How it works
What were the wings of a wing chair for, and which word for a room comes from the French for sulking? These interior design trivia questions and answers treat rooms and furniture as history, with the source linked beside each answer.
Read the full guide
Styles and furniture words
Styles by name runs from Rococo and Biedermeier to Streamline Moderne, hygge and shabby chic. Furniture words explains the ottoman, the credenza, the tester of a four-poster and the whatnot, and asks what a chandelier first held.
Surfaces, rooms and the people behind them
Walls, floors and fabrics covers parquet, terrazzo, chintz, tatami and the inglenook. Rooms and their names visits the Hall of Mirrors and the Amber Room, then asks where parlor, pantry and attic come from. Designers and the trade has the pattern books of Chippendale and Hepplewhite, the kitchen of 1926 and the colors of a blueprint.
- At a housewarming, start with Furniture words: half the answers are in the room.
Questions and answers
What are some easy interior design trivia questions?
What does chaise longue mean? Where is a sconce fixed? Which country does the futon come from? The answers are long chair, to a wall and Japan.
What is mid-century modern?
A style of design whose best years, in North America, Brazil and Europe, ran from about 1945 to 1970. It shows in architecture and urban development and in interior, product and graphic design.
What is Scandinavian design?
A design movement marked by simplicity, minimalism and functionality. It emerged in the early 20th century and flourished in the 1950s across the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 13, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article linked beside it, one article to a question. No furniture maker, shop or brand is a question or an answer, and nothing here is decorating advice.