My wife wants a piece of furniture to occupy a small wall space on the den side between the living room and the foyer. It goes under a picture on the wall and is to match an identical space on the other side of the den between the foyer and the dining room. I am limited in height, depth, and width. My biggest problem is the height.
I have a plan for a fery nice Queen Ann lowboy but will have to modify it to meet the dimensional limitations. I am not very informed when it comes to styles and the question I have is would I be “violating” any recognized standards if I stay with the style of but eleminate one of the two layers of drawers? I already have some very nice cherry I want to use in making it.
Edited 5/1/2008 11:10 pm ET by coolbreeze
Replies
Breeze, most good ww designs follow the golden mean principles, but when you're custom-doing something to fit a specific place, I think you sometimes have to toss that design stuff out the window and go with fit.
JMHO.
I agree.. However, Maybe a full sized cardboard mock-up of the design (outside) would be in order.. If the wife and you like it.. GO FOR IT! You can get sheets of cardboard at sort of reasonable prices at moving/storage places. I do that and seems to work. Well, at least you can see what it may look like.
Definitely. You are entirely correct sir.
What I plan to do with it is make it exactly as it is shown except, that I would not make the top layer of thin drawers. It would have the great looking curtain, and the Queen Ann legs.
I built the Lonnie Bird secretary but used Chippendale glass doors for the upper case because that is what my wife wanted. I contacted Lonnie Bird to ask if that change would be appropriate and he said it would be OK. Now, I know that if I ask him if Shaker panel doors would be alright, he would have told me I shouldn't do it.
When I post this reply, I am going to Google golden mean and learn a little more about my passion.
Edited 5/2/2008 10:03 am ET by coolbreeze
It's an ancient design standard that just "looks right". Something like this .......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rectangle
Denny
Yeah, I found it. I just hate it when I discover, at age 68, something that I should have known. Problem is that I took typing instead and I still can't type :-)
Open minds never stop taking things in. Here's another that speaks specifically to furniture design...........
http://members.fortunecity.com/petemullard/mobaing.html
The Golden Mean is a useful design principle, but certainly not the only one used for design of 18th century furniture. Judging from pattern books of the period, the Classical column orders were probably more dominant. (Look at Chippendale's Director for an example.) In the lowboys I have looked at, it would be pretty hard to draw meaningful golden rectangles I think. The closest might be the negative space below the case and between the legs.
What are the dimensions that you need to stay within? The period lowboys are typically between 29 and 31" high and about 33-35 inches wide, though I have seen a narrower example. Yes, there are examples where there are only three total drawers, mostly on earlier pieces. Deeper ones flanking one more shallow in the center can be found, though I don't think they are typical in Queen Anne style, though they are common for William and Mary. For examples see Wallace Nutting Furniture Treasury vol I, plates 385-398, though only the last is a Queen Anne piece as is plate 407. These don't appear to be particularly shorter on account of the differenc, just with longer legs.
With in limits I would think you might get a more attractive look by a proportional downward scaling. Just shortening without reducing the width might well look odd if you do it too much. It's pretty clear that what ever system of proportioning was used, there were a wide range in interpretations of what those proportions were so you have some flexibility in that regard.
Steve, neither the height or width you gave is any problem. What would you say would be the minimym depth on a piece 33w, and 32" high? I will use QA legs.
Edited 5/3/2008 11:08 am ET by coolbreeze
These would generally have depths of the top about 21 - 22, with enough overhang so that the case is only about 18-19 or so deep. This allows them to fit flush to the wall at the top, even with a baseboard on the floor, with the legs not projecting past the top but still recessed a little. If your plans were significantly larger than these dimensions, you may actually have plans for the base unit of a highboy, while the low boy, or dressing table, is scaled down all the way around, even though they were often made as a suite with the highboy.
I really appreciate your reply. I'll take a look at it on paper.
Cool
Paul,
Could you provide us with some dimensions (wall) that you have to work with and a bit about what function it will perform. Maybe a handkerchief table might be better? If you want storage and it's a small space to work with then the Lowboy could be better.
Just some thoughts,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, I took pictures, downloaded them onto my photo album, resized them for posting, but could not save them as individual documents. I have always done it this way because off my album, the only thing I can is email singles or groups(5 in this case) of pictures That is not what I want to do. The album has been doing funny things lately.
There are two idintical wall spaces. They are 61" wide inside the trim. I have one small table(32h, 38w, & 16d) occupying one wall space. I will want to build a piece that will have close to those dimensions. Between those two walls is the opening into the foyer. A couch in the den sits centered with its back to the opening of the foyer and between the two wall spaces. With the one table that I have occupying one wall space gives us 28" of walk space.
If you would like to see the pictures, let me know by email because the only way I know I can get them to you is in a reply to your email.
Thanks for your help.
Cool
Edited 5/3/2008 11:05 am ET by coolbreeze
Paul,
You mention photo album. Is this Adobe software? If so, then I'm sure it saves the photo albums in what's called PDF format (Portable Document Format) in which case you can't, for all practical purposes seperate the pics from the document once they're in this file format.
When you download your pics what software are you using? Also are you using a Pc or a MAC?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I'll check and get back with you. Usually, I simply use a Sandisk card reader, download onto a removable program(jasc paintshop), create an album, downsize to a useable size and save the individual pictures as a Word document. That then allows me to individually email or download to Knots to attach to a post.
I can email the group of pictures saved, but I can only do it with the email option off the jasc album. I can email any Knots user who has made their email available but I can't attach the albumn, only send it out of my program and i have to put in the email address. Using the email to members program from their profile one does not see the email address, which really is a good thing.
You and I have had direct email between us but that comes by "reply".
Tonight, I will go back and take the pictures off my camera and see if I can get them so I can save on Word.
Cool
Cool,
Couple o' thangs.
I would recommend you download the latest copy of Irfanview (no affiliation). I say that cause it will let you work with miages directly and not thru some other process like Word. You can't email images out of Word (directly) but rather the entire document, even though it may only contain the pic. Not always a good choice either.
Within Irfanview you can do just about anything you want to and save as the results as an image only, including multiple formats. Also, you can then attach images to posts in Knots. Yes, you can attach Word documents within Knots but...............
Email within the Profile in Taunton uses the email address/service that you provide when signing up for Knots, i.e. Google Mail, Yahoo, etc. I like Gmail as with GoogleTalk I get notifications whenever I get new email, which is nice I tink.
PCs, almost as many standards for style,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
cool,
The design you are contemplating is not out of the ordinary. There are several examples in Hurst and Prown's Southern Furniture.
I recommend that you make a scaled drawing of the piece you are planning, and take a look at its proportions that way. If it is ungainly it should be pretty apparent from the sketch.
That is a nice piece. The pic was not the best quality but My wife says that it is an option.
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