Some time ago a
friend asked me to construct four armoire units. He had four painted panels 29" X 48" depicting four
seasons as viewed through a window. These had special significance
to him and he wanted them to be incorporated into armoires that would belong
to his four children. The units were to be functional to the
children as they grew older and were to go with the children when they
left home
to be on their own in years to come.
I was instructed
that they would be stained a dark colour.
I designed the
units shown on this page to meet that request. The
cabinet area is 23" X 36" X 60" and with the legs, stands at 71 " tall. The
basic cabinet is birch plywood and the face rails are aspen with the
door made of birch wood. The door needed to be strong as the
panels would likely not be glued in and could be removed for safety
when the furniture would be moved. To achieve this I made the
corner joints as full through mortise and tenon joints. I used
a full length piano hinge and a simple sliding catch closure. I
added corner cleats that can be unscrewed to hold the painted panels
in place. The legs are turned from birch hardwood and have a
centre dowel section that is inserted through the 3/4 inch plywood
base. These are glued and screwed in position. I will also
glue and screw in a larger cleat made of 1/4 inch baltic birch plywood
to add to the strength of the leg attachment to the armoire. The
top and bottom moulding is intended for appearance and for protection
of the side walls. The front corners have a simple cove routed
on their length. The intention is that the unit can be fitted
to take clothes or be modified by adding shelving .
The images on this
page are thumbnails and can be clicked to see better detail.
