ART 351: Furniture Design And Making

Role: Furniture Designer

Duration: June ~ August 2018, 3 months

Design Process

Requirement

Design a piece of multi-purpose furniture.

Discover Problem

I had the problem of using my chair as a clothing rack, and I always ended up having no place to sit and study. This problem inspired me to want my chair to be a chair, not something I would put things on.

Concept Ideation

Based on the problem that I had, I decided to build a clothing rack that can also be severed as a chair or wardrobe. With that in mind, I went online to look for inspiration and generated ideas.

Work Plan

Once I have a general idea of what my clothing rack will look like, I started to plan out the dimension of my clothing racks and the pieces that I need to assemble my clothing rack. After I have detail information on what I need to assemble my clothing rack, I plan out a tentative schedule to keep track of how I am doing.

Full Scale Drawing

After my concept ideation, I started to draw my full-scale drawings. First, I figured out the angles between the legs and the height. I made it the same height as I am. After that, I began to plan on what kind of wood to buy. During the class, I learned how to buy the hardwood lumber and how to process the four-square lumber. Then, I drew down the parts I needed, calculated how many board feet I needed to buy, and finished my work plan. After purchasing the lumber, cutting the board, and processing the four-square lumber, I finally had the time to assemble my furniture. 

Assembly

During the assembly, I ran into some challenges, such as the angle that I calculated was not correct, and the clothing rack needed to be more supportive. I solved these problems by talking to my Professor and asking for his advice. For the calculation error, I was able to fix it by recalculating the angle. As for how to improve the support system for my clothing rack, I was able to add small bricks of wood on the part where it needed support. Finally, I had my clothing rack done on time and presented it to the class.

Final Display

Thoughts and Reflection

I enjoyed this project because this is something that I desire to have for a long time, and it turned out representative of who I am. I am a tall and skinny person, and that’s how this clothing rack looks like. This project helped me to develop the skill of making plans before every project and executing the plans accordingly.