Mar 18, 2024

Furniture Design Simplified

Norman Pirollo

The WoodSkills furniture design course or class describes the design process in modules and lessons. Although furniture design can appear intimidating, separating the process into steps makes it manageable. Furniture ranges from a standalone cabinet to a chair. It begins with a sketch of a furniture design or concept you have in mind. A sketch evolves into a series of drawings and ultimately into a furniture piece.

WoodSkills offers a furniture design course (class) that breaks the design process down into bite-sized pieces. Furniture design can appear intimidating but separating the process into individual steps makes it feasible. Furniture can range from a standalone cabinet to a chair. It begins with a sketch of a furniture design or furniture concept you have in mind. The sketch evolves into a series of drawings and ultimately into a piece of furniture.

By letting your creative juices flow and simply putting pencil to paper, designs begin to take shape. Furniture design is an iterative process with one design evolving into another. The term "fleshing out" is just that, it describes the process of refining a design. A concept or idea evolves into a sketch, a drawing and ultimately a furniture piece. Creating scale models of a furniture design is an intermediary step to prove the viability of a design, both aesthetically (proportions) and functionally. Once a design is finalized, the next logical step is to create a maquette or scale model of the design. Creating a maquette is an enjoyable, stress-free process that provides you a better idea of the ideal or correct proportions and how individual components of the furniture are scaled to one another.

The sketching process is a means to rapidly get ideas on to paper (ideation) without considering technical details. The technical aspects of a design, dimensions and components come later after the final design is arrived at. Move outside your comfort zone and experiment with new, radical designs that challenge you. Staying in your comfort zone can keep you from developing new skills and knowledge.

In the end, the design of the furniture should be in harmony and balanced although not necessarily symmetric in form. The furniture proportions should follow an established design convention or close to one. The Golden Ratio is a widely recognized a design convention that provides aesthetically pleasing proportions. With the price of wood nowadays, it becomes increasingly important to get furniture designs right!

Learn more about furniture design in our Furniture Design Course ($40)or the Woodworking: Design to Making (Master Class $50). Both courses cover the furniture design process although the Master class includes several modules on creating furniture, the joinery and techniques.