Fine Woodworking 2007 Building Furniture

joints for lighter doors may be

a quarter of the thickness.

Sound design combines

strength and aesthetics

Working up the proportions of

a door’s parts from a structural

standpoint will go a long way

to producing a pleasing de-

sign. But without compromis-

ing structural integrity, there

remains much you can do to

control the final appearance.

You can change the apparent

shape of any door by altering

the size, shape, and number of

framing members and reinforc-

ing the message with compat-

ible grain patterns. To make an

extremely vertical door appear

less tall and narrow, for exam-

ple, try using multiple rails and

orienting the grain of the panels

horizontally, or make a square

door stretch vertically by giving

it a number of tall, narrow pan-

els. If you are designing a long,

low piece and are concerned

it will appear squat and heavy,

you can give the piece more

lift by dividing the doors so the

upper panels are smaller than

the lower ones.

To avoid visual confusion,

pick out certain elements of

the design for emphasis. For

example, you might use plain

panels in an unusual frame

or surround a panel that has

striking grain with a straight-

grained frame.

Whatever else is required,

design in harmony with other

woodwork in the room. Even

if you don’t design in the

exact style of the surroundings,

try to include elements that

will relate, such as elegantly

raised panels in a piece des-

tined for a roomful of Colonial

furniture or flat panels for a

piece that will live with Arts

and Crafts furniture. =

Graham Blackburn is a furniture

maker and publisher of Blackburn

Books (www.blackburnbooks.com)

in Bearsville, N.Y.

Wo r k i n g Wi t h i n a g i v e n s pac e

Even if you are restricted to a particular space or shape, you can create different visual effects

with frame-and-panel doors by changing the visual focus.

D eSi g n o p t i o nS f o r fr a m e - a nD-pa n e l D o o rS, cont.

Stiles at both ends of a

cabinet are made double-

wide to balance the paired

stiles between. Placing the

center rail above the mid-

point creates tall lower

panels, which give the

long, low cabinet a vertical

emphasis. For visual

balance, the top rail plus

the cabinet top equal the

width of the bottom rail.

Accentuate the lateral

Introducing strong horizontal

elements—three center rails,

wide panels with strong grain

running side to side—offsets

the door’s verticality.

Restate the shape

Keeping the design

as simple as possible

preserves the essential

shape of the opening.

Designs for a vertical opening

Designs for a square opening

Stretch the square

Downplay the squareness

of the opening by designing

a door with strong vertical

elements.

Focus on the panel

Use dramatic grain matching

or veneer within a plain

frame.

Focus on the framing

Concentrate on the frame

members, and keep the color

and pattern neutral.

Multiple Doors for a horizontal space

Beef up the rectangle

Raised panels make a door

look stronger and heavier;

a traditional four-square

approach with slightly taller

bottom panels provides good

balance in a rectangular

opening.

Center rail Narrow stile Wide stile

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