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Inspiration and Design

Hey everyone thanks for checking out another show. Unlike the previous episodes this one is not about a tool or group of tools. Its time to start talking about designing and building our pieces. So to get things started I talk a little bit about where to get inspiration for your projects. Where are great places to look to find project ideas that are appealing to you the woodworker or to the people youre building for? Often times were building out of necessity, a need in the house, a need in the shop or just a need in the soul (OK thats a little too deep even for me). Inspiration comes from everywhere, so dont be afraid to look around and spend a little more time taking in the details. Is there an era of furniture youre fond of? Be inspired to reproduce a piece thats caught your eye at some time, after all Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery not to mention that many of our nonwoodworking family and friends will be awe struck at your accomplishments. To help me get my points across, without to many tangents, Im going to use the designing and eventual construction of my son Aidens Dresser as an example. I found a design I thought was appealing in a popular catalog for kids furniture. The proportions were right and the design appealed to the style of furniture my wife and I like. Once the basic proportions were established, height, width and depth the rest was all up to me. Using established furniture dimensions from manufacturers is a great way to get started down the road to your own style. There are design rules that can also help with getting dimensions that are appealing to the human eye also. The golden rectangle is one of the golden rules of furniture design its all about proportions that compliment each other, one that I use in almost every piece is the ratio of 1:1.6, either multiply or divide it. Heres an example Aidens dresser will be approximately 48 inches high, when I divide 48 by 1.6 I begin to get dimensions that fall into this golden rectangle rule. I repeatedly divide each answer again by 1.6 until I find a dimension that works for what Im trying to achieve. The funny thing is I cant explain it, but this rule hasnt failed me yet. I take liberties with it, rounding up or down for simplicity or even taking a larger number and dividing it into half. But even by doing so, I still get dimensions that compliment each other. Ill make sure to search for the articles where I found this idea and others so you can understand them better. But give it a try. Hey check out the links area, I added a new link to a website for sharing our works with each other, www.lumberjocks.com check it out if you get the time.

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