Ebook Designing furniture: Phần 1

Contents

Introduction

2

Creating' Working Drawing'S

47

JIM TOLPIN

SECTION 1

Finding Design Inspiration

Drafting Basics

53

PH ILI P C LOWE

A Short History of Design

4

6RAHAM B LACK BURN

Quintessential Arts and Crafts
GRAHAM BLACKB

Models Help Projects Succeed
12

RN

Building in the Language
of Greene and Greene

Organize Yow' Projects

65

JIM TOLP IN

20

THOMAS HU GH STANGEL AND

Elements of the Shaker Style

60

JAN ZAITLIN

28

A Drafting Table for Shop
or Home

71

CAMERON RUSSELL

CHRIST IAN BECKSVOORT

CTiON 3

Construction by Design

SECTION 2

Developing Designs
and Organizing Projects
Furnitw'e Desig'n: The Fow'
Objectives

Doors Make the Difference

Joining Legs to Aprons
34

M IK E DUNBAR

Designing Furnitw'e: A Survival
Guide

37

CRAIG VANDALL ST EVENS

89

CHR IST IAN BEC KSVOO Rl

Exposing Your Back Side
41

82

GARRETT HACK

Graduated Drawers

GARRETT HACK

Building' Without Plans

77

CHR ISTIAN BfCKSVOORT

CHR ISTIAN BEC KSVOORT

91


C ON 4

Designing Furniture

Making' Dining Tables
That Work

Designing for
Style and Function
95

PETER TISC H LER

Designing on the Go:
A Coffee Table Takes Shape

120

PETER TURNER

Large-Case Construction
Strategies

99

BRUCE CO H EN

Where Furnitul'e
Meets the Floor

125

MAR IO RODR IGUEZ

Designing a Chest of Drawers

104

GARRE TT H ACK

Dressing' Up a Basic Box

133

ROGER H OLMES

Sideboard Strategies
WILL NEPTUNE

110

Going Over Edges

136

WIL L NEPTUNE

Designing Table Legs

142

GRAHAM BLAC K BURN

Credits

152

Index

153


Introduction

_ _•

here is something wonderful about

turning a rough idea into a wcllcrafted, pleasing and useful pic e of
furniture . Th e slIccessful furniture makers
find a " ay to tie the piece together \ ith
little consistent details.They expertly craft
the way the horizontal SlIffa Ces meet and
comp liment the verti cal lines anel parts.

2

Th eir eyL'S and minds give th em the proportions that make the piece of furnitu re feci
grounded and statuesque at the same time.
}jut it doesn 'tju~t happen - at least not
for most of liS . Every wood\ o rker should
save his or her Clr\t original projecl,j ust a~ a
reminder of how tin they'vc come. My
greatest furniture- making disaster is al a th e

only piece f'vc evcr mId. It was a svelte but
pitiful w:t ll rack for displayi ng plates. The
shelves we re too small , the j oi nery v as ugly
and the fini sh as not finish ed. But some
needy sou l took pay o n it and it~ 5 price
tag at our yard sale.
My se and, and much more origina l,
proj ect is sti ll in o ur house, althou gh it'
been rdq~ated to the b:lse rn elll guest rOOIll.
Now, w hen guests remark all the crud e,
pine cartee table. I j oke that my bli nd
grandfather made it. My ego doesn 't su ffer
because I assullle they've seen th e subsequent furniture projects were good en ough
to bri ng up (j·orn the basernent.
I've learned a great dea l about fu rniture
design in th e years ~ill c e tbat coffee table
took shape. Mu ch of it I learned from the
wood" orkers 110 have written the chapters of th is book, be ause many have I een


shar ing their secrets in the pages o( Pill/'
IV(l(ldIVOrkill<~ magazi ne for years.
In the chapters that (oIlO\'\', you'lI find
guidance on furnjnJr(~ ~ryl es such as Arts &
rafts and Shaker. You'll learn about developing your sense o( aesthetic design and th e
correct appro:lches to con (ruction de~ign.
Th e Taunton Press edito rs ofthj~ book
searched th e issu es o( Fil/(' /lVO(ldIllOrkill.magazine to find the b~l ani Ies about

designing flll"lIi tu re. Th e advi ce from ollr
expe ri ellced authors will surely ill1p ro e
your appreciation (or :111 fine hlrniture
design .And if your woodworking projccts
arc alrea dy good enough to bring up LrOl I\
the haSClllt'nt, you' ll undoubtedly unci that
your (lILlI Jl: work wi ll be even better than
\ hat you've al ready put on di~ play.
- T im Sci IITincr, publish er
of Fili I' vMl(I{ll/IlIrkilll~

INTRO DUCTION

3


A S h ort History
of Design

BY GRAHAM

INC I: FII\'/ W OODWORI-./I\·C;'s

B LACKBURN

inception 27 years ago. a vast
range of fil rn itu re from various periods ha.~ appeared ill its pages.
What follO\ s is a conde nsed overview
ckscribing ma ny of these vJrious styks.
I've tri ed to put them into a historical per~ pe c tive

based on their defin ing cha racteris-

tics, but the proce. s of design is continual
and unending. I lq pk\ hite and herato ll
. tyks. fo r instance, were m ade duri ng the
Mahogany Period in Engl;U1d but were n't
p revak nt in the

n ited States

until after the R evolutl0l1 .

It is il1 the very l1(1tllre qf

I

hlmitllre deslR'1 to evolve)
... ta/.dng a little/rom here
~md

a little/rom there)

wmetimes 1naRillg a lmge
leap with ... a new techIlique or a new material.

