Principles and History of Furniture Design with Analysis of Furniture Made by Thomas Day
A comprehensive look at the history, the elements of construction, and all steps in furniture design from an expert in the industry
2025 Award of Excellence from The North Carolina Society of Historians in Books Category

A comprehensive look at the history, elements of construction, and all the steps in furniture design from an expert in the industry.

Elements of Furniture Design is a resource of information gathered from 30 years of working as a professional furniture designer. These elements of design are essential, and there is no other resource where they are available in one place. The reader will gain a comprehensive knowledge of how furniture is designed, and can use this information to create new and exciting design concepts. This knowledge is provided in four sections:

• A brief history and quick designer references (woods, veneers, wood joinery, comfort, architectural references, and drawing tools)
• Illustrating furniture construction
• Historic ornament used on furniture (molding, turning, carving)
• The typical design process with a new client

The work of cabinetmaker Thomas Day (a free man of color in the South in the mid-1800s) is used to tie the story together, and the reader will learn trade secrets of furniture design that have been lost to outsourcing and offshore manufacture.