I have a customer that wants a 4′ to 5′ square coffee table ( 48″ to 60″ square) but here’s the kicker. it has to be in the Queen Anne style right down to the smallest detail. assembly would have to be on site but my better senses tells me there maybe a few problems.
1. Will the legs hold the top if made from 3/4 or 4/4 stock?
2. This is square, Queen Anne is normally rectangular making me think it will look odd or out of place in the living room
3. The finish is going to be Golden Oak to match the built in entertain center built a few years ago instead of a dark cherry or mahogany color.
I am going to do the quote this weekend.
My gut feeling is to back off this project and let the customer look elsewhere. What do you think?
Replies
I think I would have had a discussion with the customer to understand what they considered Queen Anne. Their answer to a question like, American QA or English QA? would have told you a lot about their knowledge "to the smallest detail". Most informed clients will have pictures and specific ideas about what they want. There are plenty of stubby cabriole legs on some basic tables that they call "Queen Anne" at the local discount store. If you have been to the customers home, you should have a pretty good idea of their design sense and level of taste.
Square tables are fairly common in the QA period. Some of the most well known are the card tables, tavern tables and tea tables. A perimeter apron connecting the four legs would be typical for the style. This is where your support comes from for the top. A QA table is fairly simple in that it is just four legs, an apron and a top. That doesn't mean any of these parts are necessarily simple. How embellished they are will be up to you and the customer, likely tempered by price.I've got a feeling that you could possibly buy some legs and come up with a basic design that might fit their needs and not take a big time commitment on your part.
I never leave a customers house without discussing the cost. It's pointless to go figure a job to a firm figure without knowing what price range the customer is thinking and that you have the job. Free estimates are a waste of time. Free estimates for a customer that you know you have the job for, as long as you can meet their design and price objectives, is totally different. As a salesperson, you have to get to that point before you take the next step. There's a big difference between a hand carved claw and ball and an outsourced component. You have to determine where in that spread your client fits and your skills match.
I was over the customers house on Saturday. She wants the coffee table to match an existing table she has. The table is no where near the QA style but the salesman who sold it to here told her it was. It has modified rams head feet on the legs which has beading on them about 12" up the leg from the foot. The aprons have a cloud detail, like a Greene and Greene table, on them with embossed appliques. The top has what looks like breadboard ends and sides with beading on them. The top itself is parkay (?) squares about 8" square. Color is more of a red oak or mahogany. For what its worth I am going to use std. QA legs and oak plywood for the top and do a modified breadboards on them.
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