HAMMER AND NAIL: Making and Assembling Furniture Designs

Inspired by the world-renowned radical designer, artist and critic Enzo Mari, this book is a tribute to his simple ideas that challenged the consumerism of the furniture industry. Inspired by the radical Italian, this practical book with step-by-step DIY projects for hand built, beautiful furniture is a tribute to his nostalgic manifesto for a pre-capitalist society, where people built what they needed themselves. What is it that makes a piece of furniture beautiful, comfortable and functional? Here the projects include a sheep chair, a tilting shaker chair, Pinstol/Windsor chair, garden chair, Arts & Crafts chair, Ski chair, mirror stool, stackable stool, beer table, kitchen bench, park bench, sofa, top and tail bed, dining table, work table, cabinet, shelf and Giraffe lamp. Despite its slender body, this Giraffe lamp takes up a relatively large floor space and will give a cosy light over a reading chair, a bare fancy bulb hanging down from the lamp cord and a pick-up-sticks-esque base made from a handful of triangles that stabilise its tall, thin construction - it looks like a wooden Anglepoise at the top and looks more complicated on the plan than it is in reality. It is a beautiful piece of design. For every project there is a hand drawn plan, gorgeous colour photograph such as the asymmetrical sofa with high backrest which could almost be used as a room divider, or storage for picnic blankets, and Christmas tree lights, here painted in a gorgeous pale yellow. The back rest's protruding boards bring to mind three ski sticks sticking out from a chair lift, or part of a pallet, but with a beautiful cushion and fine wood, this is a simple and sturdy angular piece of furniture. Using just a hammer, nails and boards, cut to standard dimensions, the book explores only a few techniques but arms the reader and handyman with skills and inspiration for life. With easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams, there are basic methods for making furniture joints and tips on how to avoid cracking boards as you go, making clean cuts with a saw, and ideas on surface treatments. Beautiful design and use of colour, 160pp, 20 x 26.6cm.
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