4

d ur ing the r ederal Period.
Any attelllpt to categor ize

d din itivd y the p rodu ct~ o f a
given per iod is bo u nd to be inexact. It is in the very nature of
filrmture design to evolve. often
h aphazardly, taking a littl e from
here and a little fTo rn there,
sometimes making a large kap
with the invention of a new
technique or a new material.
British filrniture i. mmt o ften described in te rm of the

various 1Il0narchs dur ing w hose reigns it
was made, but for a more fallliliar divis io n
of furniture design in An le rica, I've cho. en
more locaillames. Nevertlld ess. it remain.
t rlle tha t most Al11erican fiu'llitu re is ver y
similar to the conternpo raneo us 13ritish
styles. A great dea l o f furn itu re fi'O Il I the
earl y periods m ade in th e United States was
bu ilt by craftsmell eithe r trained in 13ritain
or w ho llsed British patterns. By the 20 th
century the d ifferences had Jllorc to do
\ ith indivicJual Iliakcrs than \\ ith lIatiollal
sty les.
GRAHAM BLACKBURN is a furniture maker, author,
illustrator and the publisher of Blackburn Books
(www.blackbumbooks.com).


uch early American furniture came here with the
first immigrants, including, most famously, the

Pilgrims. They brought-and then made-oak pieces
typical of the Jacobean, William and Mary, and Carole an
periods in Britain; pieces that retained a strong Gothic
influence, sturdy pieces, heavily c arved pieces, pieces
with cup-turned legs and bun feel. Much of the work
from this Early Colonial Period is representative of a
utilitarian life.

'1'{,t' E1dt'l'
lk('/I'.(/I"·

ell. J65(J

(.fur; r,

• W ainscot constructed oak (wainscot means 'wagon oak" and
refers to the paneling)

• Nicholas Disbrowe is the first known American maker

• Joiner's wor!<.

• Oak, frarne-and-p anel construction

• Framed construction, pinned for
strength

• Uncompromisingly rectangular

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• Bold turnings

• Similar to earlier English oak stytes, but dlstmctlve Connecticut
Valley, Hadley style

• Heavily carved

• This piece shows the chest becoming a chest of drawers

• Stout stretchers

• Tulip motif carved over entire toot

• Less-heavily carved chairs of the
same construction are common
• RemlOiscent of earlier British
chairs in the GothiC style

III

'n""I', CII.

17 (

• Oak
• Strap carving on front apron
• Simple turning with square
ends on legs
• Stout stretchers

• Pinned mortise-and-tenon
construction
• Bracketed legs
• Post-assembly carving
(as on old chests)

• Edge-joined top

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• As wit h most boxes of the pened, thIS one IS
nailed together
• Oak throughout, but many boxes were made
of pine or With top and bottom of pine
• Lunette and flute carvingS were simple and
geometrically based
• Overhanging, cleated top

A S HORT HISTORY OF DESIGN

5


he Mahogany Period (late Colonial), covering the
first half of the 18th century, roughly parallels the
periods known in Britain as Queen Anne and Georgian.
Walnut gave way to mahogany as the predominant
wood, and the beginning of the period saw a sudden
simplification of style into a less am amen ted and more
severely elegant aesthetic. Perhaps the most typical element is the cabriole leg, at first plain and finished with a
simple turned pad foot, and later developing into a highly
carved element complete with ba/l-and-claw, hairy-paw,
or lion's fool. Fumiture was made by cabinetmakers
rather than joiners, and the list of American Chippendales is long (Thomas Chippendale was the most
famous English cabinetmaker of the period and by
whose name furniture of the middle of the
period is often known). It includes the God-

Side ellai,., w. 1780

dards and Townsends of Newport, R.I.,
and many notable Philadelphia makers, in-

• Typical Chippendale style

cluding William Savery, Thomas Affleck,

, Mahogany

and BenjamIn Randolph.

• Square back
Arm terminal volute

Savery·styte ' l ongue'
carving on knee

'~I

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• Made by John Townsend of
Newport, R I.
• Mahogany, with poplar as a
secondary wood
• Block and shell front
• She/I·carved kneehole door
• Bracket feet
• Sohd top

6

FINDING DE SIGN INSPIRATION

I). ({ Iyr;
• Single, wide drawer

• Two !oers of narrow d rawers
• C losely related to the highboy
on the opposite page, this is
essentially the low er half of a
chest on chest with a kneehole upboard

• Highly carved. squaredo ff cabnole frOnl Ip.gs
• Ball-and-claw feet

• Cupid-bow crest rail

• Stump rP..ar legs

• Pierced and carved splat

• Rectilinear seat


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Armel",;';

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• Typical Queen Anne styl
• Mahogany
• Rounded back
• Plain, pro filed splal
• Not much carving, except for
volutes and shells
• Cabriol e front legs
• Simple trifid feet

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'(

• Philad phia-round
type

t'

,,

• Tilting top
• Ruted pillar

• Mahogany

• Richly carved legs

• "Pie-crul>1" scalloped
edge

• Tripod legs
• Ball-and·claw feet

17.'i()

• New England·
rectangular style
• Mapl ; originally
painted red
• Markedly slender
cabriole legs
• Pad feet
• Deeply scalloped

apron

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770

• High-style work typICal of Philadelphia cabinetmakers
• Chest-on-chest, double-case construction
• Richly ('.arvad , broken scroll bonnet
• Carved corners
• Carved cabriole legs with ball-and·claw feet at fcont and back
• Sophisticated proportions, progressively graduated drawers
• Veneered casework

A SHORT HISTORY OF DESIGN

7


'n,Mc,

("t/,

1810-1820

fter the Revolution, American tastes and sympathies transferred from Britain to France, especially
with regard to fumiture styles. The French Empire style
planned and fostered by Napoleon was adopted and
distinctively modified by American cabinetmakers and is
typicaJly known as Federal style. In comparison to the
light and well-proportioned fumiture typified by the
Hepplewhite- and Sheraton-style pieces of the end of
the Mahogany Period and the early days of the Federal
Period, much Federal fumiture is dark, heavy, and vulgar.
The finest, however, is often superb and owes much to
one of the most famous of all American cabinetmakers,

• Reminiscent of the
Shemto n style
• Pier·type table Wit h ovolo
comers
• Mahogany and maple painted
black with gill and polychrome

• Harbor view painted on center
of apron
• Typical of Balti more Federal·
style painted furniture
• No stretchers, Sherdton·style
tapered and flut ed legs
• Inlay and banding
• Tapered fe t

Duncan Phyfe, a New York woodworker possessed of
great taste and a wonderful eye for proportion.

