Furniture Design Ideas

What are the material properties that furniture designers need to consider? What envi­ronmental conditions or structural characteristics influence the decision to use a specific wood or plastic in design? How might leather’s ability to absorb odor, moisture, and oils affect the decision on whether or not to use it? Considering material properties is integral to […]

From the vacuum-molded studies produced by students using laminated veneers (Figure 7.3) to the translucent polymer tables industrially produced in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) by Kartell (Figure 7.4), materials matter. Some designers utilize new materials in traditional ways, and some designers seek unique ways of utilizing conventional materials. In either case, material is a significant determinant […]

Where do architects and designers get their ideas? The answer, of course, is mainly from other architects and designers.19 Paradigms indicate and underpin general perceptions and assumptions about a subject held by a specific group of people. Architects, interior designers, industrial designers, engi­neers, and fine artists approach furniture design from different perspectives (Figure 6.67). Traditionally, […]

Coordination with the client and fabricator for the delivery, installation, and final approval of the completed work marks the activities in this phase of work. This phase includes careful preparation to transport the work, repair damaged pieces that result from transport, install built-in elements, carefully place furniture throughout a space, and provide a schedule for […]

At this point in the design process, the significance of a good working relationship between designer and fabricator will become apparent. Designers can observe the fabrication process but generally do not supervise it, unless the designer is offering a design/build service to the Figure 6.62 Pressing Maplex (cellulose fiber material) in a two-part press. Courtesy […]

Once a fabricator is selected and a contract between client and fabricator is made, the fab­ricator prepares shop drawings and templates and, in some cases, produces a working prototype to test aspects of the design. Shop drawings and working prototypes represent the most detailed and explicit type of information about the design. They are made […]

One can approximate the probable cost of fabrication during design development, but it is impossible to accurately determine the cost of fabricating furniture until the construction drawings and specifications are complete. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "God is in the details"16; he was right, but he neglected to add that "the Devil is in […]

Fabrication drawings, also referred to as construction drawings, working drawings, or contract documents, are given by designers to fabricators for pricing and fabrica­tion. All critical views of the design need to be shown and clearly delineated on paper or in the computer before fab­rication can begin. Generally, designers spend between 30 and 40 percent of […]

Designing furniture can be organized into phases. Designers can determine where they are in the process of designing furniture by understanding the expectations for each phase of work. Designers rarely skip a phase, although the process can move backward as well as forward. Designers can spend more time on one phase than another. There are […]

Designing entails the transformation of ideas into physical form.11 Designing furniture relies on a continual process of making informed, objective, and subjective judgments. The process involves formulating conjectures about form and func­tion, analyzing the efforts, and synthesizing design ideas into a product. It is known as the conjecture/analysis/synthesis method. The process is cyclical, one that […]