I’m designing an Mission style sofa table (the long table that sits behind a sofa).
It will be about 6′ long, 10″ wide with 3.5″ aprons and 1 3/4″ legs. I’m wondering what the leg set-back should be. I have an old mission desk and the setback is 2.25 on the short side (end) of the desk and 1.75 on the long side of the desk.
Does the set-back somehow correlate to the dimensions of the table?
Thanks,
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
Replies
Mark,
Yes, in the Mission style, your setback should be proportionate to the overall size of the piece. Therefore, on your large desk, the setbacks will probably be larger than the setbacks for a sofa table. They should also be relative to the side in question. If you are looking for a 6' long table (which is a very long sofa table) and your desk is also around 5'-6' long, then the 2.25" sounds good on the ends. With only a 10" depth though, the 1.75 might be a little much (whereas on the deep desk it looks good).
With no offense intended, I have to question the decision to only go 10" deep. Most sofa tables are around 15"-16" deep. At 6' long, this is going to be a very narrow looking piece and it may be a little unbalanced.
Good luck and include some photos when it's done (I love mission style furniture),
Joe
Thanks Joe,
I did a full scale drawing of the end of the table and a set-back of 1" on the long edge looks reasonable and 1.5" on the short edge.As far as the width - this table will be behind a sofa, against a wall - I have several pieces of 10" and 12" white oak planking (glue up) I salvaged from a school that was demolished in town. I might have a 12" piece that's long enough. (not too many nail holes :-)If have the stock to make a wider table. I'll consider it.I should probably also check with my wife. She has an eye for this stuff :-)Mark
PS Of course I'll post pictures. My ego would never forgive me if I didn't. :-)
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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Hey Mark ,
Depending on design , if you leave 3 or 4" on the ends you can add some elongated Stickley style corbels to the corner posts . Often times as a guide line for counter top overhangs I use the thickness of the top as a measure for the overhang .
good luck dusty
Funny, I was looking at an old FWW (1997 ish) with plans for a Morris chair and they had corbels. They look great on the chair but I'm not sure they are my style. I'll have to get the wife's opinion...Regarding the overhang, I'm actually going to go with the 3/4" on the side instead of the 1"...I'm still thinking about the end.Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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If you're looking for a good visual source for Mission furniture, check out the Stickley furniture site - http://www.stickley.com/gallery/index.html
They have a downloadable catalog on this page.
Great stuff. Thanks I downloaded the catalog - 170 pages - don't think I'll print it however...
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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Mark,
10" wide is OK, 12-14" is better. One thing to be careful of is making sure the table is not prone to tipping over. Something 29-30" high and only 10" wide will be tippy, though your 1.5" legs should help some.
Just something to consider, in case the sofa gets bumped back into the table.
Paul
Good point. I've gone to the 12" design. Have to do a glue up to get there. The 14" plank I had was cracked at about 11 to 12" for its entire length of 10 feet :-(The Outside of legs will be 10.5" apart. Plus the unit will be behind a sofa, against a wall (for now).I have to address the fact that the sofa moves if someone sits down on it hard. In the past, I made blocks with notches in them. The blocks are padded on one side and rest against the baseboard and the noch fits against the couches back legs...(pain in the neck but the couch is relatively light weight).Thanks,
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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If you're just putting the table between the couch and the wall, have you thought about just putting up a shelf instead? No on is going to see the legs anyway.(that's a question my other half would ask - the longer I'm married, the more I learn about what to expect when you ask a question)Joe
The ends are visible so a shelf just won't do...
Besides, I like to rearrange (it drives my wife crazy which is why I like to do it :-)l) so a table gives us flexibility...Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
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