Vanity/dressing table

[John Branam]

My SIL has asked me to make a vanity/dressing table, I did not even know what one was until a few minutes ago. All of the tables that I looked at were really formal and she is looking for something slightly more comtemporary. Has anyone here ever designed one of these before? This will also be my first attempt at designing and building a matching chair for it so any help is greatly appreciated.

[Tim Sproul]

What's "contemporary" to your SIL?

Helps if you can pare it down to even vague generalities like.....clean lines and simple shapes or perhaps she likes more "art" type furniture that you might run across at a modern gallery.

I think styles along the principlies that define Arts and Crafts and Shaker are commonly thought of as contemporary, but I'm not well-edumicated in design or style.

[John Branam]

Clean lines, is what she is looking for. The instructions are "don't make it look country," so that leaves a lot of room for interpetation. What I am looking for at this point a basic overall size that a table like this should be.

[Tim Sproul]

I'm not familiar with a "Vanity" but calling it a "dressing table" as well indicates somewhere she might set up to do make-up and apply jewelry.

I'd probably go to the stores where she saw the vanities and take overall measures. Also see what space she currently uses and if she wants more/less space. Are there any items that need/want special storage?

Go to your library or purchase a design reference book. I like Garth Graves' book and it will give some guidelines. Don't expect an encyclopedia on all design aspects but it has some helpful reference material. If your SIL is far from normal height, you might want to take that into consideration when designing the table and chair.

Show her something like Thos. Moser's website. Is that the style she's looking for? Go through different furniture websites and get a good feel for what she's looking for in terms of style. Then get some paper and pencil and eraser and start at it :). Don't forget to find out what type of wood she might like.....plainsawn oak versus cherry versus painted poplar versus mahogany versus blah blah blah.

[John Branam]

Thanks for the help. I am not familular(sp?) with Garth Graves I will have to look for his book. Most of the pieces I have been designing and building are more shaker, mission, capecod inspired designs so this is going to be something different for me. I am looking forward to the challenge and it is going to be the first thing I design using Turbocad that I just bought.