Side table – Form/function/design and customer satisfaction

I would suggest to look around the internet, through home magazines, visit furniture stores and do this over several weeks. Mark down what you like and don’t look at it for a week, if you still like it start narrowing down to the ones you like the most and then think about the likes and dislikes of it and see what you can change to suit your own tastes. This is the time you start to personalise your creation to make it your own. Then start the drawings, check and recheck your drawings before committing to them. I usually like to come back to them over a two week period as I know I will find errors, miscalculation and will make additions or subtractions to change the overall design. Sometimes even during the build I will make new additions and changes in cad for a new and improved version of it for my next build.

You asked a difficult question which only you can answer over time.

You know the old saying “you can’t reinvent the wheel” car manufacturers are a classic example of this they just copies each others designs and modifies them.

Look at organic furniture someone wasn’t asleep and noticed the beautiful natural flow of a tree then brought that into his design. When you think it about it wasn’t his design but God’s, the artist just got inspired about an existing design and took all the credit for it, now everyone’s’ doing it.

I’m yet to see a design that’s completely original. Just look around you there’s plenty of wondrous designs to get inspired by.

Salko, I totally agree that the particular wood used has to have a say in the design. As a wood turner, I’ve often felt that I was merely uncovering the object that was inherently present in the material used. This has led to some wonderful surprises, which I can take no credit for.

I don’t think I have ever built anything from a measured drawing. I’ll look at plans and photos etc. for inspiration, or my wife will show me a photo of something she likes. I’ll then build the project in my head several times until I’m satisfied. I like to have the wood that I’ll use for the project available as well, so I can see how that fits. I’ll generally work from a rough sketch for dimensions etc. and details may change as I’m building. I have the advantage of not having clients to satisfy and my wife has generally been pleased with what I’ve come up with. There are a few times that what I’ve produced is firewood, but that’s a learning experience as well.

Antonio,
For me, design comes either from desired function or from available material.
That is, the desired function plus what you know about furniture and your technique shall give you some inspiration to go in the direction of your customer´s wishes.
But also available material, as a limitation, gives you an input to proceed in some way (and not in any other way).
Usually, I don’t draw all the details before starting a project. The basic lines and structure are defined and some things are worked out during production.
Of course, you should not go back and forth. The main concept cannot be changed afterwards, but embellishments can be added.

It looks good Antonio!
Even a little shaping of the leg will make a dramatic difference in the lightness of the look. Grab a few scraps and play around with different shaping ideas. I’ll also put in a vote for what Paul has done on past projects. I’ve used that technique several times and really like it.