I’m making a small table for a good friend, she needs it to fit “just right” in the space next to her chair. The dimensions she gave me are:
16-17.5″ high
9″ wide
14″ deep
These seem like rather odd proportions to me, but being quite spatially challenged, maybe they’re not. Anyway, I was thinking about modifying the table below, originally 12″x12″x30″, From Wood #135 (with walnut inserts, not glass, in a maple base – or vice versa). Question for you design-talented members: how might you tweak these measurements to get something that looks semi-balanced?? Also, are there any changes you might make, say, to the legs or apron to get a better look for the rather squat shape?? That second shelf might have to be eliminated, no? since her table would be much shorter…..
Thanks.
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
My best suggestion would be to bang together a mock-up out of scraps, using the dimensions she wants.
I had a similar problem just recently; client wants one of those coffee tables with the lift up top -- so's they can eat their vittles in front of the TV.
I got the hardware, made a mock-up from MDF, schlepped it over there, and we could all tell immediately (well, almost) what had to be changed. The final will be QSWO and represents a fair amount of time for me, so I wanted to be sure we were on the same page before I invested that time. The mock-up took only an hour.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Yep, a mock-up is in order. Certainly have enough scraps around to do it for such a small table. She'll pretty much defer to me though -- a long-time friend close to 80 yrs. who's main aim is to help others, so it's hard to get her to express a preference sometimes! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl-
I recnetly made a simular type display table. Only mine has a square top. But one thing I think you could do is pull the legs out of the corners and put them in the middle of both the width and the depth. This would take the eye off the fact that the dimension are strange and focus them on the different type of leg arrangement.
Just my thoughts on the subject. I tried to upload a couple of pictures of the table. But it won't let me do it at the moment. You can look at my website and look under archives and go to the Sepetember month and you'll see a table called "8". This is the table that I am talking about. I hope this helps.
Kaleo
http://www.kalafinefurniture.blogspot.com
Edited 2/6/2007 1:33 am by Kaleo
Edited 2/6/2007 1:43 am by Kaleo
With only minor tweeking, the top would be a golden rectangle. 14 1/2" x 9" or 8 3/4" by 14 1/8" would be closer. This is a small size top, so I don't really think the fact that the table isn't very tall won't make it look squat at all.
You can't pull the legs in very much from the corners, I wouldn't think, or the table would be awfully tippy on such a narrow (less than 9") base. You could use column proportions to scale the legs. There isn't any one way to do that, but if you used a doric column and took the top and rails as equivalent to the entablature, those would be about 1/5th of the total height (eg. 17/5 = 3 3/8 " about) and the diameter of the column (legs) would be half of that or a 1.7" which implies square legs of less than that--since square reads a bit fatter because of its longer diagonal measurement (1.4 times the side). So the legs would look OK at somewhere between 1 3/4" and 1 1/4". I'd try 1.5" or perhaps taper them from 1 5/8" to 1" or the like. Personal preference is the largest part of the choice, in this case the preferences of your friend. The systems of proportionality are just good frames of reference to guide the thinking, not absolutes.
Yes, I'd eliminate the shelf. I like tops to be lighter than the base so I'd use maple inserts in walnut. Or, I'd use all walnut--mainly because I like walnut. Four inserts in such a small top might look busy--think about framing one panel, or just making it a solid top.
Edited 2/6/2007 8:18 am ET by SteveSchoene
Steve, thanks for all of the info and suggestions! I'm familiar with the Golden Rectangle, but had no knowledge of "column proportions." You've confirmed a couple of changes I was considering: solid top and tapered legs.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
The column proportions concept is quite useful. You can find a number of guides to the column dimensions on line. This was a very common feature of guides for both furniture makers (Chippendale, Hepplewhite, and Batty) and builders (Benjamin Asher) from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The use of classic proportions in the past may well have "conditioned" our eyes to find similar proportions attractive, even though we may change the detailing. There was at least one article on the topic in FWW some years ago.
I work mostly with proportions, so multiples help; for example- 12" w 14" d 16" h.
A piece like the pictured table looks unstable because it's quite tall for the length and width. Another option is to move the table next to a wall to prevent it being knocked over.
Expert since 10 am.
Hi, JP. Our version of the table will certainly be less tippy. Think Danny DeVito vs. Tiger Woods, LOL. Table must be next to her chair, not far inside the door of their small home. Arts and Crafts would have been my first choice, but their modest home is filled with quite traditional furniture -- pie-crust table, wing-back chair among others, and A&C is one style that just wouldn't fit in.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I don't understand what is odd about the original dimensions. The example you show is very rectangular. That is, it has four straight vertical legs. Try to get yourself out of that rigid framework. Sketch out more of a pedestal base and use a thin slab top. Make this small table lithe and light. Curved legs with their feet placed within the constrained dimensions and then meeting the top near the center will give a dynamic movement to the piece. Perhaps an elliptical top will also help to give some visual interest.
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