Typical
H pplewhite pull

• Khsmos·type chair With classical
d talis, made by Duncan Phyfe

u

./

• Mahogany
• S haggy fron t legs

r

• H airy-paw feet
• Lyre splat
• H eavily reeded

• G raceful curves
• Light, stretcherless construction

('(I' I, r}'

t1

I

LO

• Highly varnished
• Veneered construc tion
• Massive in scale and proportion

• High-style Philadelphia Federal bureau,
French Emplr inspired
• Mahogany and bird's-eye maple

8

FINDING DESIGN INSPIRATION


he mid-19th century saw mass-production
become the norm in all areas of American lifefrom farm ing to high-end furniture making. Some furniture historians refer to this as the era of the "degraded
style; and while commercialism certainly resulted in a
lot of cheap, shoddy and undistinguished work, there
also was a remarkable burgeoning of vigorous new
styles, some unabashedly derivative, including Rococo

Revival, Egyptian Revival, Gothic Revival, and Italian
Revival.
Nineteenth-century furniture (which is often referred
to as Victorian-after the reigning British monarch) tends
to be thought of as extremely ornamented, overstuffed,

II

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",

• Typical of the Modem Gothic style
• Ebonized cherry

and often in terrible taste, but it also includes much inno-

• Inspired by the cmlt traditions of the Middle Ages

vative elegance, typified by pieces from makers such as

• Supposed honesty of construction and materials

Emile Galle, Louis Majorelle, Michael Thonet, Charles

• No applied ornamentation

Voysey, and Charles Eastlake. There is, in fact, no one
common characteristic of the period other than that of
diversity.

• Typical Eastlake style
• Walnut and I ather
• Relatlvety Simple lines
• Avoids excesses of French
Antique styte
• An attempted return to
Gothic deSign prinCiples

• Carved design
• Spindled crest and apron

• Partially turned front legs

CabillC t,

(II.

1876

• Oassical motifs
• Ela

rate marquetry panels

• Typical of Renaissance Revival style
• Carved. curved, an? applied gilt ornamentation
• Maximum opulence
• Rosewood

A SHORT HISTORY OF D EStGN

9


hroughout the 19th century, the Shaker communi-

I <0

I()

I '

ties were producing furniture so different from
everything else being made that the furniture is now rec-

.

ognized as a major American style. Its essential quality is

·-·~

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___·_ 1:-.::=====-~ 1

simplicity. Eschewing ornamentation, the Shakers made

furniture that not only was eminently practical and hon-

--

est but also possessed a restrained elegance. Often giving the appearance of great delicacy, Shaker pieces are
nonetheless constructed on sound and sturdy principles

--- ----

and have been the original inspiration for many a woodworker attracted by their straight lines and lack of ornamentation.

<0
')

• Pine; originally painted red

• Pinned mortise and tenons

• Simplicity o f form olfsct by
sophisticated joinery

• Turned pulls and pegs

• Raised panels

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• Molded-lip d war fron ts
• Fully dovetailed drawers

1840

• Woven tape scat
• Seemingly Sl pic, but thoughtfully
deSigned and carefully construct d
• Slats graduated \0 become wider
from bottom to top
• Tops of slats a~ beveled

• Back legs outfitted with "tilters"
for greater comfort (tillers allow
you to lean back in t he chair
without damagmg rt)

• The qUlnl sscntlal Shaker table
• Ch rry, With pine interiors
• Tapered legs, turned at feet
• Large top with Wide overhang
• No moldmg, carving, or Inlay
• Fully do

10

AN DI G DESIGN INSPIRATION

tailed, flush-front drdWef


eacting against the fashionable excesses and often
shoddy work of mass production, the English
designer William Morris inspired a generation of American fumiture designers dedicated to honesty, utility and,
above all, good-quality workmanship. Charles and Henry
Greene, Gustav Stickley, Ralph Whitehead (who founded
the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony) and the anonymous craftsmen of the Roycroft Community in East Aurora, N.Y.,
produced a body of furniture variously known as Mis-

• Fumed white oak typical o f Stickley furniture

sion, Arts and Crafts, and Craftsman fumi-

• Rectilinear. with rev

ture, which has remained popular- and dis-

• Exposed mor >se·and·t non JOinery

tinct in style- to the present, taking its place

• Stru _ uralmtegnty embodied by post·and·rintel deSIgn :,ystem

flymg-buttress corbel

• Handwrought hardwclf

as a legitimate m8jor American style.

