Reddit mentions: The best furniture design books

You'll get a lot of "Paul Sellers" as answers. Personally I don't recommend him at all, but there's a vocal group on /r/woodworking that loves him.

So here's the thing, there's no one way to do things, no matter what some will say. My suggestion is to look at a variety of resources and you'll start to form a picture of how to do things.

With that being said here are the resources I find valuable:

The Essential Woodworker by Robert Wearing is a fantastic how to for building furniture with hand tools.

Chris Schwarz is a huge source of information. His DVDs are generally good, but they do overlap. The Anarchist's Toolchest is informational and inspirational when it comes to hand tools in general.

Tom Fidgen is my current favorite hand tool woodworking. His first and second books are both good. I find the second to be better.

The New Traditional Woodworker is also a great book.

Shannon Rogers has a ton of fantastic content both free and paid. I can vouch for, and recommend his online woodworking classes: The Hand Tool School

The Naked Woodworker is Mike Siemsen's dvd and I think it's an excellent all round getting started resource. Had this been out when I started I'd have probably built the Nicholson bench and never looked back.

Logan Cabinet Shop unfortunately Bob doesn't put out content any longer, but his videos are all available on youtube. He's another Nicholson bench guy and he has a crapload of great info to pass on.

Roy Underhill is an institution in hand tool woodworking. You can buy old seasons of his show on Popular Woodworking's site, and quite a bit of it is available to watch online. My dad used to watch this show when I was a kid and I hated it back then, now I check every week for a new episode.

Lie Nielsen puts out a lot of informational content on youtube and their tools are top notch to boot.

Sharpening might as well be a religious belief, I believe The Last Word in sharpening, yes another Chris Schwarz dvd, is a great video that boils everything down to the basics regardless of the particular medium you go with.

For the be all and end all book about sharpening The Perfect Edge can't be beat. It'll tell you way more than you need to know about the feed and care of edge tools.

I'm missing a lot of stuff, these are just the primary resources that come to mind, but once you start digging around you'll find references to others. My recommendation would be to jump around a bit and see who grabs you. Don't fall into a narrow view of the craft... and avoid anyone that presents one.

Edit: One I missed that I felt I had to add is Tony Konovaloff I got my copy of his book "Chisel, Mallet, Plane and Saw" from Lost Art Press (I'm a junkie, I think I have every book they produce/distribute) but it doesn't appear to be there anymore. I'm not sure where to get a copy.

This might sound crazy but the book titled: The Chair
(Subtitled: Rethinking Culture, Body & Design) is actually really fascinating. It is written by an architect who is (I believe) also certified in the Alexander Technique. The first part is the history of the chair and its design in history & culture, the second half is about the kinesiology of sitting. It's very well illustrated.

I've taken some classes in the Alexander Technique and in my job, I work with people and their bodies. Some of the most basic tips that I find to work well for many people:

Sitting: sit on your "sit bones" (ischial tuberosities) and knees should be below hips (front of hip should be open more than 90 degrees). Work should be at eye level, or if below, keep your neck straight up & rotate your head down as though there were a bar running through your head between your ears. Read the book mentioned above, and you may agree that "back support" is overrated.

Lying down: Supine (on your back) support under knees. Pillows under your head has so much variation (just under your head, support shoulders as well, very firm, very soft, neck support, no neck support) so I usually recommend trying one variable for a week at a time to find what works best for an individual (although I used to swear by the original Tempurpedic pillow, they are too hard for me now and retain too much heat).

In side lying it's better to have a pillow that lifts your head more so that it's not tipping over your lower shoulder, a pillow in front of your torso to wrap your top arm around and another (or even better, a firm bolster) for under your top leg to keep your low back from twisting.

Prone (face down) if you must, a soft pillow under your hip bones to open up your lower back and if you need a pillow under your head, make sure that it is soft and can flatten down, so your neck isn't forced back and turned. Try for "3/4" rather than face down.

Obviously these aren't "Universal" as one-size-does-not-fit-all and everything with body mechanics can be (is) controversial, but I have witnessed these work well for many people.

Nobody says the pins have to be dovetail shaped.

