About The Project
This credenza and accompanying china cabinet are designed to match the two curved backed sofas. Both pieces are made of Pennsylvania cherry and tiger maple. Tiger maple is a highly sought-after, figured lumber known for its dramatic, shimmering stripes that run perpendicular to the wood grain, often called curly or flame maple. It is primarily sourced from soft red maple. In addition to furniture, it is used for violin backs and guitar bodies, thus leading to another common name, fiddleback maple.
The figure is a fluke of nature, not a particular species of tree. For unknown reasons the woodgrain grows in waves and curls instead of straight, analogous to curly versus straight hair in people. The shimmer occurs because the grain cells grow at varying angles to each other, thus causing the light rays to reflect at varying angles. In the right circumstances this can lead to an iridescent 3D effect.
Both pieces are designed to match the two curved backed sofas. The legs and tops are made of tiger maple. The bottom rail arches and the credenza top mimic the sofas’ curved lines. The door handle boxties and the bottom crossover arches mimic the sofas’ crossover top rail detail.
The front of both cabinets are bowed. To construct the china cabinet I had to purchase custom curved glass panels, which were fabricated in Wyoming. The full-length legs also gentle bow outward. These gentle curves add visual interest to the pieces. Both pieces are divided in thirds, which is a geometrically pleasing structure. The credenza has three sets of doors, and the credenza has three upper doors.