Signature
Roycroft bulbous
foot on tapered leg

Roycroft logo.
stamped on
most pieces

910
• \lVhite oak. leather seat
• Plain, MlsslOn·style jol
Roycro ft tapered legs

ry with distinctive

E

• Bulbous f et
• Well· finished surfaces. with design
emphasiZing w ori
( t, a

1.(

• DeSign by Greene
• Through·tenons

• Structural ele nts emphasued as d SIgn features

• O versized batt ns

• Whiteoak

• Butterfly keys

• Protruding dowel ends

• Proud partition edges

• Locking escutcheons

A SHORT HISTO RY OF DESIGN

t1


Quintessential
Arts and Crafts

BY GRAHAM
B LACKBURN

Arti s AND CttAF1S STY l E has
been popular for a bundred years;
there arc examples in ever y antique
;Jnd secondhalJd fu rn iture store; reproductions abound; and it's a perennial favorite

with woodworkers- but w hat exactl y defines Art~ and Craf~? Ask all}one fami liar
" ' . " 1IE

w ith the style--a lso known as Mission,
C raftsm an, rafts, Cloi ter, or even
Q uaint- how th ey identify it, and you' ll
6TC t answers that typically contain words
~uch as " foursquare," "straightforward COJl stfllCtioo," "exposed join ery," and "quarte rsa\ n oak." lIeh e1ement~ make u le Art~
and raft~ style inviti ng to many woodworkers who are new to the craft aud who
arc less intim idated by Arts an d C rafts furniture th all they are by oth er. more sophisticated styles. I )espi te iLS apparent simplicity,
however, it's just as easy to get a piece of
Arts and Crafts furnitu re wrong as it is to
fil iI at your firs t attempt at constru cting a
C hi ppendale piece that features cabr iole
lehrs- unless YO ll have a full understanding
of \ hat the essential design detail~ are and
how th ey work together.
It's true that th e Arts and Crafts style
o riginated partl y ill response to overdecorated and directionless 19th- cen tury fu rnj ture, but equally important were concerns
about tbe shoddy quality of ma~s-prodllced
2

fac tory h.l rn itu re and its effect not on ly on
th e consum er but also o n the peoplt: who
made it. Arts an d r;l ft~ was conceived as an
essenli :.J lly utilitarian style affordable by all ;
th e idea that it~ mallu[;tctl.l re should be
someth ing ill which the maker could take
pride \ as central to th e phi lo. ophy underlyi ng what became known as the Ar ;md
rafts movement.

A piece of fiJrni tu re built in the gen uin e
Arts and Cr:lfts style is the refore fi rst and
forc most completely fu nctional. The (ilrnitu re is ~oli dly construc ted wi th a m inimullI
or superfluolls ornament, unashamed yet
no t b oa~ tfid of its j oi nery and, morc often
than no t, 1Il3de of oak--which i~ a
suprell1 e1y appropriate wood for hardwearing furniture and a species that harks
back to the period ill furn itu re- making
history when craftsmansh ip was valued
more thall C()lllllw rcial su ccess.
Th e movement embodied the wri tings
of a variety of influell tial 19th-cell tury art
critics, philosop hers. a rchi tect~, and designers
such a~ John R uskin and William Morris, as
well as th e work of 20th- century furniture
makers Gustav Stickley (and his brothe rs),
Elbert H ubbard, and th e n. oycrofters.
O ther seminal fi h'1lrt'S included the noted
California architects Charles and Henry
C ree ne, h an k Ll oyd Wright, and


y the late 1800s, the Indu. trial Revolution was changing the world of furniture:
The individual craftsman was being supplanted
by factory production as the leading influence
on style. Driven strictly by cOrlll11erci;J concerns, mechanization was overtaking what had
been a craft with an aesthetic founded on tJ"aJition, training, and individual t:raft~manship.
The result was an abuse of style and an excess
of indiscriminate decoration that took the
for m of a series of" revivals" produced pril1lariJy for the s:lke of novelty in an attempt to

capture the market.The Arts and Cr.tfts movemen t devdopeJ primui ly in opposition to
thjs trend, as designers, architects and furn illu-e
ll1akers strove to produce itel1t~ that placed a
greater value on purer ideals of artistic honesty
and craftsmanship. Initially, at least, the Art~ and
Crafts movement Wa! more about what not to
do tllan it was about a clearly defined new
style. This is why there is such a broad range of
pieces-spanning a long period--that
can be identified as belonging to the
Arts and C rafts style.

Charles Rohlfs
"(

S.
Hcav~y influenced by the Gothic

style, Rohlfs was a leading figure in the American Arts and
Crafts movement and was a
friend at Elbert Hubbard
(founder of the Roycroft Com·
munity at East Aurora, N.Y.).
Rohlfs was influenced by mod·
ern designers such as Qlartes
Rennie Macintosh and, as many
other Arts and Crafts designers
did, looked back to the Gothic
Period in his usc 01 oak, as ex·
empliflCd by this desk.

Byrdcliffe Arts Colony
J ,,,

I ( Ii

d

n lis stained poplar cabinet, with a carved and
polychromcd door panel, was a typical product 01 the
Byrdcliffe workshops in Woodstock, N.Y., founded by
the wealthy Englishman Ralph Whitehead, who had
been a student of the eminent VICtorian art critic John
Ruskin- the generally acknowledged father of the Arts
and Crafls movement. Simplicity of design as well as
individual craftsmanship in a communal DnVlfOm1Cnl
inform this version of Arts and C rafls styto.

Gustav Stickley
j1 , d (I;,
07
Regarded by many as defining the style, Stickley's mass·
preduced pieces made of oak were the most commercially
successful manifestation of Arts and Crafts furniture. AI·
though his are among tho most simplo examplos of the
style, S tickley drew his inspiration from morc sophisticated
designers, such a,s Charles Voysey and William lethaby in
England.
.

