Comments on: Rethinking Graduated Drawers

By: jason.weaver

jason.weaver — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:18:19 +0000

I really like the hardware on the first chest (64-01).

It is the only example (at least in this post) with brackets that encompass both sides of each corner, and they frame each drawer in a way that gives the chest a very indestructible vibe.

Do the ‘T’ brackets in between the drawer rows echo the same shape on the sides?

Also, how do the secretary portions vary from chest to chest?

Peace,
Jason

By: RustedNail

RustedNail — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:53:57 +0000

It’s always interesting to see the concept ‘Form follows Function’ in another way. Function will always dictate the form of an object even if it means bucking past trends.

By: tsstahl

tsstahl — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:25:33 +0000

As dressers they may look odd, but as desks, everything falls neatly into line.

By: rmcnabb

rmcnabb — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:58:10 +0000

Of course, the Shakers never drank the Kool-Aid on graduated drawers, but then their stuff is usually dull as dishwater unless you really go in for it. Putting the big drawer up high does have the very real benefit of putting a heavy, laden drawer up at waist height where it can be comfortably man-handled, not down near your ankles. The complexities of mobility and a fold down secretary make the graduated drawer aesthetic non-pertinent.

By: Christopher Schwarz

Christopher Schwarz — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:48:15 +0000

Not all the chests are 50/50 splits. The one I’m building now has a smaller bottom chest and a larger top chest. And some of the chests follow the traditional graduation formula. I chose ones for this gallery that had different arrangements.

Chris

By: jimballew

jimballew — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:28:46 +0000

Even though graduated drawers look great and are most common. I grew up with furniture that was built by my grandfather and several of his chest of drawer had secretary built into them and a narrow drawer at the bottom, the form looks as natural as a graduated drawer chest to me.

By: whintor

whintor — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:13:28 +0000

To my eye, the late 18th century chests with the bracket feet look more stylish (?) & better proportioned.
Note also that some of these chests appear to be in two parts, which dictated the layout & design of the drawers vis a vis the carcase, forcing a 50:50 vertical division.

By: Rob Porcaro

Rob Porcaro — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:06:14 +0000

Interesting post, Chris.

That these chests look good with their unconventional drawer size gradations demonstrates the problem with following formulas in creativity. There’s lots of good ways to design. It is certainly worthwhile to be aware of, and understand, common practices of design, but following them by rote is dangerous and not much fun.

In these chests, the side-by-side pair of drawers somehow resets the eye, and makes the lack of size gradation in a single direction look more pleasant.

Rob

By: davegutz

davegutz — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:52:21 +0000

Chris,
To me, the bunch look a little awkward at first, just like you say. The top-middle chest manages to look nice to my eye anyway because of the horizontal break added by those outboard drawers. I really like that one at first glance. Thanks for sharing all the pix.
Dave

By: Jonathan Szczepanski

Jonathan Szczepanski — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:48:30 +0000

Chris -

“…I’d like to violate your expectations”. Geesh, you could at least buy me a beer first.

I don’t really know much about campaign furniture, but if the idea is that they are stackable pieces, I would think that graduated drawers wouldn’t work from a functional or aesthetic aspect, since each section could be re-stacked in different orders. One week the small drawers would be on top, the next they would be on the bottom. And small drawers on the bottom would look pretty weird… especially on you Chris.

Jonathan
========================