Architecture, Landscaping, etc.
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
Alcove: a recess, typically in the wall of a room or garden.
Andiron: a metal support, typically one of a pair, that holds wood burning in a fireplace.
1 Architrave: 1. (in classical architecture) a main beam resting across the tops of columns, specifically the lower third entablature. 2. The molded frame around a doorway or window.
Balustrade: a railing supported by balusters, esp. an ornamental parapet on a balcony, bridge, or terrace. (Durant, Oriental)
Caryatide: a stone carving of a draped female figure, used as a pillar to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.
Cella: the inner area of an ancient temple, esp. one housing the hidden cult image in a Greek or Roman temple.
Chalet: a wooden house or cottage with overhanging eaves, typically found in the Swiss Alps. Dim. Of O.Fr. “chasel”—farmstead; based on L. casa ‘hut, cottage.’
Chancel: the part of a church near the altar, reserved for the clergy and choir, and typically separated from the nave by steps or a screen.
Cornice: 1. An ornamental molding around the wall of a room just below the ceiling. 2. A horizontal molded projection crowning a building or structure, esp. the uppermost member of the entablature of an order, surmounting the frieze.
Entablature: a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Escutcheon: a flat piece of metal for protection and often ornamentation, around a keyhole, door handle, or lightswitch.
Frieze: 1. A broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, esp. on the wall near the ceiling. 2. The part of an entablature between the architrave and cornice.
Gable: the part of the wall that encloses the end of a pitched roof. (Proust)
Lintel: a horizontal support of timber, stone, concrete, or steel across the top of a door or window.
Oubliette: a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling. From the Fr. oublier to forget.
Parterre: 1. A level space in a garden or yard occupied by an ornamental arrangement of flower beds. 2. The part of the ground floor of an auditorium in the rear and sides, esp. the part beneath the balcony.
Prospect: 3. An extensive view of landscape. A viewpoint commanding a magnificent prospect of the estuary. Looking out the window to observe the beauty of the prospect.
Pylon: a monumental gateway to an ancient Egyptian temple formed by two truncated pyramidal towers.
Quay: a concrete, stone or metal platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships.
Rabbit-warren: 2. A densely populated or labyrinthine building or district.
Refectory: a room used for communal meals, esp. in a educational or religious institution.
Rosette: a carved or molded ornament resembling or representing a rose.
Rusticate: 2. fashion (masonry) in large blocks with sunk joints and a roughened surface. as adj, ‘the stable block was built of rusticated stone’. (Lawrence)
Scullery: a small kitchen or a room at the back of a house used for washing dishes and other dirty household work. (Lawrence)
Slat: a thin narrow piece of wood, plastic, or metal, esp. one of a series that overlap or fit into each other, as in a fence or a Venetian blind.
Wainscot/Wainscoat: an area of wooden paneling on the lower part of the walls of a room; (brit. Hist.) imported oak of fine quality, used mainly to make paneling.
Zenana: (in India and Iran) the part of the house for the seclusion of women.
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