QU INTESSENTIAL ARTS AND CRAFTS

13


internationa lly known :Ind influential de-

is not exces.~ ivdy difllcult

signers an d fur ni ture m akers harles Voysey,
Ern est G imso n, and the L3arusley brothers.
13ecallse the IlJOVelllent that resu lted in

ier, in [;ICt, to produce a crisp surhlce with a

this style of furniture bt'f,r;1I1 as far back

;l~

the

middle of the 19th century, the I<Inb>t' of design elements that belong to this style is, in

less than perfectly shar p tool on a piece of
oak than Oil a piece of softwood. Oak i~ not
toxic and may have a wide range of color-

ret!, white, or bro n-- depending on the
species. T he wood also takes stain well and
can be fumed , a technique that can produce

Six Quintessential Elements

a wonderfu l aged look. Altho ugh most
f;lctory- built Arts and Crafts fur niture was

A rt~

and

C raft~ furni ture li n iql.le, tbere are six main
elemellts that make this type of furnitlll-e

noticeab le and memorable.
1. Material Quartersaw n oak does haw

made of oak, many well- kll owJl design ers
have used other species, stich as ·.valnut,
maho!:,rany, and cherry.
2. Construction techniques Although
ca binet construction wi th veneered surf.1cc-s

much to recolllmend it: strength, durability,
relative stability and an attractiVC' figu re char-

is occasionally used for the body of an Art~

acteri:r.ed by the medullary rays not visible in
flats;lwn stock (see the top right drawing on

pieces are lllade llsing solid wood and

th e filcing page) . Although a hardwood, oak

Frank Llo yd
Wrig ht
(J

Although not an avowed
momber of tho movement,
tho architect Wright, like
tho Groene brothers, designed furniture for his
houscs-such as this extremely rectilinear pine
chair with exposed joinery,
which although typically
·Wrightian~ is also distinctly in the Arts and
Crafts style.

14

work- it is eas-

f:1ct, much broader than many people realize.

O ut of all the features that make

1(('

to

FINDI NG DESIGN INSPIRATION

and _rafts piece, the majority of autben tic
fi-:Hll e-a nd- pancl construcLion.


Consistent with the di rectnes.c; and honesty that are th e h.111ll1arks of this style is the
use of slats where a sol id piece or a rrameand- panel section would be overkill. Unlike
the fu rniture of the Gothic Period, turned
elelll enLc; are rare in Arts :lI1 d Cra ft~ desi gns.
AJl of this is ill keepi ng wi th the principle of
usi ng the sil11plest possible Ill eth od~ o f work
for the most honest and unpretentiolls result.
Silllple does not, however, l11ean sloppy,
especially in terms of tllC co nstr uction o f a
piece. In fac t, because the aim o f the Art~
and Crafts m ovemen t was to design furnjture that th e maker cou ld be prou d 01, a
nice executio n, particu larly o f exposed
j oi nery, is essellti::tl when bui ldi ng a genu ine
Arts and C r
Q u ar tersaw n Lu mbe r Suit s the

I (
Most boards from a tree
sawn in this pattern show
no medullary rays and arc
less stable

Sty~e

'r

When a trcc is first quartered, the boards cut by any
of the patterns shown arc
less likely to warn and will
show medullary rays.

3. Joinery Without a doubt, the l1l0 n ic;e
_lIld tenon is tllt:' killg of Arte; and C mfte; joints
(see th e sidebar -I- on p. 1H). Do ·t::t iling,

Charles Voyse y
'j', J

Ernest Gimson

rc.
Gimson was one of the chIef ligures of the Arts and
Crafts movement. His sideboard, with its rectilinearity, simple lines, usc of native wood (cheslnut) and
re rained uSC of minor ovolo meld ing on tho legs,
is an expression both of the values of the movement
as direc tly expounded by William Morris and of the
rolated attemp t to reintroduce traditional count ry
crafts to high-quality furniture.

Voysey was another admirer of
William Morris and a lead ing ex'
ponent of the British Arts and
Crafts mevement. His particularly

spare stylc-a Shaker·like simp licity complemented by mo re flow ing and elegant details such as
tho heart· shaped cutout and
square legs that taper to octagonal feet- was tho precursor to the
American Mission st yle popularized by makers such as Gustav
Stid
QUINTES SENTIAL ARTS AND CRAFTS

15


Paneling
ElQhteenth- and-nineteenth-century paneling typ ically has a frame c onsisting
of stiles and rails of different w idths, invariably molded on tho inner edges
surround ing a fi elded or rai sed paneL Arts and C raft s paneling is typically
square, with equal-width rails and stiles. Panels arc sometimes carved, but
morc often than not they aro plain and flat i unmold cd frames.

,

:--- - ---=-=:i
:

J

I

~

r

;
,

I

~
-d

dowd ing, lapped. and ho used j oin ery al. o
are u. ed where appropri ate, but jll keeping
with tb e de m a nd~ of strength and honesty,
the morti~e-a n d- tcn on j oin t plays a n1;U r
role in the lll;uority of Arts and C rafts
pIeces.
ever.!1 arieties of tenons are used, including stub, blind, througb-, and tu. k, but
each is used on ly when and wh ere ne essary for maximum . trell gth wi tho ut COl1l pro mi. e. T his meam that if, fo r example, a
through-tenon is the strongest pos.~ibl e
form in a given situation, the design wi ll
make a vi rtue o f the neces~ ity by not atteJll pting to hide or disbru ise the j oint. Th is
res ult~ in the ends of th ro ugh -ten o/l.~ bei ng
fi nisbed a little proud of the surf.1ce, o ften
nicely chamfered and w ith any wedges

Charles and Henry Greene
• 'I

,

'/ f (

',) 11

W ell known as architects, the G r ne brothers dosigned Arts
and Crafts furniture recognized for uniquely dIstinctive def ails
such as the d e ud-lift lines soon on various members ef their
tables and plugged mortrses on brcadboaitlcd tableto ps.
Their work rcpr
IS some of tho highosJ expressions of the
American Arts and Crafts movcmen l

