boiserie

American  

[bwah-zuh-ree] / bwɑ zəˈri /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of boiserie

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

Example Sentences

The setting inside the Fondazione Prada emphasised the inside/outside theme, with pink and white walls decked out with elegant boiserie and marble fireplaces, but also exposing brick construction beneath.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

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 • Nov. 10, 2021

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 • May 8, 2018

The handsome young aesthete was in his element at the French palace, watching in wonder as his mentor stripped away 19th-century red velvet wall coverings in order to revive the delicate ancien régime boiserie underneath.

From Architectural Digest • Apr. 7, 2015

The door was opened at once, and she was taken through the quaint square hall into the master's own sitting-room, a richly sombre place of oak boiserie and old crimson silk.

From The Price of Things by Glyn, Elinor