Andy Oldham, Floating bookshelves (CHESTS, CABINETS, SHELVING 2021)

The design brief was to replace a sagging flat pack bookcase in our living room with a set of shelves that would appear light and open but be strong enough to hold heavy loads – and hopefully last a generation or two. The piece had to compliment two tables, one beautifully made by Scott Mitchell in contrasting Huon pine/Blackwood, the other in Maple/Sheoak made in a similar style to the bookcase by me. The bookcase frame is local WA Sheoak, the uprights were hand-shaped using a block plane after the recessed mortises were cut and the uprights were ripped to an octagonal profile. The results are imperfectly round, but I prefer the finish as the residual facets catch the light and feel pleasant to the touch. The stretcher tops are curved to match the base of the shelves and the top and bottom of the rails are cut away to make them appear lighter. The shelves are made from Rock Maple and have a convex base, so that they appear thin from the front and provide interest from the side. This profile also was produced by hand, roughed out with a drawknife and shaped and finished with hand planes. By not having the shelves join either the uprights or the stretchers, the intention was for them to appear to float.

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