If you've been looking for practical advice on how to design furniture, you know there's not much information out there.

That's why we decided to create Practical Furniture Design, a comprehensive collection of articles dedicated to furniture design -- all gleaned from the pages of Fine Woodworking magazine.

By offering thoughtful insights on the creative process, this unique volume gives you all the advice you need to design and build your own projects -- from some of the world's most accomplished woodworkers.

Here's an example of the breadth and depth of design advice you'll find:

• Where to find inspiring design ideas
• Construction strategies that will inform your creative process
• How to create professional working drawings
• Ways to solve knotty construction problems
• 366 photos and 297 illustrations that bring the design process to life

Based on the philosophy that good design leads to good construction, this valuable reference stretches the concept of design well beyond aesthetic considerations.

You'll discover strategies for making form and function work seamlessly together. You'll learn how to choose appropriate materials for every project. And you'll find out how to use sound building strategies to make every design as sturdy as it is beautiful.

As you flip through the pages of this useful resource, you'll learn how it truly lives up to its name. Here's the most practical book you're likely to find on the art and craft of furniture design.

Introduction

SECTION 1 - About Design
Designing Furniture: A Survival Guide
GARRETT HACK

A Guide to Good Design
GRAHAM BLACKBURN

Sam Maloof on Design
ASA CHRISTIANA

9 Tips for Better Design
MICHAEL FORTUNE

SECTION 2 - Making Plans and Models
Drafting Basics
PHILIP C. LOWE

Mock-Ups Quicken the Design Process
KEITH ALLEN

Fine Tune Designs Before You Build
GARY ROGOWSKI

Scaling Furniture from Photos
MIGUEL GOMEZ-IBAÑEZ

Building Without Plans
CRAIG VANDALL STEVENS

SECTION 3 - Right In Style
A Short History of Design
GRAHAM BLACKBURN

Quintessential Arts and Crafts
GRAHAM BLACKBURN

Building in the Language of Greene and Greene
THOMAS HUGH STANGELAND

Elements of the Shaker Style
CHRIS BECKSVOORT

Edge Treatments Make a Difference
WILL NEPTUNE

SECTION 4 - Working with Wood
Designing Along the Grain
PAUL HARRELL

Understanding Wood Movement
CHRIS BECKSVOORT

SECTION 5 - Tables
Supporting Drop Leaves
CHRIS BECKSVOORT

Designing on the Go: A Coffee Table Takes Shape
PETER TURNER

Designing Table Legs
GRAHAM BLACKBURN

Joining Legs to Aprons
GARRETT HACK

Attaching Tabletops
MARIO RODRIGUEZ

Engineering a Table with Drawers
WILL NEPTUNE

An Illustrated Guide to Table Design
GRAHAM BLACKBURN

SECTION 6 - Casework and Cabinets
Building Bookshelves to Last
JEFF MILLER

Anatomy of a Chest of Drawers
WILL NEPTUNE

Designing a Chest of Drawers
GARRETT HACK

Dressing Up a Basic Box
ROGER HOLMES

Graduated Drawers
CHRIS BECKSVOORT

Drawer-Design Strategies
GARY ROGOWSKI

Where Furniture Meets the Floor
MARIO RODRIGUEZ

Sideboard Strategies
WILL NEPTUNE

A Back for Every Cabinet
STEVE LATTA

SECTION 7 - Chairs
What Makes a Chair Stand Up to Abuse?
JERE OSGOOD

SECTION 8 - Special Purpose Furniture
Anatomy of a Bed
JEFF MILLER

Furniture Kids Will Love
JEFF MILLER

Furniture for Your Next TV
STEVE CASEY

Credits
Index

For me design is the most exciting aspect of woodworking, whether I'm working in a traditional mode and trying to get the details right, or attempting to make a piece no one has ever seen before. I've learned not to skimp on the process. Fine woodworkers face a cruel irony: Those who make things to last a lifetime have a lifetime to live with their mistakes.

This book brings together Fine Woodworking magazine's most trusted voices on furniture design, experts who will show you in a few pages what it took them years to work out. They'll guide you through the whole process, from finding inspiration, to using sketches and models, to getting the construction details right, so your furniture will remain strong, stylish, and useful for generations to come. This is a book you will return to again and again.

To kick things off, I'll offer three of my favorite tips. When editors sit down with submissions to the Readers Gallery in the magazine, or judge furniture shows around the country, you'd be surprised at how similar the conversations are, and how often they touch on the following issues.

Tip one is to make your furniture look handmade, as opposed to factory-made. Factories have to rush; you don't. Take the time to choose your boards carefully, and be thoughtful about grain and figure; the wood itself can make or break the look of a project. Factories also oversand, or sand crudely, dubbing over crisp edges and details. And they love router bits, which offer a quick way to make things look "fancy." So be careful how you use your router. Big roundovers are usually a bad idea. Think twice about all those flutes and ogees. Do they clash with the period or style of the piece?

Tip two is to keep things in proportion. Are the legs too thick for the piece? Consider everything: tabletop overhang, width of an apron, sizes of rails and stiles, shapes made by doors and drawers. And ask yourself if the details -- inlay, moldings, pulls -- are in proportion too. Many a piece has gone astray with a thick racing stripe of stringing or banding. Sketches, models, and small mockups are your friends here.

Tip three is not to overdo contrast. The exotic, intoxicating variety of woods has seduced many a craftsman. If the contrasting area is large, such as a door panel, make the difference subtle -- think curly cherry with regular cherry. If the contrasting material is extreme, use it in small doses -- beads, wedges, pulls?

Now on to the experts. They'll take it from here.

Asa Christiana, Editor
Fine Woodworking