Design Speak lets you in on a some industry lingo so that you will sound oh-so-smart. From abbreviations to acronyms to phrases to trendy words, we’ll do our best to cover it, and we’ll do it in language you’ll understand.

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backloaded insulation

(pronounced BAK-lohd-ed in-seh-LAY-shuhn)

This term refers to insulation that is placed above a suspended ceiling system of acoustical panels or lay-in tile. It can be used for additional acoustical control, heating and cooling control, or a combination of both. FYI: Please know that even though the term “backloading” can be used interchangeably with this term, a “backloader” does not refer to a person installing this type of insulation. In the architecture, engineering, and construction world, a “backloader” or “back loader” is instead a large piece of operable machinery used on construction sites to load and transport materials such as dirt, sand, gravel, etc. Don’t want people looking at you like a idiot, now do we?

backloading

(pronounced BAK-lohd-ing)

See backloaded insulation.

baluster

(pronounced BA-leh-ster)

See balustrade.

balustrade

(pronounced BA-leh-strayd)

This beautiful word rolls off the tongue – not surprising since its origins are Italian. Generally, a balustrade is a low barrier or parapet, such as on a staircase, around a mezzanine or open floor, or on the roof of a structure. Specifically, it is a row of balusters topped by a rail and supported by a base rail or plinth - one of our favorite words! (But what’s a baluster? It’s actually any vertical object - think glass stem, table leg, rail upright, etc. - that has a vase-like silhouette.) A balustrade acts both as decoration and as a barrier and can generally be of any size or height.

barrel tile

(pronounced BAYR-ehl tyl)

Since this term is pretty descriptive, you can probably imagine what it’s referring to: all those rounded clay roof tiles that you typically see on Mediterranean- and Spanish-style houses. The common hue you see is red-based, but with today’s manufacturing technology, you can get them in all sorts of colors.

Barrier Free Design

(pronounced ah-PIHR-ents MAH-duhl)

See Design For All and universal design.

bas relief

(pronounced BAH ree-LEEF)

See relief.

base building

(pronounced bays BIHL-ding)

An interior designer works within and draws up plans for an area with the confines of an overall building shell, and that structure is typically called the base building. Before an interior designer begins a project, he or she will (hopefully) receive a set of base building drawings, which show the existence and location of exterior walls and glazing, interior core and demising walls, as well as existing floors, ceilings, and lighting, and systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc.) in place to operate the building. These items typically cannot be altered in any way, and the designer must work within the confines of the base building.

battlement

(pronounced BA-tl-mehnt)

See crenellation.

bayadere

(pronounced BI-eh-dihr)

Inspired by the colorful garments worn by women in India who dedicate their lives to dance (whom the French refer to as bayadère), this term describes a fabric having vibrant and often a bizarre combination of contrasting colors woven into horizontal stripes.

benching

(pronounced BENCH-ing)

Though many of us might first think of team sports when we hear this term (e.g., “Why is the coach benching his best players when the team is only seven points ahead?”), in the interior design arena the term relates to systems furniture. The idea is to have a basic platform – a “bench” – that allows for maximum flexibility and collaboration in the workplace. Storage pieces and dividers can be moved up and down the “bench” as to easily, quickly and more affordably accommodate different workspace widths and a varying amount of workers.

bergère

(pronounced behr-ZHEHR)

The term for an upholstered armchair having an exposed wood frame, concave back, wide seat, closed arms, and either cabriole or straight legs. As you might imagine, the term is French. This style became popular in Europe in the late 18th century after it was introduced earlier in the century in France during the era of Louis XV.

bevel

(pronounced BEH-vuhl)

Yet another word that can be used as a noun or a verb. When you bevel the edge of something – a piece of glass inset in a door, a stone slab on a counter, an acoustical tile in a grid ceiling, or a matte for a framed piece of artwork, etc. – then you eliminate the 90-degree angle of the sharp edge and replace it with a slanted surface. In the most simple of terms, you take the edges off. You could use the word in these ways: 1) This has a beveled edge; 2) I prefer a bevel on that edge; and 3) He used a bevel to create this edge. The latter is appropriate because a bevel is also the term used to describe the instrument that allows the drawing or cutting of an angle.

Bid Opening

(pronounced bid OH-peh-ning)

In the construction project bidding process, the bid opening is just that – where the owner, developer or agent acting on behalf of the owner or developer actually opens and reviews the bids prepared by the general contractors who have bid on the job. If the Bid Opening is “closed,” then only those who the owner, developer or agent designates to be present are allowed to attend. If the Big Opening is “open,” then the bidding parties are also allowed to attend. The former tends to be more common than the latter.

biodegradable

(pronounced BI-oh-dih-GRAY-deh-behl)

We put this word in the DESIGN SPEAK section instead of the SAY WHAT? section because it is increasingly becoming a consideration when specifying products and materials in the design industry. If something is biodegradable, then it is made up of a material (or a combination of materials) that will break down over time with the help of a few friends, a.k.a. micro-organisms. If done correctly, this disintegration process will be safe – i.e., cause no off-gassing and result in something non-toxic. Otherwise, what would be the point, right?