Making It to the Modern Age

29. September 2008 by Joe Gergen.

A potential customer, who shall remain anonymous, asked me to design a mid-century modern looking table base for a kitchen table.  He wanted a darker color and a sleek minimal look. I did my research on mid-century modern and actually came up with a design partially based on that feel and partially based on some scraps of walnut I had around.

Needless to say my uninspiring drawing capabilities did not win me the day. But I liked the design so much and had most of the wood available, I decided to build it anyway.  I had enjoyed the challenge of accounting for a customer’s desires, keeping true to my own design sense and using available materials.

The legs to the table are what led to part of the design because they were the negative waste, if you will, of a long curved bench I had made. I had to smooth out the curve on the inside of the legs but other than that I used them in the shape that had come out of the bench. I think they look like rocket fins, which makes perfect sense for a mid-century jet age look.

 The remainder of the design was  aimed at keeping it simple and sleek. I think the spindles reaching up from the square base to the apron achieve elevation in a minimal way. The other option was to have a single larger column rising up from the middle, but since I had the thinner spindles as waste from the bench, they won the day.

So this is my version of modern.

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