New Design Project

8/24/08 Below is a quick photoshopped mockup reflecting design changes the client has requested. We have entirely eliminated the lace wood under the bubinga tops and on the door panels, opting instead to consider using big leaf maple burl which is more similar in color and less 'contrasty'. I like the new look and is similar to a piece I did a few years ago, for which we won a national design prize from Custom Woodworking Magazine. We may modify/simplify some of the door and drawer face details later if this is the palette we decide to work with. The doors and drawer faces in the photo below were plucked from the original sideboard image. Click the photo to enlarge it ....

Well, after a month or so of putting this on my to do list, I've finally gotten back to working on this project. It took a rainy Sunday afternoon to give me some uninterrupted time to finish the first scale model 3 photos down. The model is 1/6th scale, +/- 7.5" long, 6.5" high and 4" deep, translating into a full size cabinet 45" x 39" x 24" deep. I also made model pieces for the second cabinet with doors, shown in the drawing below and I hope to assemble that one before another couple of months go by. I would have finished it today but the sun came out around 3;30, a friend called, and we just had time to squeeze in 9 holes before it rained again. Click the pictures to enlarge them.

8/6/08
I wonder if the lacewood door panels are too dark and if maple burl might be better there ... The models have been placed in a 'to scale' cardboard 'room setting' which gives an accurate representation of how the pieces will look when they are installed.

Better I think

Unfinished, without hardware ... cherry base, lacewood under top and a bubinga top

With steel hardware photoshopped in ... The 'step in' just above the cabinet base seems too big and will have to be adjusted when we build the cabinet full size [or maybe when we make the other model.

Original Post from 5/4/08
This project involves designs for the second floor of a Philadelphia +/- 1840 downtown townhouse. The room is at the top of the stairs between a library/tv area and a formal sitting room in the front. The ceilings are high and the space is dramatic. We are currently working with conceptual sketches by a local architect and palette of Bubinga and American Cherry. We're seeking a somewhat contemporary/historical combination with simple but elegant detailing to go with the more formal and traditional feeling of the architecture without feeling reproductionist. (Is that a word?) Anyway, here's what I have so far ... Click photos to enlarge ..

Cabinet interiors

Side Elevation



May 31st ... Revised drawing ... cabinet width increased to 44" ...
center table eliminated for now

My first drawing over the architects renderings ...
Pretty literal

I've increased the width of the pieces ...
maybe a bit too much, Maybe 42-44" would be better ...

Photoshopped in a bubinga half oval
and two cherry cabinets with bubinga tops

Went on to add the artwork ...

Links to other posts on models and mockups below

Foam Core Models

Full Size Mockups and Photoshop

The Five Minute MDF Mockup ... 6 photos down

The Foam Core Scale Mockup

This post has a lot of photos but they take the project through the design stages of concept sketch, scale drawing, photoshop mockup, foam core mockup, client review and right on through to where the client cancels !! The description below the last photo describes the process. Double click the photos to enlarge.

Another great visualization tool is the foam core mockup. Essentially, we take scale elevations and floor plans, (all the same scale, obviously), paste them onto 1/4" foam core, cut them out and tape or hot glue them together to make a 'room'. If you're really into it, add furniture and people size cutouts. The model shown here is 1/2" to the foot making it about 7.5" wide, 5" high (10' walls) and 18" (36') long. In this case it was helpful for the clients but not so helpful for me, as, once they saw it, they realized it was going to be a space breaking piece of furniture that would rob their house of the open feeling they were looking for and they subsequently axed the whole project, moving the tv to another location in the room. I'm glad for them though as I think it would have changed the whole feel of the main living area of their house. Make a model, make a friend .....