For about the last year I’ve been filling my sketchbook with drawings of staked furniture – applying the idea to a variety of forms.
Some of these ideas made it into “The Anarchist’s Design Book,” such as the bed. Others were dead ends or needed some more noodling. During the last three months several of these designs have really started to take shape, including an ottoman with a curved top, a dropleaf table and a settee (shown above in its still-rough form).
These ideas have all developed using a series of sketches made in about 45 seconds. If you haven’t tried making brief and rough sketches of your ideas, I think it’s worth a try. It’s faster than making a cup of coffee.
Later this month I hope to show some of these sketches on our forum and encourage others to try applying the ideas of staked furniture to other furniture forms. In fact, some woodworkers are already at work on this; Cody Carse showed his staked bookcase sketches here.
— Christopher Schwarz