Two furniture questions

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WendyNYC

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If I say "demilune," do most people know what that is? I'm not sure I would if I hadn't recently purchased one, but maybe I'm just lame. What is another word the tall, skinny table that sits usually under a mirror in a foyer (besides "hall table").

Also, I'm not a fancy antique kind of gal, but one of my secondary characters is. She has a very expensive bench in her foyer. What kind might she have? Louis the Something-teenth? Something else? It doesn't have to be gilded, just pricey.
 

waylander

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If it is Louis Quatorze (Louis XIVth) then it will have been seriously pricey
 

Del

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demilune...nope, I didn't know what it was. I expected a fancy sofa. I do know what it is now and have been familiar with them. You could include those not up on fancy furniture names by expanding the sentence; ...brought in the demilune, the fancy half circle table Mother kept in the hall.

I did something like this in my book. Most people don't have a clue what an A-pillar is. But I said; ...crushed the A-pillar, the side support that only moments ago held a perfectly good windshield.

It lets every one know what you are talking about. No one wants to look up a word when they are reading. Most won't.
 

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I'd call the table a credenza, but when I looked it up, the definition didn't quite fit.
Side table, sofa table.
 

Siddow

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In context, I may get it. Is it named differently if it's rectangular vs. curved?
 

WendyNYC

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In context, I may get it. Is it named differently if it's rectangular vs. curved?


Yep, demiline just means "half moon," but I didn't know what a rectangular one would be called.

Thanks all. And you are right, I need to be explaining what it is somehow.
 

waylander

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Park Avenue apartment pricey, bought at a big name auction house or super expensive dealer
 

Gray Rose

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As far as I know, demilune refers to the shape of the table, but you still have to say demilune table. Looked in OED just now - no 'table' under demilune.

The word you are looking for, I think, is console table.

If she is an antiques buff, you need to figure out her style, because she will certainly NOT have a mish-mash of things in her apartment. Plus, one's favorite furniture style says a lot about character. A lover of mid-century Modern is quite different from a Louis XIV affictionado :) If you're in serious doubt, make her a deco/nouveau lover. Those things are mid-range in terms of price, and can be quite exquisite.

A great way to 'furnish' your character's apartment is through craigslist.org. Seriously :) If she's a buff she'll be talking about it all the time!

Best of luck,
Rose
 

sneakers145

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Nope. But then, all my furniture is mish-mash from the second hand store. Solid wood, dovetail drawers, lots of character, and CHEAP!! At least cheaper than the particleboard crap from Target and better made.
 
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That's the sort of thing I'd call an occasional table. Circular or rectangular.
 

Sandi LeFaucheur

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I reckon so long as you say "demilune table" the average person should be able to think what it means. Most people know "demi" means "half" and "lune" means "moon", therefore, a table shaped like a half-moon. I think it gives a much better idea of the shape than sofa table, occasional table (which begs the question, if it's an occasional table, what it is the rest of the time? haha), or console table. Anyway, a demilune (I believe) is quite small, whereas a sofa table--running along the back of a sofa--is quite long.

If she is an antiques buff, you need to figure out her style, because she will certainly NOT have a mish-mash of things in her apartment.

You don't have to stick with one style--chippendale, art deco, etc., so long as everything "goes" somehow. So long as it goes, mish-mash becomes eclectic.
 
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I'd never heard of a demilune table before reading this thread. And how is the average reader to know it's divided at the demi/lune point? For all they know it could be pronounced de/milune...

Why not just call it a half moon table?
 

job

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Demilune doesnt strike a chord with me, so I would guess the average reader wouldnt know it either.
But you can use words the average reader doesnt know, unless you are trying to build a specific picture in the readers mind.

The bench could be a 'Thomas Hope' bench or pair of chairs. Pretty stuff.
Benches here
 

Sandi LeFaucheur

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Google images shows lots of demilune tables, if anyone's interested.

And as to how the average reader knows how to pronounce the word--that could be said of any unfamiliar word. Mind, it can also be said of some familiar words. I saw a sign once for "detached houses" and I thought "what on earth is a deta-ched house"? Yes, I truly did. And I was in my mid-twenties. Obviously suffering a lack of oxygen to the brain at the time, and I couldn't even blame a "menopausal minute" like I do now! :)
 
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