Modern Furniture Book

[wizer]

xmas time again... Been searching the forum for book recomendations. Found plenty for the list. Although i'd like a book on modern furniture. By modern I mean of the last decade or so.

Any ideas?

 

[Freetochat]

How about a catalogue from MFI and Ikea :lol: :lol:

 

[DaveL]

and Ikea

Your going to spoil that boy. :roll: :wink:

 

[Alf]

How to make it, or inspiration? For the former, erm, there's a FWW "In the Modern Style" that caught my eye in the Stobart Davies cat, and probably Kevin Ley's one who's-title-escapes-me. Or Furniture-making Projects, which is a compilation of articles from F&C might fit the bill.

For inspiration, either of Betty Norbury's - Furniture for the 21st Century & British Craftsmanship in Wood would probably have you hanging up your saw in despair...

Cheers, Alf

 

[MikeW]

For inspiration I usually go to the library and look in the Arts section for titles involving modern things--or any period really. The book selections can be quite vast. The Italian titles especially I find intriguing. And of course the Danish ones--but then my penchant in furniture is early 20th century Danish modern.

Compared to "woodworker" type books, the variety is greater, the shear number of titles more vast. But if one wants to purchase them, they are usually very expensive.

"In the Modern Style" is a decent book. I have taken a couple ideas from it and it is reasonably priced.

Take care, Mike

 

[wizer]

Thanks guys, some good ideas there

 

[Scrit]

WiZeR

Try Franz Karg's "Modern Cabinetmaking in Solid Wood" (Bell & Hymann: ISBN 0 7135 1203 2) if it's still available (published 1980), or his later book "Solid-Wood Cabinet Construction" (Taunton, 1991: ISBN 0 942391 97 7). Karg's students work has been featured in FWW a number of times and they are masterful in the use of both softwoods and hardwoods, although some may find one or two of the styles a bit Teutonic (use of chip carving in a few cases). Both books feature construction details (black and white photos as well as cross-sectional drawings) including all wood knuckle joints (pivot hinges), some truly innovative frame and panel designs/constructions, wooden handles, etc. Despite the dates of these books you'll find many of the pieces in them to be modern and fresh whilst being neither extreme nor over commercial and there is sufficient detail in both to actually draw-up and make one's own interpretation of many of the pieces.

Alternatively if you want a reference tome on modern furniture I'd really recommend "The Sourcebook of Modern Furniture" by Jerryll Habegger and Joseph H. Osman (Norton Press: ISBN 0 393 73010 7). This is broken up into sections including beds, coffee tables, desks, dining/conference tables, etc. with most if the 20th century design icons such as (in the chairs section) the Thonet bentwood chair, Mackintosh chairs, Hans Wegner's Peacock chair, the Eames ES670 lounge chair, etc. included. All photographs in black and white, but a good design source book on the last century.

Scrit

 

[Wanlock Dod]

I believe that I've got both of the books that ALF mentioned, and as was rightly pointed out, they are really more project based so contain a relatively limited amount of material for inspiration. That said, I thought that the sofa that I believe is on the cover of "In the Modern Style" was remarkably inspiring (although much of the other stuff somewhat less so). I'm not sure if this is really a recommendation or not :roll:

Cheers,
Dod

 

[Neil]

Try Franz Karg's "Modern Cabinetmaking in Solid Wood" (Bell & Hymann: ISBN 0 7135 1203 2) if it's still available (published 1980), or his later book "Solid-Wood Cabinet Construction" (Taunton, 1991: ISBN 0 942391 97 7).

Scrit, I don't suppose you know if the second book is just a rehash of the work in the first one, do you? I have "Solid-Wood Cabinet Construction" and love it, and I've found a second-hand bookshop with a copy of the earlier book but it is pretty expensive (£35) so I don't really want to buy it if it is very similar.

Wizer, I would second Scrit's recommendation for Karg, by the way - the work is very contemporary and inspiring

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Scrit]

I don't suppose you know if the second book is just a rehash of the work in the first one, do you?

Well I have both books on the desk in front of me right now and I can honestly state that, no it isn't a rehash, although the work in the later book is in the same idiom the first book - similar design philosophy and the same type of cross-section construction diagrams (only to be expected as Karg was director of the technical college which produced the people featured in both books). In the second book I feel that the work is a bit more varied with more wood/glass display cases, desks, etc. If you didn't have the second book then I'd recommend the first, but at £35 it seems a bit pricey. I suppose that's what happens to all these books. They become collectors pieces in such a short time

Scrit

 

[Neil]

Thanks for that, Scrit - I think I'll hold fire on the £35 one, but I'll keep looking for a cheaper copy.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[AndyBoyd]

This Betty Norbury book is a delight
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 32-7744636

The older one too but it's getting a bit dated now I feel
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 32-7744636

I always check www.abebooks.com first and via the advanced search limit it to UK second hand book sellers.

Regards