chrisphr Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 It takes me a super long time to make a piece of furniture as demonstrated my my arts and crafts coffee table build (started in February). I only get a couple hours every few weeks to spend on this hobby. Initially I was thinking I'll build the coffee table then follow up with two matching end tables. However, now I'm not that motivated to build matching pieces since I'll probably take a long time and won't be learning anything new. Worried it might start to feel like work more than fun... Then burn out. The guild build shaker end table looks like fun, can shaker coordinate with arts and crafts in the same room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 That's all a matter of the wife's opinion....the only opinion that matters! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Do they match, no. Will it work in your living room, only you and yours can answer that. Will you be happy with it, again, only you and yours can answer that. The shaker table is a very nice piece. In the end, regardless of how much time it takes you, I'd suggest building what you want rather than what you'll settle for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I think the styles work well together but I wear Hawiian shirts year round. Kev has the right idea be true to your tastes. 2 more in the same style will benefit from all you learned on the coffee table. Practice makes perfect. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Bulken Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I wouldn't hesitate to put them in the same room together, but like Steve, I tend towards hawaiian shirts in all seasons. Seriously, build what speaks to you, don't fret about styles matching, eclectic can be good too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I see nothing wrong with combining classic styles in a room together. It is your rendering, you decide how you want to lay them out in your home. Personally, i never stay true to any particular style or time period, not yet anyways. I do what i want and it allows for the freedom to interpret things in your own fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I've been going to school for the past two years. I have one semester left to earn my Associates. I understand the limited shop time frustration. Couple that with my exterior shop situation, and I only get a little shop time every year. (I'm off this summer... for a change ... and I've been lax about taking shop time. My fault, just felt the need to veg a bit.) Here's something else for you to consider, though. Because of how infrequently you get into the shop, do you view the assembly, layout, measuring, sanding, etc as chores, or as reconnecting with something that makes you happy? Because if you think of it as torture, you will look for ways to avoid it. If you look forward to shaping, making, or even just organizing your shop, it doesn't matter what you make: you're keeping happy. While everybody has mentioned it's your significant other's opinion you need to appease with the design, it's also you that you need to make happy. If you aren't going to be happy settling for something other than what you want, she'll pick up on that, and then where will the project be? Don't think of this as a critique. I've been there; frustration that the work is piling up, the chores are piling up, the job is in the way, and there's only a few minutes of time in the shop all combine to suck the fun from everything. I've found it's like meditation: you need to clear your mind and focus on the now: the feel of wood under your hands, the smooth action from your tools (power or hand, they both provide feedback), the satisfaction of having accomplished something (even just a minor task like cutting it to length or squaring a face), the scent of sawdust and finish. The fact that you have made this much progress after starting in February means you are further down the road to completion than many people. For example, I started a three hour project (including finish) last week, and I'm still not done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hawian shirts all year, you're my new (you were already btw ) hero Steve. Chrisphr, I'm going to dodge your question a bit. If you want to build a shaker table do it. I'm worrying so much less about is stuff gonna go with other stuff. I want to make it because I want to make it, I can always give the piece to someone or sell it if it doesn't work. Not doging your question, I think they would work just fine. Both use cleanish lines and are normally not to fussy. It's not like Shaker > Rococo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted July 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Thanks everyone for the thoughts and suggestions! Here's something else for you to consider, though. Because of how infrequently you get into the shop, do you view the assembly, layout, measuring, sanding, etc as chores, or as reconnecting with something that makes you happy?. While a day and a half of random orbital sander work in humid 90degree weather isn't awesome, I do love the rest of it! I think the scale and size of the piece is more important than the specific style. A&C can be heavy and overbuilt (not always), while shaker is usually more streamlined, with thinner tapered legs, thinner tops, etc Great idea, I checked out the shaker table gallery, and there is a lot of inspiration there. Square the legs, or maybe just less of a taper, also make the table a tad shorter than plans. Thinking might incorporate walnut, (maybe for top) but use different wood for base and legs so it coordinates color wise, but different enough so it doesn't look like it was supposed to match. Thanks again for all the great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 Harmonious, not matching! That's an achievable goal, go for it ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted July 15, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 My house is filled with a hodgepodge of styles. Studio stuff, Asian-inspired, Shaker, G&G, Mission, you name it. I don't care. I build what I like and put it in the house. I enjoy too many styles of furniture to relegate myself to a single one. I'm probably an interior decorator's nightmare, but again...don't care. My furnishings reflect my personality and display my woodworking interests and skills. If someone doesn't like it, they can go back to their house and kick their feet up on their IKEA coffee table and remain the boring person they are and always will be. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendallstrand Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 As a fellow woodhacker I find it fun to walk into a house and see different pieces of furniture that don't necessarily 'match'. I like wdwerker's term: harmonious. If you get pleasure from the piece then its a success! I'm usually the guy crawling under and opening the drawers and doors of the piece just to see how it was put together...This behavior is no longer deemed strange by my wife any longer... