Glossary
Office Furniture + Related Services will help you make the smart choice when it comes to outfitting your office space. We have over 90,000 square feet of warehouse space full of used, new and remanufactured office furniture available for your perusal. We hope this glossary of furniture terms will aid in your understanding of the products and services we provide. Please do not hesitate to call or email us with any inquiries. We can be reached at 615-244-0117 or sales@ofrs.info.
Thank you for your interest!
Assemble Furniture: The process of building furniture from separate components by a professional office furniture installer.
Cantilever: A rigid structural member projecting from a vertical support, especially one in which the projection is great in relation to the depth, so that the upper part is in tension and the lower part in compression. Used in conjunction with systems furniture.
Case Goods: Pre-assembled units which are joined together on-site with metal plates and/or fasteners by an office furniture installer.
Caster: A small wheel on a swivel, attached under a piece of furniture to make it easily mobile.
Color Chip: A small sample piece of wood or paint.
Credenza: A piece of office furniture having a long flat top and usually file drawers or some other type of storage.
Defeat Mechanism: The mechanism that helps prevent the accidental tipping of a file cabinet.
Disassembly: Dismantling of existing systems furniture, modular workstations, wall paneling and workstations into its components.
Ergonomics: The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.
Executive Chair: A high-back, padded chair (sometimes with a headrest) designed for persons having administrative or supervisory authority in an organization.
External Move: Relocation that is not within the original location.
Flipper Door: Front door of an overhead storage unit common in systems furniture.
Furniture Installation: Planning, coordinating and building of all types of furniture including home and office furniture systems.
Furniture Installer: Furniture expert who is uniformed and has been certified and/or trained to install, assemble, disassemble, reconfigure, relocate or repair all types of furniture.
Ganging: Joining individual seating elements into one unit. This method is often used in waiting areas.
Glides: Small adjustable feet found at the bottom of panels, desks and workstations used for leveling.
Green: Environmentally sound or beneficial – such as reused furniture.
Grommet: A plastic covering on a cut-out that helps organize and contain wires and cords underneath a worksurface.
Guest Chair: Chair utilized by visitors during a meeting, conference, or in a reception area.
Hutch: Raised cabinet (enclosed or open) with shelves resting on a solid base such as a desk or credenza.
Internal Move: Relocation within an office or within a building.
Knee Tilt Mechanism: A control on a chair that allows it to recline up and down from a pivot point at the front part of the seat.
Knocked Down: Flat-packed office furniture requiring full assembly by an installer.
L-Unit: A desk with a connecting “return” either on the left or right. Placement of said return depends on positioning of entry door, among other factors.
Lateral File Cabinet: File cabinet designed for use where wall space is not a major obstacle but depth is an issue. They are much wider than vertical filing cabinets, allowing them to hold documents of great width as well as files ranging in width. Often less than a foot deep, may be up to 45” wide.
Legal Size: Sized for 8 1/2" x 14" documents.
Letter Size: Sized for 8 1/2" x 11" documents.
Low Voltage: An electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. Characterized by carrying a substantial risk of electric shock, but only a minor risk of electric arcs through air.
Lumbar: The lower section of your back.
Mesh: Term used to describe seating products that have backs and/or seat cushion support derived from a porous, posture-fitting material.
Modular Office Furniture: Office furniture units that can be rearranged or combined in different configurations.
P-Top: A rounded end top used to accommodate meeting space.
Panel Systems Furniture: Modular furniture consisting of various height panels dividing space and creating privacy in offices. Configured with worksurfaces, storage pieces, paper flow, etc.
Panels: Modular furniture sections used to define the limits of a workstation, to provide support for the worksurface, house electrical and data cables and enhance the aesthetics of the work space environment. Panels do not extend from floor to ceiling.
Pedestal (“PED”): Storage components which consist of drawers in various configurations under a worksurface area.
Pneumatic Lift: A lever located beneath the seat of a chair that utilizes a gas cylinder to quickly raise or lower the seat height.
Punch List: A list of deficiencies or unacceptable work compiled by the project manager during the final inspection of a project.
