Designer’s digest

 Common architectural and interior design terms

Arcade

A series of arches supported by columns or piers, either free standing or attached to a wall

Balustrade

A railing with supporting balusters (small closely spaced posts)

Capital

The top part of a column or pillar

Cupola

A small domed structure on top of a roof

Dentils 

Are decorations on the sides of a building. They look like teeth. They can also be found underneath mouldings.

Dormers

Are small windows set in a gable projecting from a roof.

Eaves 

Are the undersides of an overhanging roof

Fanlight

Is a semicircular window over a door like a fan

Festoons

Ornamental garland usually suspended from both ends

Finial

A sculptured ornament fixed to the top of a peak, arch, gable or similar structure

Gable  

Triangular shaped part of a wall at the end of a sloping roof

Lintels

Long pieces of wood or stone above a door or window

Quoins

Large stones used to make the sides of a house stronger

Mouldings

Shop moulding

A piece of horizontal sash, window trim or casing applied to the wall immediately below the window stool; the apron serves to conceal the joint made by the sash or window frame sill and the interior wall surface

Cased opening

An interior opening without a door but finished with jambs and casing

Casing

Moulded or surfaced four-sides (S4S) trim used around door and window openings; exterior casing is used to trim the exterior of windows and doors, and interior casing is used to trim the interior perimeters of windows and doors

Chair rail

Interior moulding applied on the wall about 1/3 of the way up from the floor, paralleling any base or crown moulding, and encircling the room; originally used to prevent chairs from damaging the walls, it’s now used more for decorative purposes.

Corner blocks

Square blocks used in place of mitering the side and head casings. These design elements are decorative embellishments to the sides of the head casing.

Crown molding

Moulding used to cover the intersection where the walls and the ceiling meet; usually applied wherever a large angle is to be covered; also called cornice moulding.

Wainscot

A lower-interior wall surface that contrasts with the wall surface above it and is generally 3 to 4 feet in height, often with a chair rail added to its top perimeter

Base board

A moulding applied around the perimeter of a room along a finished floor; also called baseboard, mop board or skirting

Palladian windows

Have a central window with a round headed archway and a narrower compartment on either side

Parts of a column

Abacus

The abacus is a square slab that sits on top of the column's capital and supports the architrave. The function of an abacus is to broaden the support provided by the column.

Architrave

The architrave is the lowest element of the entablature and rests on top columns.

Entablature

In classical architecture, the uppermost elements supported by columns are referred to as the entablature. Components of the entablature include: the architrave the frieze and the cornice.

Frieze

Sitting below the cornice and above the architrave, the frieze is the central element of the entablature. The frieze may be left plain or decorated in relief.

Cornice

Top, horizontal decorative element of the entablature

Modillion

Ornamental motif placed under the corona of a cornice

 Pediment

Triangular section above the entablature

Volute

Ornament sculpted in spirals 

Flute

Flute vertical groove along a column

Fillet

Flat surface within the flutes

Astragal

Molding that separates the capital of the column from the shaft.

Rosette

 A painted, carved, or sculptured ornament having a circular arrangement of parts radiating out from the center and suggesting the petals of a rose. Can be used in the ceiling as a fan ring or in furniture design.