Cool furniture, design objects and desiderata

[venessian]

I searched the thread but didn't find much, so...

Anyone have thoughts on outdoor furniture?

We're in the beginning stages of re-doing our backyard. It's a pretty large project (we have a terraced backyard with a couple different gardens) so there are opportunities to intermix different designs and pieces throughout. My default is MCM, but my wife insists on more comfortable options, particularly for the patio, where we spend a lot of time with guests.

Right now we need a comfortable coach/set for the patio (I'm thinking Hay Hee lounge chairs for additional seating) and a couple lounge/chaise/Adirondack options for the fire pit and garden areas.

Any recommendations? Doesn't necessarily need to be fancy, either. Thanks!

I'll second JPHardy in general:
Knoll Schultz 1966 is great for the basic pieces. Elegant, discreet, durable, classic.

Then, add some individual elements to the basic group along the way. Hopefully some serendipitous and genuine pieces, not an overly staged ensemble. Too much difference, and things end up looking like a bad lighting store, with all those cacophonous variations never intended to actually live together.

I hope that JPHardy meant "Frank Gehry" (the stuff for Heller) pieces, not "Frank Cherry" (who was a white supremacist).

Personally, I would find a Schultz x Knoll / Gehry x Heller mash-up too "cute" and trying too hard. It would remind me a bit too much of:

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Recent completed work. Splayed leg, the trick being that the legs are splayed in two directions. The square shape of the legs is turned into a parallelogram to compensate for the angle and have the legs appear square again.

Nice and sturdy, I could not get the table to wiggle by pushing on it, which typically takes a much heavier base with huge connections when dealing with upright joints.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Finished this table also, client supplied photos since I did not bring any photography lights and ran out of daylight. So I’ll return and take photos.

This one is hefty, also does not budge, I cut tenons into the tabletop and used a lower stretcher.

 

[Mariokartfever]

Those look great, first one is especially awesome.

 

[venessian]

SkinnyGoomba:
Fantastic stuff. You are really very good, and it is always a pleasure to see your work.

Those are both beautiful pieces, but I too, like Mariokartfever, prefer the darker, tighter/more uniform grain top one. Both are super though.

Splayed leg, the trick being that the legs are splayed in two directions. The square shape of the legs is turned into a parallelogram to compensate for the angle and have the legs appear square again.

Do you have close-up images of this detail? The legs start as square in section and then you modify the section to a parallelogram? How do you determine the angles of the parallelogram in order to have the bi-splayed shape then appear square? That sounds great, a sort of entasis; I would love to see more.

 

[gettoasty]

Everyone is enamored about square edges. What about rounded edges?

Been tough trying to find and oval shaped dining table to accommodate 6-8 people comfortably without breaking the bank.

 

[Omega Male]

Saarinen oval table knockoff? Works well in a kitchen/dining setup but maybe not in a more formal room.

 

[Kaplan]

Maybe the the Super-Elliptical from '68, by Piet Hein, Bruno Mathsson, and Arne Jacobsen...

 

[dcjohnson]

SkinnyGoomba:
Fantastic stuff. You are really very good, and it is always a pleasure to see your work.

Those are both beautiful pieces, but I too, like Mariokartfever, prefer the darker, tighter/more uniform grain top one. Both are super though.


Do you have close-up images of this detail? The legs start as square in section and then you modify the section to a parallelogram? How do you determine the angles of the parallelogram in order to have the bi-splayed shape then appear square? That sounds great, a sort of entasis; I would love to see more.

I would like to know more about this too. Creating the angles relative to the horizontal planes (table top and floor) would be relatively easy if you know the angles of the bi-splay, but I have no idea how he choose those angles.
I’d also love to know if he has an tips or tricks for cutting the angled mortise and tenons where the apron meets the legs

 

[venessian]

Everyone is enamored about square edges. What about rounded edges?

Been tough trying to find and oval shaped dining table to accommodate 6-8 people comfortably without breaking the bank.

Not a single straight/square edge to be found:
Claesson Koivisto Rune

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

SkinnyGoomba:
Fantastic stuff. You are really very good, and it is always a pleasure to see your work.

Those are both beautiful pieces, but I too, like Mariokartfever, prefer the darker, tighter/more uniform grain top one. Both are super though.


Do you have close-up images of this detail? The legs start as square in section and then you modify the section to a parallelogram? How do you determine the angles of the parallelogram in order to have the bi-splayed shape then appear square? That sounds great, a sort of entasis; I would love to see more.

Thank you! Very much appreciate the compliments on my work. The legs start square only at the rough out, I planed two surfaces parallel then made them into parallelograms. The more accurate a start, the more one can move forward with confidence.

I draw the entire piece in detail on CAD. Once I have the leg angles planned out I basically connect the dots and it forms the angle.

If one were to simply take a square and tilt it at 15 degrees on two axis the faces will be no longer parallel to the faces of the skirt. So, by simply making those faces parallel it forms the required angle.

Oddly enough because of this effect, the angles of the shoulders being cut at an angle to their faces, it changes the angle of the shoulder by a minor amount. It was 0.5 degrees In my case. Enough so that I double checked it many times before making the cut (four cuts per shoulder).

I would like to know more about this too. Creating the angles relative to the horizontal planes (table top and floor) would be relatively easy if you know the angles of the bi-splay, but I have no idea how he choose those angles.
I’d also love to know if he has an tips or tricks for cutting the angled mortise and tenons where the apron meets the legs

Plan until you confident and make certain of your angles on the machinery (or by hand). Hand work is pretty much required but not for the entire cutout.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

I have no photos of making the main mortises, I roughed them out on the slot mortiser, then finished cutting them by hand using a sliding bevel for reference.

The hard part is getting the angles right so that you don’t have to touch up anything after it’s cut, if you start tuning things it will be endless since everything effects everything.

This was the most challenging piece I’ve made, glad to see it well received.

 

[Kaplan]

Amazing work, SG.

 

[Mariokartfever]

seconded - the finished product looks so simple but it clearly wasn't.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Thank you, both!