Reconfiguration: Dismantling existing office furniture into its parts and reassembling the components into new arrangements in order to meet changing personnel needs.
Relocation: An internal or external office move.
Sheen: The degree of luster or gloss in wood topcoat finish.
Solid Wood: Wood panel or edge piece having minimal 5mm thickness.
Stair Carry: Labor intensive commercial delivery, internal move or external move that involves carrying loads up or down stairs.
Suspension: The system that is used to support the drawer and facilitate its movement in and out of a pedestal.
Swatch: A fabric sample.
Swivel-Tilt: A control allowing chairs to rotate, swivel side-to-side and tilt back.
Systems Furniture: Broad term encompassing modular workstations which include panels (walls, partitions or dividers,) worksurfaces and storage. It is flexible in its set up and can be easily installed, reconfigured and/or relocated.
Task Chair: Chair used by an individual who performs task-intensive duties. Set on a 5-prong centered base, usually on casters.
Teardown: Dismantling of existing systems furniture, modular workstations and/or wall paneling into their respective parts.
Tilt/Tension Control: Regulates how easily a chair tilts depending on the user’s body weight.
Traditional Design: Aesthetic attributes of products reflecting Early American periods, styles and/or eras.
Transitional Design: A blended look of traditional and contemporary design.
U-Shape: Assembled desk, return and credenza storage that forms a U-Layout.
Veneer: A thin sheet of wood.
Vertical File Cabinet: More traditional than a lateral filing cabinet, with a number of drawers ranging from two to ten. Designed for a single file to fit vertically in the width. Can be quite deep, but take up very little wall space. Usually just over a foot wide, and may be anywhere from 12” to 30” deep.
Walk Through: When a project coordinator is invited on-site to gather detailed information on a client’s furniture installation or relocation needs.
Wall Mounting: Securing bookcases, shelving, etc. to office walls to provide a functional and safe workplace environment.
Waterfall Design: A softened, downward shape of a seat-front behind the back of the user's legs that prevents nerve pressure, thereby increasing circulation.
Workstation: A self-contained space where work is accomplished. Usually comprising of a worksurface, free-standing or attached modular wall panels and storage. Workstations can provide audio, visual, informational and territorial privacy to occupants.
Thank you for your interest!
Glossary of Office Furniture Terms
Assemble Furniture: The process of building furniture from separate components by a professional office furniture installer.
Cantilever: A rigid structural member projecting from a vertical support, especially one in which the projection is great in relation to the depth, so that the upper part is in tension and the lower part in compression. Used in conjunction with systems furniture.
Case Goods: Pre-assembled units which are joined together on-site with metal plates and/or fasteners by an office furniture installer.
Caster: A small wheel on a swivel, attached under a piece of furniture to make it easily mobile.
Color Chip: A small sample piece of wood or paint.
Credenza: A piece of office furniture having a long flat top and usually file drawers or some other type of storage.
Defeat Mechanism: The mechanism that helps prevent the accidental tipping of a file cabinet.
Disassembly: Dismantling of existing systems furniture, modular workstations, wall paneling and workstations into its components.
Ergonomics: The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.
Executive Chair: A high-back, padded chair (sometimes with a headrest) designed for persons having administrative or supervisory authority in an organization.
External Move: Relocation that is not within the original location.
Flipper Door: Front door of an overhead storage unit common in systems furniture.
Furniture Installation: Planning, coordinating and building of all types of furniture including home and office furniture systems.
Furniture Installer: Furniture expert who is uniformed and has been certified and/or trained to install, assemble, disassemble, reconfigure, relocate or repair all types of furniture.
Ganging: Joining individual seating elements into one unit. This method is often used in waiting areas.
Glides: Small adjustable feet found at the bottom of panels, desks and workstations used for leveling.
Green: Environmentally sound or beneficial – such as reused furniture.
Grommet: A plastic covering on a cut-out that helps organize and contain wires and cords underneath a worksurface.
Guest Chair: Chair utilized by visitors during a meeting, conference, or in a reception area.
Hutch: Raised cabinet (enclosed or open) with shelves resting on a solid base such as a desk or credenza.
