Inspiration?

I generally find a lot of pictures (web, books, magazines), pick out what features I like and combine them into something new. Often I’ll also change the design as I go along. Holding the wood in my hand seems to invoke images.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

heck just check out the old projects here on Lumberjocks. If you can’t find inspiration here then just give up.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

I agree with Michael and Dennis. It also helps if you have a “style” in mind. Then you can work off of the design elements of that style and put together pieces that compliment each other. I’m partial to Arts & Crafts, so everything in my house is made to that school of thought.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

I get all my plans in my head I start from scratch and change sometime things as I go I find it the best way when I am done I have one of a kind …don’t put anything on paper just start and go you can do it…..Look at my profile and you will see that all I did are done without plans just from my own ideas

Those are some really good quotes, F.L. Thanks to you and everybody!

I usually get mine from LOML as she hands me a picture and says “Honey can you build this ?” .

-- waroland, Mount Juliet, TN

it does really help to have what you are looking for in mind. usually if it is for me and there is no time constriction i just don’t even look. it just comes to me. like with my armoire and dresser that i am making. my mom told me i could make them and without even thinking about it a few days later i was looking through FWW and found Steve Latta’s Spice Box design which later as my mom was asking how the armoire design was going it just hit me that that would be a great design.

I like books on ornamentation. Just search Amazon and you’ll find a lot of them.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Normally I too make it up as I go, but my dad wants me to have a plan for this one. Hey, I want a plan too! I don’t want to end up with something really ugly, and I want to practice/learn how to draw out a whole series of projects.

Thanks for your comments guys!

Check out antique malls and furniture stores.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

Usually Friday afternoons we lock up at 2 o’clock for the weekly deep clean, a couple of frosty Canadians later and things like “You know what would be cool???” start coming out.

That’s where the inspiration for our non-commissioned pieces usually starts. Sketches on off-cuts, proto’s knocked together with the nail guns, veneers cut in non traditional patterns, etc. etc.

I find that when I step back from the working part of woodworking I become much more creative.

I also have every issue of FWW ever published, which is where I find some of the more technical information, but again, as I stand back from it things tend to evolve to fit my own warped sense of design.

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

I like many of the other posters use photos from magazines etc, but I do like to keep the ‘style’ in mind e.g. shaker or mission etc… these style dictate the type of joinery I use and hence the design I end up with. I also have a few critical articles and books on design that I often refer to for the basics of the design like the golden ratio and proportions.

Something I have been experimenting with for my designs lately has been using photoshop. I will take a photo or design I like off LJ or elsewhere and make a wireframe drawing of it. I can then change the proportions easily to try out different designs. This route also makes it easy once I have finished to print off scale drawings that make great working drawings.

Hope this helps,
Derek

-- Derek Tay, Venerate the Tree Design

Try sketching it’s easy to erase and start over and it doesn’t cost anything. Draw it how you first think of it and then try a modification of your original thought. Then just keep doing that until something feels right in your gut. When it fells right for you your done. That’s how I attack the problem. You don’t need to be a great drawer to do this just get your ideas on paper. hope this helps.

-- Billp

I have to draw it, even then the plan is subject to change…

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

You just think about what you want. Long and low, say to compliment a nice long couch, or an era in time, to take you back to the 1910’s or 20’s. Or a hotel lobby in 1943. Or Aunt Miriam’s house in 1962. It’s all in your head. Think about it a long time. Know what you want to build. See it. Make a rough sketch. Throw in some dimensions to start with. They’ll change. Hold your tape in midair as you get your measurements close to what you’re looking for. Eventually confidence sets in, dimensions are written in stone, and you go for it. This probably didn’t help you a bit, but that’s what I do. As always, bbqKing

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

Thanks everybody!
And thanks BBQking for the tape measure trick, it’s simple I probably would not have thought of it!
Thanks again guys!

one other idea with can give you design and building inspiration is to visit a really high end furniture store and you should get some decent ideas or even some construction ideas. hope that helps.

Think about where the furniture is going to be used, what shape is the room, how high is the ceiling, is there other furniture in the room, is there other types of wood used to deorate the room, what is the lighting. Thats where I start by figuring out what would fit the room. As for design ideas, you need to decide what style furniture trips your trigger, do you like asian, arts and craft, some people even like stuff from the 1700-1800 period. Do like furniture that looks delicate or really solid and robust. Once you know the answers to the above you can start looking around at what has allready been done and find the parts of different pieces that you like and the mix that with what you liked off of another piece. Before you know it you have a one of a kind. I try to stay within certain boundries such as know sizes, that have been proven to work with the sizes of the human body being in a comfortable position. Once I go from the scetch pad I make full size drawings on Butchers Paper. This gives me chance to see that everything will really work out. All of my joinery has allready been figured for. I’m sure there are as many ways to so it as there are woodworkers. One reason I do it my way is that I hate paying for wood to experiment with.
Good luck and have fun.

-- Ed Collinge- Edmonds, WA.

Thanks Ed, that is seriously helpful!