Hoping to chronicle this build as it proceeds. It might go somewhat slowly, since I've got some more painting/tiling/installing to do, along with three more radiator covers to build.
I picked up a large mirror for $10 yesterday - about 3' wide and 5' tall. I'd like to try and build a pier-mirror using it. Living in Pittsburgh, you see a lot of interesting old woodwork and I've gotten some inspiration from there. The internet has also been a source of lots of ideas.
Given my lack of proficiency at carving, it will probably not be as ornate as some examples I've seen.
I threw together a couple things in sketchup last night and wanted to get some design feedback to see what I could do to improve the look of it. I doubt it will be in walnut - I might paint it if I have to mix up a lot of species. Probably will not apply liberal gold-leafing to it.
View attachment 1
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Right now, I think I'm going to need to make the pilasters narrower - if only to fit the space available. I'm also unsure whether to use rabbeted panel molding or inset. The rabbeted is a bit more effort to cut, but it pays off with a little more lee-way in terms of fit and some interesting profiles. The inset is a little easier, but not as dramatic.
I'm also not sure how I want to treat the frieze. Right now, I've just got the one bit of rabbeted panel molding. I thought it might be interesting to use some onlaid molding.
If I wanted to get really dramatic, I found plaster griffin statues that I could attach to the top of the piece. [eek]
I plan on putting a hinge on the mantel shelf, so it can function as a small linen chest, since storage is fairly limited in my space. The baseboard appears to be melting into the floor, but that's unintentional.
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Would love to hear what ideas you guys might offer on how to improve this design before I get into building it.
Thanks,
Adam
I picked up a large mirror for $10 yesterday - about 3' wide and 5' tall. I'd like to try and build a pier-mirror using it. Living in Pittsburgh, you see a lot of interesting old woodwork and I've gotten some inspiration from there. The internet has also been a source of lots of ideas.
Given my lack of proficiency at carving, it will probably not be as ornate as some examples I've seen.
I threw together a couple things in sketchup last night and wanted to get some design feedback to see what I could do to improve the look of it. I doubt it will be in walnut - I might paint it if I have to mix up a lot of species. Probably will not apply liberal gold-leafing to it.
View attachment 1
View attachment 2
View attachment 3
Right now, I think I'm going to need to make the pilasters narrower - if only to fit the space available. I'm also unsure whether to use rabbeted panel molding or inset. The rabbeted is a bit more effort to cut, but it pays off with a little more lee-way in terms of fit and some interesting profiles. The inset is a little easier, but not as dramatic.
I'm also not sure how I want to treat the frieze. Right now, I've just got the one bit of rabbeted panel molding. I thought it might be interesting to use some onlaid molding.
If I wanted to get really dramatic, I found plaster griffin statues that I could attach to the top of the piece. [eek]
I plan on putting a hinge on the mantel shelf, so it can function as a small linen chest, since storage is fairly limited in my space. The baseboard appears to be melting into the floor, but that's unintentional.
View attachment 4
Would love to hear what ideas you guys might offer on how to improve this design before I get into building it.
Thanks,
Adam