A while back I was reading this book for inspiration on blanket chests and other types of storage chests. There are a few really amazing examples in it of dovetail joints that use other shapes to create beautiful accents.

What gets me about that kind of joinery is that people who aren't woodworkers will see that and go "Oh, cute! Little hearts!" or whatever, without having any kind of clue how ball-bustingly hard it is to actually make joinery like that and have it come out exquisitely perfect.

Anyway, it's a great book. Well worth checking out.

Here's a walk-through of a table build I did several years ago. It's by no means exhaustive, but it does cover all of the fundamentals (plus it's a pretty fast read), so it might be a good place to start.

"Designing Furniture" is an older book, but it covers a lot of ground regarding design, construction techniques to consider, etc.

Fine Woodworking also has a book titled, "Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture (can't find a link) that is a terrific reference.

He sounds like a good recipient for a Buddha Board.

I'd also think of a pile of great books that delve into the therapy/specialty he's interested in, knowledge goes with any lifestyle. Or maybe a book on how to build furniture yourself that's easy to make and light on the environment.

> Preferably something basic, that improves quality of life and will last a lifetime.

Victorinox Swiss army knife with lots of necessary features. For $50 I don't know too many things that will last a lifetime, maybe someone else here knows better.

Maloof is tremendous, but Stickley is also pretty darned good.

Buy Robert Lang's book of Craftsman designs. There are plans for the Stickley No. 323 rocker which is a lovely design.

Since you say you're into woodworking, put it together yourself. If you don't have the tools for a particular operation or two, have a local cabinetmaker do those parts. You assemble and finish it at home.

Stickley furniture is absolutely BIFL - excellent joinery and classic looks. Your work will stay in the family for 200 or 300 years, if not longer.

There's no such thing as the "best coffee table", or any other piece of furniture. There are a huge variety of designs in furniture, and all have different preferred or required joinery, tools, hardware, storage, wood species, etc, and that's not even mentioning aesthetics.

If you want to know how furniture is designed, there are many resources available. I don't have a lot of books on design, but one I have that I enjoy is Illustrated Cabinetmaking. It provides 'typical' tables/chests/desks/etc designs, as opposed to specific designs. It explains how to size different parts of certain pieces - how tall a writing desk should be, how wide a dining table should be, etc.

Furniture design isn't copyrighted - you can copy a Maloof chair or a Krenov cabinet as closely to the original as you like, and most of the time the techniques and tools required aren't that difficult to figure out on your own, or from other resources.

I would go on Amazon and begin searching for books related to the matter. Obviously look for books with high reviews, but also pay attention to content. For instance, I saw a book on Amazon about the Eames furniture, but it didn't go into any specifics about design... It was mostly published as a picture book.

It sounds like you would be better suited for books that go into details on the design of furniture, not just looking at images that don't really provide much information.

This book and this book seem like helpful resources.

The Great Book of Shop Drawings for Craftsman Furniture has VERY good drawings of many pieces, along with pretty detailed instructions for how to do various operations in the correct style.

It's good that you have some experience because the book is not really for beginners.

I am HIGHLY leaning towards purple. My buddy made a 3D model of the chair in a couple different purples if you'd like to see em.

I'm totally with you, I really like the goofy space age and mod stuff. I think ideally I'd like to have little to no wood in the house.

Edit: ALSO, I just got this book and it's great to flip through the pictures and actually learn about the pieces!

Bill Hylton’s Illustrated Cabinetmaking is only $16 and has hundreds of exploded drawings of furniture of different styles. Not plans with cut lists but the benefit of custom furniture is that it can be sized to fit a specific space and for materials at hand.

Irving Harper is on my top 3 list of favorite designers. If you like his work, pick up his book on his paper sculptures. Its amazing.

Irving Harper Works in Paper

There's a few books you can get to start things out. If you go through them and it doesn't diminish your passion but increases it, they'll set you on course to get started on your own. They also are worth reading if you've already begun.