Internal Move: Relocation within an office or within a building.
Knee Tilt Mechanism: A control on a chair that allows it to recline up and down from a pivot point at the front part of the seat.
Knocked Down: Flat-packed office furniture requiring full assembly by an installer.
L-Unit: A desk with a connecting “return” either on the left or right. Placement of said return depends on positioning of entry door, among other factors.
Lateral File Cabinet: File cabinet designed for use where wall space is not a major obstacle but depth is an issue. They are much wider than vertical filing cabinets, allowing them to hold documents of great width as well as files ranging in width. Often less than a foot deep, may be up to 45” wide.
Legal Size: Sized for 8 1/2" x 14" documents.
Letter Size: Sized for 8 1/2" x 11" documents.
Low Voltage: An electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. Characterized by carrying a substantial risk of electric shock, but only a minor risk of electric arcs through air.
Lumbar: The lower section of your back.
Mesh: Term used to describe seating products that have backs and/or seat cushion support derived from a porous, posture-fitting material.
Modular Office Furniture: Office furniture units that can be rearranged or combined in different configurations.
P-Top: A rounded end top used to accommodate meeting space.
Panel Systems Furniture: Modular furniture consisting of various height panels dividing space and creating privacy in offices. Configured with worksurfaces, storage pieces, paper flow, etc.
Panels: Modular furniture sections used to define the limits of a workstation, to provide support for the worksurface, house electrical and data cables and enhance the aesthetics of the work space environment. Panels do not extend from floor to ceiling.
Pedestal (“PED”): Storage components which consist of drawers in various configurations under a worksurface area.
Pneumatic Lift: A lever located beneath the seat of a chair that utilizes a gas cylinder to quickly raise or lower the seat height.
Punch List: A list of deficiencies or unacceptable work compiled by the project manager during the final inspection of a project.
Reconfiguration: Dismantling existing office furniture into its parts and reassembling the components into new arrangements in order to meet changing personnel needs.
Relocation: An internal or external office move.
Sheen: The degree of luster or gloss in wood topcoat finish.
Solid Wood: Wood panel or edge piece having minimal 5mm thickness.
Stair Carry: Labor intensive commercial delivery, internal move or external move that involves carrying loads up or down stairs.
Suspension: The system that is used to support the drawer and facilitate its movement in and out of a pedestal.
Swatch: A fabric sample.
Swivel-Tilt: A control allowing chairs to rotate, swivel side-to-side and tilt back.
Systems Furniture: Broad term encompassing modular workstations which include panels (walls, partitions or dividers,) worksurfaces and storage. It is flexible in its set up and can be easily installed, reconfigured and/or relocated.
Task Chair: Chair used by an individual who performs task-intensive duties. Set on a 5-prong centered base, usually on casters.
Teardown: Dismantling of existing systems furniture, modular workstations and/or wall paneling into their respective parts.
Tilt/Tension Control: Regulates how easily a chair tilts depending on the user’s body weight.
Traditional Design: Aesthetic attributes of products reflecting Early American periods, styles and/or eras.
Transitional Design: A blended look of traditional and contemporary design.
U-Shape: Assembled desk, return and credenza storage that forms a U-Layout.
Veneer: A thin sheet of wood.
Vertical File Cabinet: More traditional than a lateral filing cabinet, with a number of drawers ranging from two to ten. Designed for a single file to fit vertically in the width. Can be quite deep, but take up very little wall space. Usually just over a foot wide, and may be anywhere from 12” to 30” deep.
Walk Through: When a project coordinator is invited on-site to gather detailed information on a client’s furniture installation or relocation needs.
Wall Mounting: Securing bookcases, shelving, etc. to office walls to provide a functional and safe workplace environment.
Waterfall Design: A softened, downward shape of a seat-front behind the back of the user's legs that prevents nerve pressure, thereby increasing circulation.
Workstation: A self-contained space where work is accomplished. Usually comprising of a worksurface, free-standing or attached modular wall panels and storage. Workstations can provide audio, visual, informational and territorial privacy to occupants.