Saturday, January 16, 2010

No. 16 Ladies Dresser -Bedroom Cases Week

     The title of this post and piece has to do with the size and overall style, not an assumption that only women would/should use this dresser. Disclaimer out of the way, lets move along, shall we.
     This piece is a classic 90/10. I had 90% of the piece done in 10% of the time but that last 10% took, well, 90% of the time. The 10% in this case was the base and feet. I think I must have drawn ten versions with at least two variations each. The design has the feel of an 18th or 19th century piece. After all the concave front of this piece is the exact opposite of a serpentine, reverse serpentine or Bombay chest of drawers so a direct comparison is inevitable. My point is that they are all geometric alterations to a basic, square form.
     The two top levels have three drawers each. Petite outer drawers flank the long center and serve as storage for more delicate items. The three bottom drawers run the length of the case for full storage. I could see this piece being made in almost any wood species, but I don't really have a feel for any particular one right now. The rest should be pretty obvious.
 


The Good: The overall shape of the piece is very appealing to me. Not traditional, but derived from tradition. Not contemporary but having an unmistakably modern feel. I like it.
The Bad: Though they took the longest to work through, I am still not entirely satisfied with the base and feet. The curvature is very specific and even a little deviation makes the whole piece seem a little off. I would spend more time concentrating on them if this piece were to go to production.

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2 comments:

Torch02 said...

There's a lot of interesting detail with this piece.

I like how the front feet flair both forward and to the side, even though I imagine myself stubbing my toes on them all the time. That curve also opposes the line of the widening concave front - which I think brings the piece together

Having the short apron being recessed from both the front edge of the base AND the front edge of the feet gives great depth to the piece as well.

jamon schlimgen cabinetmaker said...

Torch02
Glad you like it. I had the same thought about the feet. Sacrifices you know. I think this sketch format works well for a more detailed piece, much less confusion about what's going on.