Top Five Constraints: Chess Board

For my final project, I have narrowed down my idea to a few items, each of which are made of wood.  For me, woodworking is the most practical type of construction which allows me to exercise my construction skills, and also creates an appealing aesthetic that I enjoy.

I have narrowed my ideas down to 2 items:

Chess set-complete with draw/storage for pieces

Nightstand alarm/charging station

For both of these items, I have created a few technical and design constraints and requirements that I am holding myself to.

Technical Constraints

1. Use at least 2 different types of wood.
2. No larger than 36”x36”x24”
3. Shall not weigh more than 10 lbs
4. Drawer and sliding mechanisms shall easily slide out and not jam

Aesthetic Constraints

1. Woods shall be 2 different types
2. Shall utilize symmetry on at least 2 sides. All sides shall not be different.
3. Woodgrain pattern, knots shall be the highlighting aspects of the wood. It shall be polished, sanded, and looking authentic.
4. No writing or logos will be present. It must have a natural look with no artificial additions.
5. Pieces must blend together and should not be too different. The whole piece should blend together smoothly.

I want the look to be all wood.  I have thought about introducing bamboo into the wood design as well, possibly create the look of “columns”.  Often, bamboo isn’t combined with maple or walnut, so it could be a cool look if done correctly.

After a little more thought, I found this image of an example which I could incorporate into my aesthetic.  It is a contemporary Asian vibe, with bamboo that is colored a certain material.

http://asiasociety.org/files/13Shochiku.jpg

I enjoy the look of bamboo added to this design, which is popular in contemporary Asian culture, as seen in the images below:

Pinterest

Houzz

Here are a few images of my thoughts:

https://michaelswoodcraft.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/black-walnut-and-maple-end-grain-board-in-progress.gif

Michael’s Wood Craft

https://
i.ytimg.com/vi/gliOZyHkdps/maxresdefault.jpg

Youtube-I like this because there is a wood pattern in the middle, with a nice polished border on the edges.  I could do something like this for my item.

http://www.danielsstudios.com/Includes/Photos/Products/Photos/124-2.JPG

I like the color scheme on this.

Overall, I like the combination of woods, with a little flavor of Contemporary Asian.