----

16 FINDING DESIGN INSPIRATION


thoughtfully ar ranged for a pleasing isual
pattern and the 1lI0st efficient use.
4. Design paradigms In Am eri can Arts
and ra ft~ pieces, whether of the lIlass-

produced variety typ ifi ed by Custav tickley's , raftslll3n furnitu re or the higher-end
cu. tom designs of the Greene brothers,
there is an il11l11ediate impress ion of squareness. This is IIIOSt evident ill the profi les of
top, edges, and other flat surf:lces, such as
broad chai r arms. Moldillg is alm ost COI11pletely absent, sharp edges. re gently
re lie ed but not rounded, and overhangs
are kept to a lll inilJlu m .
Although many detsquan"-Such as in p:llIe1ed fun ning, where a

bottom rail wider than other fralll e llIell\bers is rare (sec the drawing on the (.,lCing

page), and in th e design of glazed door.,
where all panes are equal.ly squareabsolute s4uareness i. largd y illusory, and
slopes and curves are conlllJOJl . It is 1J0t that
the sty le is inelegant- mallY pieces call be
found hased o n elegan t design paradigms
such as the golden rectangle (. ee the drawing o n p. 18)- but th e strength alld utility
of a piece ;11\ ays dOIll.i nate.
Both gen tly and boldly formed curves
arc common in sk ir~ , chair ra ils , and the
lower edgt's of cabin et sides, but they arc
mvariably . illlple alld rarely compound, except for occasional tight cutouts o n st 01
b ~st's . ll ch shapes, in 'Iuding ogl'CS and in tersecting arcs. are nods to the Influ ence of
medieval Cothic oak furniture, llIuch valued by leaders of the Arts and Crafts style

Roycroft Community
tI '1

t'

cl

(' 1

In contrast to tho previous one-of' a kind
pioccs by Charles Voysoy. the Roycrofters.
founded by Elbert Hubbard-an ardent beliover in many aspects of the Arts and
Crafts movement not limited to fumitu
alon~oduced extromcly 'mplc and un'

sophlstlcalod "factory·made· pieces In
white oak.

Sidney Barnsley

(I, (

d,

This waln ut cabinet'on-stand (with holly and
ebony stringing) is in many ways far romoved fro~ the output of the Roycrofters
and the Stickley shops but owes its esson·
tial design to tho same principles of honosty
of purposo and design shorn of superfluous
decorallon. Barnsloy. his son. Edward, and
Ernest Glmson constitute the "grand old
men" of the Arts and Cmfts movement and
were the leading influences.

QU tNTESS ENTtAL ARTS AND CRAFTS

17


Designing Using the Golden Rectangle

1------

1

y - ____

r
1
x

H

j
8~

~t. 6t8
Y=

x ( 1.618

The perlcct squarcncss of the upper glazing and the
general rcctihncarity of this cabinet arc based on a
sophisticated design paradigm in w hich the height (H)
equals tho baso (8) multiplied by f .6 1 8 , a proportion
called tho golden rectangle. Tho upper portion of the
cabinet also is a golden rectangle.

for its craft~l1l a n~ hi p and ho nesty. urved
yet square- edf.,>ed brackets "re ano ther com111 011 fe"ture of Illany pi eces.
One other detail l.hat woul d seem to
beli e an apparent squareness and angula rity
is the fj-equ ent use of ta pered leg;. T he tapers, however, are usually limited to a short
section near the base. Tapering legs like this
prevents the piece frolll appearing too

heavy, bur because the rapers are equ all}
fo rmed o n all fou r sides of the leg, a geller.ll
feelll1g of squareness persist~.
5. Decoration Despite a superficia l pb innc. characterized by squan: edges, the lack
o f mo lding, the use of a rela ti vely hOlllogenous m;lterial. ,md th e fla tness of paJl els, Arts
and Crafts furni ture oft e ll is decorated with
a v"riety of techniqu es ranging (rolll simple
cu rved cutouts to del icate flo ral in la . (sec
the sidebar 0 11 the f.1cing p;l/:,re). R efl ecting a
con tinuing sensitivi ty to other styles ;md
[;lS h.i ons all the part of design ers sllch as
t larvey Ellis o r Charles R enn ie Mac intosh ,

who arc perhaps better kn own for lh eir Art

tronger and more appropriate

Decorative Reinforcements

than dowels or biscuits,
mortise-and-tenon joints may be
unshouldered (as for seatback slats)

lacking applied ornamentation, the exp osed joinery of Arts and Crafts furniture
bccamo the primary decorativo elomcnl.

or shouldered on anywhere from one
to four sides, depending on their
intended use and particular design.

'Ii,s/" l\1(11'lisr
,

milld
IHo/'lis('

l11tc

Four should

18

FINDING DEStGN INSPIRATI ON

{"

I'

Pi,,,/(·d l\1o

s·

, III


ot all details are perfectly rectilinear. Small accents, many in the fonn of brackets or cutouts,

The angularity of wedges and curved cutouts
lends a refined look to Arts and Crafts pieces.

enliven otherwise straightforward designs.

Brackets, though
square-edged,
unmolded and flat,
often arc given a
gontly curved profile.