• The Soul of a Tree - A Woodworker's Reflections by George Nakashima
  
  
• Good Clean Fun - Misadventures in Sawdust at the Offerman Woodshop by Nick Offerman
  
  
• The Art of Japanese Joinery by Kiyose Seike
  
  
• Illustrated Cabinetmaking - How to Design and Construct Furniture that Works by Bill Hylton
  
  
• Hand Tools - Their Ways and Workings by Aldren A. Watson
  
  
• The Real Wood Bible - The Complete Illustrated Guide to Choosing and Using 100 Decorative Woods by Nick Gibbs
  
  
• Woodworking - The Right Technique by Bob Moran
  
  
• Woodworking 101 - Skill Building Projects that Teach the Basics by Aimé Fraser, Matthew Teague, and Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk
  
  Source here for this list of books with additional ones (that I haven't personally seen or read).
  
  Edit:
  Apologies if these are in the sidebar. I'm on mobile and can't view it.

There is a series with titles like 500 Tables that I think are pretty good to have around for inspiration...obviously not all mid-century but the thing about inspiration is you should be stealing from EVERYWHERE. Besides those there are numerous books on JUST mid-century modern furniture. My only gripe on this guy is the mix of butt joints and miter joints on the top but it looks really sharp. Nicely done.

You might want to look in to the Fine Woodworking magazine "design books." Old editions can be picked up on Amazon used pretty cheaply:

E.g. Design Book Six

Another series I really like is the "500 series" They got one for just about every narrow focus you might be into. Here's a couple to get you started:

500 Tables
400 Wood Boxes

I recently read Disability Meets Design, and feel like this article would be a great critique of the book. The focus on high art/fashion as the beauty standard seems to really ignore the lived realities of most people with disabilities.

It depends on what you consider cheap. Used options for all of these are available at very reasonable prices, though I don't personally think that the new prices are super high, though I do know of the more expensive books you've probably seen like the Wegner book for closer to a hundred.
http://www.amazon.com/Danish-Modern-Andrew-Hollingsworth/dp/1586858114/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450038421&sr=8-1&keywords=danish+modern

http://www.amazon.com/Eames-Gloria-Koenig/dp/3836560216/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450038421&sr=8-3&keywords=danish+modern

http://www.amazon.com/Mid-Century-Modern-Interiors-Furniture-Details/dp/1840914068/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1450038421&sr=8-4&keywords=danish+modern

http://www.amazon.com/Danish-Modern-Beyond-Scandinavian-Heywood-wakefield/dp/0764322168/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1450038421&sr=8-7&keywords=danish+modern

This is the one I would get:

http://www.amazon.com/Scandinavian-Modern-Magnus-England/dp/1849754349/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1450038421&sr=8-5&keywords=danish+modern

I don’t have upholstery knowledge but I do have this book. I feel like I need to take a class to truly understand it all, but that means another $500+

Looks like no one has replied yet. I do not have what you seek unfortunately, but the one reference I have in invaluable: https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Cabinetmaking-Construct-Publishing-Subassemblies/dp/1565233697

It does not contain actual plans or guides, but a hundred furniture examples and how they were assembled.

Hopefully someone else will have a better reference for you.

This is a book specifically for rustic furniture, but I think it's a good one for beginners. He has written another book or two over making boxes as well. http://www.amazon.com/Rustic-Furniture-Basics-Doug-Stowe/dp/1600850766

Sounds good to me!

Can I suggest a personal book that is more related to interaction design/industrial design than UX?

The guy who wrote it heads my Interaction Design course and I felt it to have some really good insights into designing both physical and screen-based products for disabled people.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Meets-Disability-Graham-Pullin/dp/0262516748

An Essential Reading List For Designers

Source: www.tomfaulkner.co.uk

All books have been linked to Amazon for review and possible purchase. Remember to support the authors by purchasing their books. If there are any issues with this listing let me know via comments or pm.

