Furnituremaking differs from the construction of built-in cabinetry in fascinating ways. Freestanding pieces get scooted across floors and suffer the indignities of being sat upon heavily, all without the advantage of being screwed to the house itself.

      For this reason furniture pieces are constructed not with screws and glue only but with wood-to-wood joinery. The time tested basic joints in woodworking do not exceed five, despite modern variations we have evolved:  a screw for example is essentially a metal dowel with a glueless holding method.  When used rightly screws are an excellent method of holding thinge together.  Used wrongly they do not work as intended.

      Well-made furniture pieces require carefully engineered joinery.  This is especially important in delicate pieces that are subjected to considerable strain, such as chairs.  If the joints are not well made, the chair will not last.  It is because the cheap furniture available today has poor-quality joinery that it falls apart. 

     Custom-made furniture isn't worth the trouble of building if not made to last.  While we are at it we might as well sweat the other fine details that make owning a custom piece a unique pleasure.

      I invest a lot of thought in creating an "ergonomic" experience. I do not know what else to call it. Sharp or jutting corners are carefully considered and softened just a little - we don't want to lose the clarity of the design and make something that is doughy and over-rounded. 

     Sometimes having a desk or counter a little higher than the norm is right, sometimes a table makes more sense a little wider or narrower than the norm.  How we interact with the things in our homes affects the harmony of our inner lives.  Well-made things and hand-made things may lack the whiz-bang gizmo-appeal currently dominating our culture, but they represent opportunities for a different, more settled pleasure mass-produced stuff lacks. 

Maple Breakfront with Oil Finish. This cabinet appeared on Designer's Challenge on HGTV and in the Best of Designer's Challenge resource book.