NOllVe:lll styles, the influence of the more
QOWlIl g, nature- based Art Nouveau style is
fi It ill nJany Arl~ alld Crafl pieces- for ex-

pic oiling and waxing lIlay predomill;ltt',
o ther processes, such as fi lLing, stain in g, and
fU11Iin g, arc COllllllon.

ai llple, in the produ ct~ of variollS" utop ian "
wOI·bhops sucb as the Byrdclifle Art~
Colo ny in W()()d~t()ck, N. Y- in the forlll of
pastel- colored pain ted section~, tulip inlays.
and lily patlerns.
C entral to the principle of craft~l11anship
ill thi, ~tylt' of furlliture is th e lise of otlier
natu ral materials, such as reed and rmh for
seat~ , leather upholstery, and halld- wrought
hardware mack from iron or hanllllered
brass. The hard ware oftell i~ as ~qu a re and
~turdy as the furnitllre it serves alld stall d~ III
complete contrast to the elegant alld fin dy
wrought shapes fou lld on 1Hth-century

pieces or the overworked f.1 n t.1.~tic sh.1pes
COil II li on on Illu ch t 9th- century furniture.
A grat uitous form of decoration in terms of
stru ctu ra l fun ction, bllt one that is call. istent
with the in corporation of natlJl"rl1 Illaterials,
is the freq uen t lI.e o f a row of halJ(lwrought nail~ as an edge decoratioll .

Carefi.d mrf.1ce prepa • tioll is IllOSt iJIIport'1I1t. In the case of an open-graincd
wood like oak, a matchillg wood filler
should be u~ed . If oa k is filled first, it thm
may be waxed or perhaps lightly oiled and
then waxed. If wax alone is used, it !>hould
be colored. 0 that the wax- fi Ued pore. in
the wood cia Ilot show white.
FUlIJi ng, the process of exposing oak to
the fUll1 es of:u lllllon ia, is a COlll ntOIl
1l1ethod oftllrllillg oak darker with ou t pro··
ducillg the irregulJr color t.hat call result
fro m careless stain ing. TIle popularity of
fuming, especially among early proponents
of Arts and CrafL~ furnitllre, I"l'sultcd frUIll
the misconception that gelluin e Gothic filrlIitu re "vas extrelndy dark. That darkness, in
fact, ClIlle frolll cClltllries of l'xpmure to
smoky atJnospJleres. When new, however,
lIIost Gothic furniture was brightl y painted
or valued precisely for iL" light golden color.

6. Finish It wo uld be lIlappropri ate to fin Ish all Arts and rafts piece w ith a glos~y
lacquer. But wh ile natllral finishe~ like sim-

illustrator and the publisher of Blackburn Books
{www.blackburnbooks.com}.

GRAHAM BLACKBURN is a furniture maker, autbor,

QUINTESSENTIAL ARTS AND CRAFTS

-

19


Building in the Language
of Greene and Greene

BY lOMAS HUGH
STANGELAND

20

MA DL A It OM r- L OF FU RN rr

RE

recently in the style of Charles and
Henry Green e, brothers who design ed
houses and furniture in alifornia in the
first clecades of th is century. O ne of the
most difficult 3spe of makin g this n.lrnilure \ as finding ways to produce th e details, the li ttle tou ches th at deune the
Greenes' work and make it so appea lin g to

the han d and eye. The square black pegs,
w hi ch arc len slightly proud of the mahogany su rfa ce; th e exposed splin es also
proud and gentl y radiused back lo tile surrounding wood; th e rounded double- L
brackets--th ese and o ther signatures of the
Greenes' furniture are all deceptively tr icky
to make well. Once mastered, though, they
provide the basic vocabu lary for building
fUrlli ture in the language of Greene and
Greene.
The dinin g chair in lhe photo on p. 22,
o ne of a set of eight I built, is a straight reproduction of a chair designed by the
Greenes in 1908. Working from photographs, I followed their example as closely
as I could . Th e only conceS!>ion the client
and I made to cost \ as to leave out a subtle
carving detai l at the base of th e legs. I took
a mo re interpretive approach when I made
the sideboard in the phoro 011 the facing
page and the writing table in the inset

pho to at left. For each of th ese, I used a
Greene and G reene piece as a starti ng point
bu t red e igned the original to sa tisfy th e
clien l's needs, the demands of fUll cti on, and
my own sense o f proportion . (I:or an
account of how the sideboard evo lved fro m
its Greene and C reene fo ref.1 th er to Illy
fin al version, ee th e sidebar o n pp.26-27.)

Springs of Inspiration
The Creencs' system of detailing did no t

develop all at oll ce. It grew g radually as they
were exposed to a va ri ety of influ ences ,mel
idc.1s. Like 1l1.11ly craftsmen of their clay,
reene and Greene were deeply influenced
by the Arts-and- Crafts movement. A risin g
in 19th- century England in reaction to the
mechanization ,tIld shoddy goods of th e illlustrial revol ution , the movement was a caU
for honest hand craftsmanship.' rhe Greencs
were particularly influenced by Gusta
Stickley alld o ther propo nents of Arts and
Crafts who ernphasi:.:ed opellly ex pressed
joinery and function before fr ipperyfeatu res also evident in all tile Greencs' work.
What ~ets the reenes' work apart is the
blending of an Orienta l a 'sthctic with Arts
and C rafts . In Japanese temple archi tecture
and hinese filrniture, th e Greenes saw ways
to soften a composition of straight lines and
solids by ro unding edges and introducing


SWEET DETAILS define the furni -

gentle clir e '.T here's an Eastern overtone as
well in thc balanced but slightly asymlllctric;11 patterns of the Greencs' detailing.

Attention to Detail
Includes the Material
r he impact orthc detail!. in the Grecn es'
furniture is partl y a fun ction of the lIlaterial~ they med. ornbi ing cbony alld mahogany gives th e furni ture \ armth as \ el l
as a stron g visua l contrast. I wanted to

a<:hievc the !o.al11e effects but without using
endangered woods. I considered using
mapk with walnut acccnts. but I finally
cho e smtained- yicld mahogany and
Ebon- X'fl'vl, an ebony ubstitute made of
chel1l ically altered \i !IlUt. The chenllca!
treatmellt gives the Ebon-X a rich bla ck
color bu t also gives it ,>,forking properties
that arell 't that Car fium ebony'S.

