The teak plank, with a healthy coating of shellac to give it some shine.

The original sketch for the sideboard.  After playing around with the scale, I decided that I didn't like the large, single drawer in the middle, and that the glass door in the lower section would turn into a black, square hole on a piece this deep.

A later sketch of the sideboard. Slightly lower to the ground, with two large compartments below, instead of two small and one large.  If you look closely, you can see a "break" in the legs where the lower section transitions into the upper/drawer section. This seemed like an terrific idea on paper.  I had no idea what sort of dead-end rabbit hole it would eventually lead me to.

Routing the "break" in a prototype leg.

Detail of the break before scraping the upper section and chopping the facet/shoulder.

Here is my high-tech mockup kit: hot-glue gun, tape measure, straight edge, pencil, single-sided corrugated cardboard, and a large stash of the cheapest lumber I can find (usually poplar or beech.)  I find building a full-scale mockup to be much more informative than a scale (or full-size) drawing.

The first full-size, finished mockup. At this point I have probably taken apart, adjusted, and reattached every piece three or four times.  I like this basic proportions, but something still doesn't seem right.

Six months later it was finally time to start working full-time on the sideboard.  I had been staring at the earlier mockup every day during that time, but I still couldn't figure what was wrong.  After talking to someone with better eyes (and hair, and looks) than me, we figured out two main issues: 1)the whole piece was too big, and 2)the "break" in the legs were chunky and distracting.  The hope is to show off wood, not distract from it.

Starting the second mockup, without the break, and a narrower stance.

The new mockup starting to come together...

Photo-stitch of two mockups side by side. The one on the right (which was pictured earlier) is eight inches narrower than the original; the one on the left, a third mockup, is four inches narrower.  It amazes me what a difference a few inches makes; I loved the smaller mockup, but it almost seemed too "cute." I had this nagging feeling that a piece like this should have a sort of, I don't know, <i>stern</i> presence. The third, medium-size mockup looked just right.

Trying to figure out which boards want to be which parts.  The veneer for the panels came from the original plank, the other boards were purchased later in the hope that they would compliment the panels. 

Now, almost a year later, I have a plan for the piece. I have the just the right boards, and I know exactly where each pat needs to go.  Words cannot describe my excitement at this moment.