Glossary
Interior design terms, defined.
The vocabulary that appears in style descriptions and actually changes how a room reads. Sixteen terms, no jargon for its own sake.
Boucle
A looped-yarn upholstery fabric with a nubby texture. Dominant in Scandinavian and contemporary interiors because it reads soft in photographs without adding pattern.
Wabi-sabi
A Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection, age and asymmetry. The philosophical basis of japandi interiors.
Greige
A neutral between grey and beige. Popular because it stays warm under artificial light where pure grey turns cold.
Shiplap
Horizontal wooden boards fitted with a rabbet joint so they overlap. A defining surface of modern farmhouse interiors.
Terrazzo
A composite of stone or glass chips set in cement or resin, then polished. Reads as pattern and surface at once.
Japandi
A hybrid of Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian functionality: low furniture, natural materials, restrained palette.
Mid-century modern
A design movement roughly spanning 1945 to 1970, defined by organic curves, tapered legs and warm woods.
Negative space
Deliberately empty area in a room. In minimalist interiors it is a design element, not a gap waiting to be filled.
Colour temperature
How warm or cool a light source is, measured in kelvin. Lower values read orange, higher values read blue. The single largest factor in how a room photographs.
Vignette
A darkening toward the edges of an image. Used lightly in interior photography to draw the eye to the centre of a room.
Rattan
A climbing palm woven into furniture. Structural to boho and tropical interiors.
Occasional chair
A single chair that does not belong to a set, used to add colour or texture. Often the only patterned object in a minimal room.
Sightline
The view from a doorway or seating position through a space. Photographing along the longest sightline gives an AI redesign the most information to work with.
Fenestration
The arrangement of windows in a wall. Determines where daylight falls and therefore which styles suit a room.
Specular highlight
The bright reflection on a glossy surface. Luxury and art deco interiors depend on them; matte-heavy styles avoid them.
Colour drenching
Painting walls, trim and sometimes ceiling in a single colour. Makes small rooms read as deliberate rather than cramped.