Square pegs C linting, square ebony pegs
are . hallmark of Greene and Greene furni-

hIre. T he pCb'" ri~e above the rnahog-1ny, and
each little edge is geJ1t1y rad imed back to
the surroundi ng wood. pro idi llg a reflective surt:1 e and a tactile mes age of hand
cra ftslllallship. T he pegs emphasize the
j oi n L~ in the furn itu re , nd many are caps
for cOllnterbored ere" s. But as I laid out
the l1lo rtis~ for thefll on th e crest rai b of
thc chairs, I realized that some of the peg.o;
an: purely tkCoratl\'e. I followed the
Greencs' example in m aking the pegs in a
variety of izcs, from X,. to .Y.! in . . q . As fa r as
I cou ld tcll , the \ , na tioJ1 ill size \ s a matter f aesthetics. I found , too, that their
placement wa~ not exactl y sym metr ical.
R ather than being lined up in rows, the
pl:g'> were arra nged 111 \tl bset~ ~Iightly 0 . l't
hum each other to add isu;ll Interest (sec
the top right ph oto on p. 22).

ture of Greene and Greene.
Learning to produce them Is key
to making furniture that compares to the originals. The au thor's sideboard (above) and
writing desk (fating page) are
fresh designs, but their superbly
made and marshalled details
give them the ring of the real
thing. Both are made of sustained -yield mahogany and
Ebon-X, an ebony substitute.

BUILDING IN THE LANGUAGE OF GREENE AND GREENE

21


TO SUBSTITUTE FOR EBONY, the author used Ebon-X
(chemically altered walnut) for black details.

be th e exposed Sllrh'ICe of me pegs: achieving
a totally sl1looth su r{,1ce was essential.
It would be murder to make the tiny
rad iused edges with the pegs already ill

REPRODUCING DETAI

Square

black pegs left proud convey the
Greenes' message of hand

craftsmanship in the author's
reproduction chair.

22

1 made U- in.-d eep Illorti\es for the dozem
o f pegs with my ho llow-chisclll1ortiser. If
makes the job q uick; the little tcarollt i ~ not
notice" hle after I drive III rhe sligh tly oversized peg;. YOll could also usc a drill and
c1l1Sds or chop the morti~es by hand.
To make th ~ peg;, I r ipped 8- or tn- in.long ~tick .. of Ebon- X, so they were exactl y
square in section and fi action;tlly larger
than the correspondi ng morlises. I >q uated
up both ends o f each stick all tll C d isc
sa nder with th e .. tick held against the miter
gauge. I ~and ed ou t the d i<;c scratche \ ith
150- gri t papcr on my hand- held orbital
sander. T hese sanded encb would eventually

FINDING DESIGN INSPIRATION

th eir l11ortise~, ~o I d id my shapin g ahead o f
\'im e. I rounded down o;ligbtly on each edge
at t he clld of thc stick wi t h an orbital
san der, keeping the roundovers equal.To
get the gleal1l o f polished ebony, I took th e
sti cks to my gr inder and bu rnished th e et1d~
with red rOllge o n a COttoll buff w heel.
Wh en I wa~ sarisfied with the fInish , I
b;lI1dsawed abou t X ill . off each en d of all

the ti cks and rcpeated the pTOce~ until I
had ,1 good supply of peg;. The ban&,awn
{,1ce wou ld be Ilidcle/l in the I1lOrti. e, so I
didn 't have to clean it lip. But I did chamfer
the fOll r bottom edges, so they wouldn 't
hang up or cause tearo ut wh en I drove thc
peg into the mortise. I did the cham fering
on Illy stationary belt sander, holdll1g the
little peg. by h ~IJld (lcave your ungern ails a
little long for this chorc) . Or you coll ld do
th e challifering aga inst a stationary piece of
sandpaper all a fla r surface. I put a little glu e
in the mortise and drove the pegs wi th ;t
rubber mailet.


CHINESE BRACKETS FOR
STRENGTt1 and a sinuous line-

Curved brackets
Thme little double- L bracket'; below the
~ea t

Drawn from Chi nese fu rnitu re,
curved brackets tie Greene and

of the ch:m and the case of the side-

board :lI1d writi ng table arc deri ved from
Chine~e furnitufC. In .Iddition to tyin g part<;

together vl\ually and ndd ing a curve, they
provide some reSl<;tance to rac kin g forces
(<;ee the top photo). Wh ile tbey llIay look
innocent. they're qUIte a chnllen ge to make.
I made tbe bracke~ in bunches. I made
a Ma.\onite® template for each size L and
traced it over and over 011 a board machined to the correct width alld th icklless.
Because the wide end of the L would be
f:1ce glued. I put It on the edge of the board
to give it a long grain sUlface. I cut the
brackcts Ollt on the bandsaw and then sanded their outside curves o n my stationary
disc sand er and th eir inside cur ves with a
sanding drum chucked into my drill press.
To be sure I htouched them up min g the miter gauge
w ith Iny stalionary di~c sander.
All the curved edges Oil the fi-onts of the
brackets arc rounded over, and I did the
work with a router inverted in a i~e. If you
nlake a small pu~b block with a foam o r
ru bber bo ttom surface, you ' \l be able to get
you r hands away from the action while

Greene pieces toget her visua ll y
as well as struclurally.

BRACKET ALIGNMENT IS TRICKY The author

locates a dowel hole on his table by sliding the
bracket along a guide board clamped to the apron

and marking with a dowel center.

Fig. 1:

Bracket Joinery

Faceglued
jOlnl

Leg

BUILD ING IN THE LANGUAG E OF GREENE AND GREENE

23