Remaining bedroom furniture design help needed

[Garry Smith]

Well I finished the bed
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=33354
my wife requested with no intentions of designing and making the remaining bedroom funiture until fall. Well now that the headboard and footboard are completed my better half is anxious to complete the remaining pieces...2 night stands, 1 dresser and a stand for the TV and stereo. I thought I would have the summer to contimplate the designs but now I brain dead and need help.
I would really like all comments, photos and drawings everyone is willing to take time to relay to me to help get my brain cells active again.
Please keep in mind the style of the headbaord and the footbaord I have posted at the above link.
Many thanks
Garry

[Dave Richards]

Garry, that's a very nice bed you made. I must have missed the post before.

My first though is to echo the arched frame and panel thing in the other pieces. The nightstands might get half an arch each with just a door--no drawer. Maybe the dresser and TV cabinet would both have frame and panel doors to match the bed. Drawer faces on the dresser could have the same edge treatment as the rails and stiles on the bed but could be rectangular if hidden behind a couple of doors. I kind of envision a tall dresser maybe 30 or 36 inches wide.

[Nathan Hoffman]

How about something like this for the nightstand? You could make the one on the other bed curve in the opposite direction.

[Jim Becker]

Nathan's example is illustrative of pulling through design elements between pieces. The bench at the footboard is where you want to start relative to additional pieces as it's the closest thing you have to case-work in the bed so far. It already blends with the bed nicely...so leverage it. The open areas don't need to remain open for nightstands, etc, but the general pattern should be there.

[Garry Smith]

You guys are putting out some good ideas.
Thanks for taking the time to make the scketch Nathan.
Please keep them coming.
I see the direction you are leading me here Jim and I agree. Sometime just a little push can get things headed in the wright direction.
Garry

[Earl Kelly]

Garry,

First, don't try to match and mimic exactly what you've already done. I would keep the case pieces simple. I would make the dresser case from cherry with a cherry top and drawer fronts from the flame birch. I would not have anything breaking up the flow of grain in the drawer fronts from bottom to top. No cherry dividers or framework. Either solid cherry sides or flame birch inset panels would work. I like the bottom of the bench, the support, maybe you could incorporate something like that into the botom of the dresser.

The nite stands are small, you might want to work the cherry dividers into those. But I wouldn't go overboard.

What I would shoot for on the design of the case pieces, is to have them blend and complement the bed but not match, designwise anyway. Wood choice, yes that I would match.

You did a great job on the bed, really interesting design feature with the bench. Good choice of complementary woods. Flame birch is one of my favorite woods or veneer. About 15 yrs ago I built a secretary/tv cabinet that was 9 1/2' tall and 60" wide out of flame birch veneer. Still one of my favorite pieces today.

[Garry Smith]

I like the bottom of the bench, the support, maybe you could incorporate something like that into the botom of the dresser.

I like this idea. This is the opposite of what I was originally thinking for the dresser, but this element could tie all the pieces together and goes along with what Jim Becker was saying.
Good ideas Earl
Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Earl, it's true that everything doesn't need to exactly match, but it's important to "pull through" one or more design elements from the bed if the OP wants it to look like a set made to go together. It could be a reflection of the curves in the headboard and/or footboard seat, for example.

[Brandon Shew]

Perhaps a lower, wide dresser / dressing table with a panel in the back that captures the same arched design in the headboard. You could use a mirror as one of the "panels" on the back of the dresser flanked on either side by the cherry.

[Earl Kelly]

Earl, it's true that everything doesn't need to exactly match, but it's important to "pull through" one or more design elements from the bed if the OP wants it to look like a set made to go together. It could be a reflection of the curves in the headboard and/or footboard seat, for example.

Jim, very true. What I was trying to get across was not getting hung up on making the case pieces look like the panel work in the Hdbd And Ftbd. With just carrying across a small design detail and Matching the wood color you can get a complementary set of casework that will work together with the bed.

With that said, no answer is wrong and it all comes down to individual opinion and taste.

[Allen Grimes]

First of all, Wow, that is a beautiful bed.

Anyway, have you came up with a design yet or do you still need help?

[Garry Smith]

First of all, Wow, that is a beautiful bed.

Anyway, have you came up with a design yet or do you still need help?

Thanks Allen,
I am still playing with a combination of ideas and it will be awhile before I will have to commit, so yes even though I like the suggestions above I would like to see all comments and suggestion that anyone has to offer.
I keep my eye on this thread most every day so please keep replying everyone.
Garry

[Allen Grimes]

Hey Garry,

Sorry, I've been really busy for the last few days, but anyway, tomorrow while I am running the store, I will see what I can come up with between custos.

[Mark Singer]

The curve could be incorporated as a "bow front" design in the nightstands....So it is not curved in the front view. If you do this I would laminate the curved drawer front first and then the curve will be known and you can build the cabinet accordingly. Another way is to make the drawer front from 8/4 and bandsaw the curve from the thickness.

Use the same woods and it will relate well to the headboard.

[Garry Smith]

The curve could be incorporated as a "bow front" design in the nightstands....So it is not curved in the front view. If you do this I would laminate the curved drawer front first and then the curve will be known and you can build the cabinet accordingly. Another way is to make the drawer front from 8/4 and bandsaw the curve from the thickness.

Use the same woods and it will relate well to the headboard.

This thought crossed my mind yesterday Mark. I was reading an article in Woodwork magazine.
I agree also about doing the laminations first. I learned a lesson on this some time ago.
Thanks
Garry