Often a furniture design looks fine on paper (or on a computer screen), and performs fine when assembled in the shop. What many designers fail to consider is the scenario of use it will see as it resides in your home or business over time. It is those that encounter it when in place that often discover undesirable qualities or properties over time as they interact with it. Here are a few properties that my design students have encountered over time where their furniture demonstrated an unexpected flaw or two.
- Can you vacuum under it?
- Is it top heavy and prone to tipping? Do you have a cat that might knock it over?
- Can tables survive being sat upon?
- Is it jiggly? Long legs on a tall table may look best with no other stretchers or connections below the top. Flex in the legs may not lead to structural failure, but will likely let the top jiggle a little when touched or bumped.
- Can one person lift it or move it easily without disturbing what is in or on it?
- Is it appropriately sized for where it resides and what it holds in your home or apartment?
- Is it easy to clean? Grooves or joint gaps in a table top may add interest to the overall composition. Experience will reveal those grooves catch dust and crumbs and spilled liquids or just the condensation off a cold drink.
- Does the coffee table have clearance for your shins and toes when you sit next to it?
- Where it lives is there room for drawers to slide out or doors to open up fully for access to the contents?
- Does it travel well? Can it be strapped down without failing? I have furniture that has survived being moved from house to house several times. I also had a few pieces that didn't survive those moves.
- Are the wheels or casters an appropriate type and sized right to roll easily on the floor surface the project will live on?
- Does what it is made from react badly to dog urine? Cleaning
- Can it be repaired easily should it break?
- Does it mind being set where sunlight falls on it? Will sunlight discolor or bleach it?
- Could it survive being stored in an unheated or cooled garage or attic or storage unit for a few years?
- Will the surfaces see abuse from normal use?
- Can it be refinished or touched up easily?
- Will it wound you if you bump into it or fall on it? Sharp corners at shin height?
- Could you trip over protruding legs?
- Is it child or baby safe?
No design will have to deal with everything listed above. Miss one that the design should have considered more thoughtfully and it may live a life less loved.
4D
Comments and questions encouraged and appreciated!
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