# Recommend a design book



## DannyJH (4 Jul 2012)

Hey, looking for good design books, namely on furniture but any areas of woodworking are always welcome  

Thanks


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## marcros (4 Jul 2012)

DannyJH":2n34kfr4 said:


> Hey, looking for good design books, namely on furniture but any areas of woodworking are always welcome
> 
> Thanks



I would suggest something that shows you the traditional rules of how to make things- joyce is often quoted, then when you know the rules, you can experiment with breaking them, in which case books of art , nature etc are probably as valid to inspire your mind. 

just my humble opinion!


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## mbartlett99 (4 Jul 2012)

Don't know if its what you're looking for but I recently bought three books; 500 Tables, 500 Chairs and 500 Cabinets all from Amazon. There's no text just 500 colour photos of 500 different examples of the genre ranging from the avant garde to the very traditional. I find them great for inspiration.


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## Phil Pascoe (4 Jul 2012)

Golden proportion, catenary chains, fibonacci series are worth googling - a lot of things look right without our knowing why.
When I showed my woodwork master an ideal home exhibition design book in 1970, he looked through it very carefully and told me that it was quite easy to make good furniture - don't do anything like that! Looking back, he was right.


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## Phil Pascoe (4 Jul 2012)

mbartlett99":2n2dhkr3 said:


> Don't know if its what you're looking for but I recently bought three books; 500 Tables, 500 Chairs and 500 Cabinets all from Amazon. There's no text just 500 colour photos of 500 different examples of the genre ranging from the avant garde to the very traditional. I find them great for inspiration.



+ 500 bowls!! I bought 500 rings, as well, because I do a bit of silversmithing,


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## DannyJH (6 Jul 2012)

Thanks for suggestions guys, taken on board.

Starting a full time furniture making course in sept and how you go about designing new pieces feels like my weakest area.


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## Jacob (11 Jul 2012)

mbartlett99":1enpnnao said:


> Don't know if its what you're looking for but I recently bought three books; 500 Tables, 500 Chairs and 500 Cabinets all from Amazon. There's no text just 500 colour photos of 500 different examples of the genre ranging from the avant garde to the very traditional. I find them great for inspiration.


I thought I'd have a gander at 500 Tables, 500 Chairs. 
Strange stuff. Virtually nothing remotely traditional in either book. Nothing "modern" either. It's as though nothing was made or designed before about 1990 - "post modern" I suppose. So many tortured and twisted shapes, each trying to be cleverer than the other. Slightly nauseating. One or two just straightforwardly jokey but most of them deadly serious and seriously overworked. 
Depressing.
It helps explain one of the themes often repeated on here - the urge to design everything anew as though it had never been done before*. Not an easy thing to do and possibly not worth the effort considering the richness and variety of earlier stuff - all those babies now thrown out with the post modernist bathwater!

*PS such as recent thread involving a two drawer table.


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## mbartlett99 (11 Jul 2012)

There's undoubtedly some absolute rubbish in those books but some good stuff too just for getting the creative juices going. At least we're spared the pretentious waffle that you find in some of them.


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## Jacob (12 Jul 2012)

Had another look. The stark studio photography doesn't help and adds to the surreal effect, but as I got over the shock of all those tortured shapes I started spotting things I liked!
I still feel that the complete omission of anything earlier than 1990 leaves a huge gap. Post modern could be a dead end!


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## Racers (19 Jul 2012)

Hi, Jacob

Have a look at 1000 chairs lots of older stuff in there.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1000-Chairs-Klo ... 3822857602

Pete


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## Jacob (24 Jul 2012)

Racers":3gk04muk said:


> Hi, Jacob
> 
> Have a look at 1000 chairs lots of older stuff in there.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that. Came today. Yes a much better book than the 500. Not just because it has twice as many. It includes early classics from architects, Shakers, Thonet etc.
But still absolutely zero in the way of traditional. Why there is such a huge blind spot in the world of design?


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## marcros (24 Jul 2012)

maybe that is in 1500 chairs?


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## mickthetree (24 Jul 2012)

Do you have a go to book or books Jacob? I know you have mentioned studying existing furniture in the flesh a great resource.


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## Jacob (24 Jul 2012)

mickthetree":28ybu5gf said:


> Do you have a go to book or books Jacob? I know you have mentioned studying existing furniture in the flesh a great resource.


Of the top of me head; John Brown, Claudia Kinmonth, Richard Bebb, Thos Moser, Aunty Joyce, Shell Book of the Home, Regional Furniture soc journals, and others.


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## mickthetree (24 Jul 2012)

Cheers Jacob. Plenty in there I've never heard of so I'll get googling. Cheers!


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