Cabinet design (1)...

It's been a hectic past week with some unfinished small work to complete in my studio. I usually leave the odd tasks to be completed between furniture projects. This past week was an ideal time as the studio is once again uncluttered. I've sort of disciplined myself into cleaning up and putting my tools back after a day's work, I owe this very good habit to a furniture school I attended, the students attending the school clean the complete bench area at the end of the day. I'm also still in the process of applying finish to the jewelry armoire, I have been given a reprieve as the owner is out of town for another week or so. I will definitely post pictures of the armoire, which is developing a beautiful patina, in it's completed state once ready. In the meantime, the design of my next piece of furniture is slowly moving to the forefront. I am beginning to lean towards a cabinet much in the same vein as the armoire but lower and with different proportions. I don't need to have quite as much height in the cabinet since it is for the most part a showcase.

There are a few fine examples of the design I am considering with inspiration from James Krenov work. Another consideration I am mulling over is to use two one piece front doors which will probably be veneered. If I decide this, the doors will not be the customary frame and panel design, but instead veneer over substrate. A large advantage to this type of construction is that there is more surface area available to the wood (figured?) used in the door, thereby enhancing it as a component of the focal point of the cabinet. I'm also debating whether to introduce curved doors into the design, another advantage of veneer over substrate design.

I also have more flexibility in this design as some of the constraints of the previous armoire are unnecessary. In the above photo, I have an earlier drawing which describes a single panel door as opposed to the previous frame and panel door. This design can be quite elegant if executed properly. I also have in mind to use lighter colors with more subtle contrasting shades and colors in the detail.The above design is what I'll be using as a basis for what I will be presenting to my client. The design will evolve from this drawing as it morphs into a slightly wider and more squat cabinet on stand with a pair of doors instead. The proportions are going to be a bit tricky as they might clash with the Golden Rectangle rule of a pleasing ratio of proportions. I'm going to be placing some blind faith into the fact that James Krenov has already designed cabinets with these proportions and these cabinets are definitely aesthetically pleasing.

The layout of the interior of the cabinet is yet to be decided, and I prefer it this way actually. Another consideration with this new design is the depth of the cabinet, it does not need to be quite as deep as the previous cabinet (armoire). This upcoming cabinet design is leaning towards a showcase cabinet with less focus on functionality. An example of function follows form instead of the typical form follows function?

In my next post, I should have a new drawing with a better indication of where I'm headed with this design.