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 15, 2014 Report Share Posted July 15, 2014 My wording for similar thoughts: I am a collector. Just like other collections will include variety, you will find outstanding or sentimental pieces mixed in. Some coordination helps, but uniformity can end up dull. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Stress of worrying about matching furniture officially gone. Also relieved to know I'm not the only one that inspects furniture to see how it was it was made. Funny how impressed I am when I see craftsmanship and how disappointed when I see the opposite. I've got a lot of fun ahead of me to replace all boring ikea like furniture (we are a rooms to go household - bleh), I just hope I can replace it faster than my kids can destroy it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 If it's a side/end table, maybe you should be thinking about matching the couch (and/or curtains - insert joke here). Is it a masculine tanned leather sectional, or a more feminine streamlined upholstery and style? Does the rest of the room have a general theme? Beachy? Cabin-y? Tuscan? Modern? Country? Farm-y? Square and chunky? Round and slick? Perhaps this will help you get to your decision on shaker v. A&C. IMHO, once you commit to the flat-screen TV, all bets are off regarding committing to a period style theme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Ha, after seeing our decorator couches get shredded and funky with three kids and a 70lb dog in the house we opted for what we call "disposable couches". Maybe you could call the look shabby chic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rapid Roger Posted July 17, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 We have done our house in "Early American Poverty" nothing matches anything but, it all serves a purpose. Rog 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 My home is decorated in Early American Hand-me-down in combination with Classic Thrift Shop (shoemaker's kids, anyone?!). Anyone who doesn't like it is free to chip in for the replacements. As far as Shaker fitting with Arts & Crafts, near as I can tell the styles have similar lines and roots. I don't think there'd be enough of a conflict for anyone to even notice ... that is if any of your guests even know what Shaker or Arts & Crafts entail. I'm a little more concerned that one of your reasons for switching styles is that you won't learn anything new from the process of building a different piece in the original style. Part of the obligation in woodworking is to construct a form that fits the function. You still learn from the process. On this one I'd have to go with the comments as to who the actual decider should be. Show your S/O some renderings of what you're considering opposed to what you would have built otherwise and then let the chips fall where they may. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I think the answer is: It goes together if you want it to. Our home is best described as eclectic. My wife and I like a variety of styles so we buy and build many different things. Like Kiki, I'm probably a decorator's nightmare too but I rarely like a room after a decorator has put it all together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I think the answer is: It goes together if you want it to. Our home is best described as eclectic. My wife and I like a variety of styles so we buy and build many different things. Like Kiki, I'm probably a decorator's nightmare too but I rarely like a room after a decorator has put it all together. Good decorators make rooms look natural, like the pieces were collected over year. If everything is all matchy matchy it is time to get a new decorator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Good decorators make rooms look natural, like the pieces were collected over year. If everything is all matchy matchy it is time to get a new decorator. Man I see these shows with the prim and proper decorator...I just shake my head.....a good decorator understands the client and like you said, make a room look natural - like a home, not like the waiting room of some office. I may see a Greene and Greene piece and say I like it and another Greene and Greene; I'm kind of so so about....IDK what the real difference is but sometimes a piece just doesn't appeal to me....I really think a person has to basically satisfy themselves and for ME, "matchy matchy" also doesn't generally work. Something else, weird shaped, non-functional furniture or expensive furniture with "THE NAME" doesn't appeal to me. Shania Twain....."that don't impressa me much".......through 31 years of marriage, my wife and I have learned that we like certain themes (beachy or a cottage look) but there is still a lot of variety and....."eclecticness" in each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Rather than start a new thread I thought i would tag on a tangent question here that I'd love to get some feedback on. I think the design I am settling on for the end tables will be: -Walnut -breadboard ends on the top just like the coffee table, although will try loose tennon as shown in Marc's jewelry box video. -ditch the shelf, instead use lower rails all around. I might do through tennons here, perhaps with some ebony plug decorative detail if I can figure out how. -thinking of leaving the slats out of the end table design -add a drawer, which probably means the top rails will probably need to increase from 3"wide to maybe 5" Question is based upon the increased height of the end tables and the increased width of the top rails, do you think I will need to increased the leg thickness to try to stay proportional? I'll attach a couple pics of the coffee table I am trying to coordinate as well as the furniture being replaced so you get a sense of what I am talking about. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hmmm. Experiencing technical difficulties, every time I try attaching the pics I get booted out of the app. There are many pics of the coffee table in my project journal, I'd paste a link here if I knew how. I'll try later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisphr Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Picture upload Works on iPhone but not iPad, go figure... Please excuse the disposable but kid friendly ikea couch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 2, 2014 Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 If the dimensions of the new tables will be approx. the size of the existing, I think increasing the size of the legs will be overwhelming. I'd leave them the same as the coffee table Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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