Furniture Books

An excellent book which has earned a spot over my drawing table. Superbly covers form/function, visualization, standardized (ergo) vs. personalized design, and construction principles. Covers drawing, drafting and CAD well. Includes a brief history of furniture.

The math is suited for the drawing table rather than the shop, as you should expect for a design book. The hows and whys of design principles are explored, some not as conclusively as I'd like.

The book is well illustrated with many relavent line drawings, charts, and graphs. It is nicely laid out, easy to read, and pleasing to look at.

Nice job, Mr. Graves!

This is an excellent book for the history of style, proportions, and ergonomics. It is especially useful for the cabinetmaker who is custom designing furniture. The golden section (golden rectangle) is covered in the most precise detail I have ever seen. The tables and charts are extremely helpful in the design stage of any project. If you design furniture, you'll definitely want this book in your library.

This book has loads of good ideas if you are just getting your shop up and running. Some of the jigs in the book can be bought, but why do that when you can make them yourself!

This is an idea book (one of a series from Taunton Press). Lots of pictures of workshops (large and small)with ideas on storage, layout, workstations, dust collection, jigs and accessories. Not a how-to book, this book is for those seeking inspiration. Mostly photos with little text and no plans or drawings. Since many amateur woodworkers seem to do more projects for their shop than anywhere else, this will be a great source for new projects. While some of the material may be familiar to readers of Fine Woodworking and other Taunton Press books, the majority seems to be new. One negative, many commercial products are featured, but little source information is provided. The is a list of sources in the back, but these are mostly major retailers and manufacturers known to most woodworkers.

The Author applied a new concept of "borderless global economy" to the specific containers market. This report is very useful and helpful for any researcher willing to get more out of the Borderless Economy. It is also useful for maker, distributor, or seller of specific containers.

This wonderful book shows a wide variety of different beds. You see everything from an unusual lounge that supports you with gel-filled circles to an exotic canopy bed with hand-blown glass finials and hand-painted posts.

There is large photo of each bed as well as information on the materials it was made from and its special features. The designer, manufacturer, and design date are given as well.

Some of my favorites include a roll-up lounge bed shaped like a snail that would be great for lounging and an interesting looking wave shape chaise lounge. Some designs are amazingly innovative, like a bed that folds away and coverts into a desk and another that can be either a couch or a set of bunk beds. There is a cradle made of cardboard and crib/cot that can be expanded as a child grows as well.

Ranging from whimsical to practical, what all of these designs have in common is creativity and ingenuity. They are great for anyone trying to get ideas for designing their own bed. I was amazed at what an imagination some of the designers have.

a great design book i have ever seen in a design bookstore ofmy city!... the book introduces the details of making some famouschairs.for a design student,it is very useful.you can understand how the classic chairs was made step by step and what they are made of.much beautiful pictures! END

If you think tables are boring check this book out. The table featured on the cover is an inflatable. This is an interesting overview of truly innovative tables. The layout is superb and each table featured includes nice details and drawings of things like tricky joinery and unusual materials. I use this book to shake up customers and deflate preconceptions.

This is a fun little book. It's being little is my only complaint. For the price I would like to have had a bit more. However, it does have a lot of color photos nicely reproduced so you can really see the designs.

It has a nice mix of furniture, accessories and even appliances from that period. Books that showcase museum pieces are nice to look at but "Affordable Art Deco" is for the rest of us -- those who want to create a Deco look in our homes. The authors give an idea of what things should cost, which is very helpful. For instance, two lighted art glass cigarette stands should run $75-$150, depending on condition. I've seen the same stands at an antique store priced at $400. I thought that excessive but now I have backup.

I certainly don't regret purchasing "Affordable Art Deco" and would recommend it to anyone out there shopping for the real deal, e.g.; Not just looking at it in a museum.

AMANA STYLE: FURNITURE, ARTS, CRAFTS, ARCHITECTURE & GARDENS explores the rich arts and crafts heritage of the German immigrants who settled in the Amana Colonies of Iowa, bringing with them traditions which continue to this day. Many of the buildings and arts have distinctive Germanic roots, and two historians whose ancestors have roots in Amana traditions discuss unique characteristics and features of Amana style, from its tendency to be unsigned and anonymous to how the feel and scope of Amana differs. From willow baskets to youth chairs, Amana's traditions receive a fine blend of history and personal insights.

Wendell Garrett once again produced another great collection on fine furnishings and architecture. There is great range from simple colonial design to grand represented in this book. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in colonial furnishings and architecture, or who simply likes the finer things!

This book serves as an excellent reference for Victorian furniture and is a great buying aid due to the large number of photographs with captions that identify the maker. Includes profiles of many of the famous makers such as John Henry Belter and J & JW Meeks.