the flow of water in domestic water installation.
Gloss Enamel	Hard, oil-based paint that dries to a shine or gloss.
Glyph	Term refers to a short, vertical groove or channel. A common feature in Doric architecture.
Gobelin	A French tapestry and the name of the Parisian factory that produced it.
Goblet Pleat	A pinch-pleated drapery heading filled out with batting or stiff paper.
Going Of Step	The run of a step in a stair or the width of the tread between the direction of a stair.
Gold Electroplate	A process for creating gold-plated silverware.
Gold Leaf	Extremely thin sheets of gold used in gilding.
Golden Age	See ancient Greece.
Golden Mean	A pleasing line of division that is placed between one-half and one-third of the height or length of an object, such as tieback draperies or a chair rail.
Golden Section	A theory of pleasing proportions based On the sequence 2,3,5,8,13,2121, ad inf., where a portion or section of a line relates best to its neighbors in measurements of these or equivalent increments.
Goose Neck	This is 40 to 50 cm long flexible curved pipe made up of brass , copper or lead inserted between the ferrule and the service pipe.
Goose-Neck Arm	A chair with curved wooden arms resembling a goose's neck.
Gothic	Pieces from this period (late 1100's to early 1500's) were large with straight lines, and very heavy in weight and scale. Production often took place in monasteries and pieces were usually decorated with shapes of religious figures and detailed carving. The Gothic era introduced the Trestle table, stools, and cupboards. A famous piece of this era is the box chair. The box chair had paneled sides and back with a storage space under the seat. The dominant woods used in producing this style were primarily pine and oak.
Gothic (A.D. 1150-1550)	A period and style in western Europe characterized by pointed arches and steep roofs.
Gothic Arch	A pointed arch that is the principal form in Gothic architecture.
Gothic Revival	Style influenced by Gothic and medieval influences popular in the mid-1800s, this style is characterized by lines flowing up to a pointed arch or other architectural features.
Gouache	A opaque watercolor paint, or work so produced. Gouache is applied like watercolor, but reflects light due to its chalky finish.
Gradation	A type of rhythm wherein sizes of shapes graduate from large to small or small to large. Also seen in varying color values from dark to light or light to dark.
Grade	A classification of lumber based on its aesthetic appearance.
Grain	The direction of the fibers in wood. Flat grain wood is sawed perpendicular to the growth rings. Edge grain wood has been sawed parallel to the growth rings.
Grain (Stone)	The individual mineral pieces or crystals that make up a rock.
Grain (Wood)	The stratification of wood fibers in a piece of wood.
Grand Rapids Style	Style inspired by several furniture factories in Grand Rapid Michigan at the turn of the 20th Century, which is still popular today. Pieces of this design are inexpensive and usually made of oak. The most popular item of this style is the oak pedestal table stained in a light finish.
Grandfather Clock	A freestanding floor clock with a pendulum inside its tower casing. Grandfather clocks normally range from six to seven feet in height. Find a grandfather clock.
Granite	Is an igneous rock with visible grains.
Graphic Art	Artwork such as posters, fashion illustrations, and book illustrations created primarily for commercial purposes bur having aesthetic merit.
Graphic Artist	A designer who specializes in two-dimensional signage, graphics, type, and design motifs or logos.
Graphics	The visual signs in a retail space that direct customers to departments or to certain goods. Also, the term used for putting on paper the stages of space planning from bubble diagrams to the finished floor plans.
Grass Cloth	Woven grasses laminated to a paper backing and used as wall covering.
Grasscloth	A natural fiber wallpaper.
Gray Goods Or Greige	Woven fabrics in their natural fiber stare before bleaching and prefinishes. Pieces of bolt length may not be gray but a dingy off-white.
Grazing Or Graze	Light shining at a very steep angle that emphasizes the texture of the surfacc.
Grease Trap	These traps are especially designed for removing the grease content of waste water before discharging the same into the drain.
Great Hall	The large, multipurpose area in the English Medieval house.
Great Room	An open area in contemporary homes that combines the living room, family room, dining room, and perhaps the kitchen, office, and/or library.
Greek Revival	An architectural and decorative style that drew inspiration from ancient Greek designs. It is characterized by the use of pediments and columns.
Greek Revival (1820,60)	Architectural style that contained American Empire interiors.
Greek Style	Dating from the 9th Century B.C. with Egyptian roots. Characterized by use of bronze animal legs, gilding, encrusted jewels and stones. Used native woods such as olive, yew and cedar. Features include sweeping curves on legs and backs, and centers on couches, chairs, stools, tables, chests and boxes. Usually not highly decorated.
Greenhouse Effect	Phenomenon in which captured solar heat from long sun rays penetrates glass, and bounces off materials and furnishings, and becomes shorter, weaker, and unable to repenetrate the glass.
Greenhouse Window	Projecting glass box for growing plants.
Griffin	A chimerical beast employed in decoration during the early Georgian period.
Grillage Foundation	When heavy structural loads from columns , piers or stanchions are required to be transferred to a soil of low bearing capacity , grillage foundation is often found to be lighter and more economical.
Grille	A metal lattice work used on many 18th Century bookcases.
Grilles	Used to modify strong light or minimize an undesirable view while still providing some visual connection between the inside and outside.
Grommet	An eyelet in a piece of fabric reinforced with two pieces of affixed metal. Often found on contemporary curtain panels.
Grosgrain	A strong, close-woven corded fabric usually of silk or rayon.
Ground Floor	Means the storey of the building which has its floor surface nearest to the ground around the building.
Grounding Receiver	The third hole in an electric outlet required for fixtures and appliances that. consume a lot of power to be connected into the circuit and to prevent electric shock.
Groundmass	The main part of an igneous rock made up of finer grains in which the larger crystals are set.
Grout	Grout is a thin mortar that is used to fill in space between tiles, masonry, bricks and other stones and ceramics
Gueridon	A small rounded topped table or stand, elaborately carved, usually with three legs. Primarily used for holding candles or small articles.
Guilloche	An ornamentation formed by two or more intertwining bands or interlacing figure "8's" frequently enclosing rosettes or other details.
Guimpe	A round or flat braided trim used on upholstered furniture.
Gully Trap	Gully trap is a deep seal trap which is provided on the external face of the wall for disconnecting the waste water flowing from kitchen , bath , wash basin & floors from the main drainage system.
Gum Arabic	A sticky substance from gum trees that is soluble in water and hardens when exposed to air, used as a vehicle for watercolor.
Guniting	This is a method to prevent the defect of dampness in the structure. This consists in depositing an impervious layer of rich cement mortar over the surface to be water proofed.
Gusset	A narrow panel that's shaped or gathered to give a sense of fullness, such as the side panel of a box shaped cushion for example.
Gypsum Board	See wallboard.