Does anyone consider weight when designing a piece of furniture? I've made a couple of tables and chests following plans that made me think that it should be a design factor. My thinking is that a piece of furniture for normal use should be easily movable, and lightweight means efficiency in materials. Some things just seem to be over designed just because it's dictated by the available materials. I made a toy chest recently from plans, and when finished, it weighed 65 pounds. I couldn't help thinking that maybe it didn't really need 3/4" plywood panels for example, etc, if 3/8" would do, for example.
It seems to me that Shaker designs, for example, are much lighter weight for their intended purpose, which is one reason I favor them.