boiserie

[ bwah-zuh-ree ]

noun

1. sculptured paneling, especially that of French architecture in the 18th century.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boiserie¹

1825–35; < French: wainscot, equivalent to bois wood + -erie -ery

Example Sentences

Although early on he had restored virtually every surface, including the parquetry floors and boiserie, the décor was relatively stark — at least for him — and done in shades of ivory and wheat.

From New York Times

She paired the elaborately gilded boiserie walls and outsize chandelier with a pale-hued suite of geometric postmodern furniture, including barrel chairs and a half-moon desk so aesthetically significant that it was kept by at least five successive French presidents.

From New York Times

One of Tapiau’s first purchases for the home in Paris had been a pair of fluorescent-hued acrylic sculptures by Jean-Claude Farhi; he began to see the world anew when he placed them in front of the 19th-century oak boiserie in his living room.

From New York Times

Although the building is square, its rooms are octagonal, precisely 548 square feet each, with the mechanicals and bathrooms tucked behind the plaster and boiserie walls.

From New York Times

Imposing yet gleeful, they stand sentry on the parquet de Versailles, adjacent to chairs and tables of Zana’s own design, bulwarks of early Pop radicalism amid the haute-bourgeois sage-painted boiserie walls.

From New York Times