Architecture

• The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture by Phaidon
  
• The Architecture of the City by Aldo Rossi
  
• Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown & Steven Izenour
  
• Modern Architecture since 1900 by William J R Curtis
  
• Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Phaidon
  
  Communication Design
  
  
• Essentials of Visual Communication by Bo Bergström
  
• Visual Language for Designers by Connie Malamed
  
• Visual Communication: From Theory to Practice by Jonathan Baldwin & Lucienne Roberts
  
• This Means This, That Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics by Sean Hall
  
• Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture by Marita Struken & Lisa Cartwright
  
  Fashion Design
  
  
• Fashion Design Course by Steven Faerm
  
• Fashion Today by Colin McDowell
  
• The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Gehlhar
  
• Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it Lustre by Dana Thomas
  
• The Fashion Book by Angela Buttolph Editors of Phaidon ?
  
  Furniture Design
  
  
• Furniture Design by Stuart Lawson
  
• Eames by Gloria Koenig
  
• Design of the 20th Century by Charlotte & Peter Fiell
  
• 1000 Chairs by Charlotte & Peter Fiell
  
• The Encyclopedia of Furniture by Joseph Aronson
  
  Game Design
  
  
• The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jess Schell
  
• Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
  
• [Challenges for Game Designers](Challenges for Game Designers) by Brenda Brathwaite
  
• Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers
  
• Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting by Syd Field
  
  Graphic Design
  
  
• Grid System in Graphic Design by Josef-Muller Brockmann
  
• The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher
  
• A Type Primer by John Kane
  
• The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
  
• The New Typography by Jan Tschichold
  
  Information Design
  
  
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
  
• Show Me The Numbers:Desiginingg Tables and Graphs to Enlighten by Stephen Few
  
• Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte
  
• Information is Beautiful by David McCandless
  
• Information Graphic by Sandra Rendgen
  
  
  Industrial Design
  
  
• The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
  
• The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda
  
• Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals by Rob Thompson
  
• Process: 50 Product Design from Concept to Manufacture by Jennifer Hudson
  
• Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell
  
  (cont'd)
  
  

I think this is pretty close to what you're looking for.

Illustrated Cabinetmaking:

It's very well received and maybe will even inspire you to make some sawdust of your own...

I really like Bill Hylton's Illustrated Cabinetmaking.

You might also benefit from Marc Spagnuolo's recent book Essential Joinery.

I did buy this book recently.

Hans J. Wegner: Just One Good Chair https://www.amazon.com/dp/3775738096/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_IQfzCbKXDMXRS

It is pretty good but focuses mostly on his more widely known pieces. I believe he designed over 500 chairs, and I have never seen a consolidated list. I personally learn just by browsing auctions and looking for pieces which are reasonably priced.

I can't say I have seen asian or germanic styles books but maybe something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Drawings-Greene-Furniture-Masterpieces/dp/1892836297/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395865171&sr=1-8&keywords=arts+and+crafts+furnitur

there is also a series on arts and crafts from stickley

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Drawings-Craftsman-Furniture-Stickley/dp/1892836122

might lead you into a direction?

"Illustrated Cabinet Making", Bill Hylton

Show all common woodworking joints, and how all types of furniture is put together. It does not tell you how to make each joint. It's up to you to put these patterns to good use.

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Cabinetmaking-Design-Construct-Furniture/dp/1565233697

I recommend a book called Illustrated Cabinetmaking

Covers this exact question, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

The Amazon preview doesn't do it justice. The first section of the book is all about the theory of crafting with wood, compensating for the way wood expands and contracts, and using specific joints to account for it.

As one commenter mentioned, you might want to pick up this book

Illustrated Cabinetmaking details quite a bit of furniture construction. It touches on joinery, the where and why. It covers beds, chests, kitchen cabinets (wall hanging and bases) and many more. The plans are not detailed. Most are simply a blown-up or cutaway drawing of the piece itself but the author included source information.

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Cabinetmaking-Construct-Publishing-Subassemblies/dp/1565233697

This has blown-up diagrams of virtually every possible design of every piece of residential cabinetry.

If you don't own this book, you do yourself a disservice.

https://www.amazon.com/Spruce-Step-Step-Upholstery-Design/dp/1612121373/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1542788901&sr=1-1&keywords=Spruce

FYI: both are reprinted in Nomadic Furniture: D-I-Y Projects That Are Lightweight and Light on the Environment from 2008.