Book recommendations for design

Wayne -

It may be difficult to find an affordable copy, but I got lucky . . . so maybe you can, too. This book was recommended to me as the “best” on design by a master woodworker who operates a woodworking school.

“Designing Furniture From Concept to Shop Drawing: A Practical Guide” by Seth Stem Taunton Press 1989

It is excellent.

It is out-of-print and most of the copies I found on-line were quite expensive ($100+). But I finally found an on-line used book seller that hadn’t researched what others were charging and maybe you can, too.

-- Paul, Texas

Wayne:
That’s a good recommend from Paul . Grab one if you can find it but I will also reccomend that you get into your library and research “design” too. It’s fasicnating and takes you to some really strange places in your ideas.
I also enjoy a tromp thruough antique store to see what worked and what did not over the years.
this is more of a structural lesson but it really help visualize a concept too.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Wayne,

It’s not really a how-to book, but I’d recommend Furniture: World Styles From Classical to Contemporary: from Judth Miller 2005. It’s a huge book. 560 full color pages on every major style of furniture since 4000BC along with some interesting historic details. I found this at my local library.

-- Matt - Syracuse, NY

Thanks guys. I’m reading Krenov’s The Fine Art of Cabinet Making. I guess that would count.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

For carving I picked this book up. I think it is of great value for its genre. “Wood Spirits and Green Men A Design Source Book For Woodcarvers and Other Artists”. By Lora Irish with Chris Pye and Shawn Cipa

Art class. I don’t remember the specific books. If you google Golden Ratio, you should get quite a few hits.

-- Vic in Pasco, Washington "It is what it is"-unknown author

There’s a couple more titles out there in print. One is by Graham Blackburn and I know he teaches furniture design classes at woodworking schools. I thumbed through it once – not as good as Stem but would be much easier to find. Check and see whether Michael Fortune or Paul Schurch have written books – like Blackburn, I know they teach classes on furniture design

-- Paul, Texas

Hi Wayne:

All the recommendations are good especially the carving entry and the Miller book, but I would like to add that when you read as I have many of the books mentioned above, you immediately box in your creativity. Bob’s mention of tromping through and obseving is the key to design. The piece exists; it has dimension that allows you to observe scale, and provides the opportunity to “THINK” how the heck was that (object) built. Subconsciously you grab a piece of this and a piece of that and finally it smolders its way out into a “feature” or a complete build. Nobody needs a book to know they need a pencil and paper to make creative notes or sketch notes.

Having been through the text, I would go through them lightly and not allow them to build barriers. And that includes Krenov. There’s is no magic to creating; only people who make us believe there is.

Neil

Wayne, I think I agree with Neil, to a degree. I was taught that in order to break the rules effectively one must know the rules. I would suggest that one study “Design” but not necessarily “Furniture design”. I defintely agree with Neil’s last statement. Creativity is something that can be learned and must be learned every day. This not the world of mystery and potions. Trust your eye. And trust your mind.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

I certainly agree with Neil and Thos. – it’s not “science,” it’s art – and perhaps my subconscious is a bit slow and muddled – but when I’ve tried my hand at creativity, I’ve built some pretty ugly stuff! The Stem book helped me understand why it’s ugly and what changes might make a difference. Creativity must be learned, but design theory is sure helping me cut down on the materials expense of trial and error.

-- Paul, Texas

Wayne,

I found several copies of the book Paul mentioned on Amazon at reasonable prices. Have a look; I think I’m going to pick a copy up as well.

-- Chris

Y’All:

I found many affordable woodworking design books at Lee Valley.
I do rustic, so some of my favorite titles include:

• Rustic Carpentry.
• Mission Furniture- How to Make It.

These books are from Leonard Lee’s Classic Reprint Series.

-- Randy (P), rustic wood crafts, Morning View, Kentucky

I should have had Chris do my search! Sorry to mislead on how hard it would be to pick up a copy. I guess I found just the expensive copies.

-- Paul, Texas