Golden Ratio......

[southgalawyer]

Does anyone actively use this ratio for furniture design, or does it just so happen that most furniture design falls into the range? Interesting article...

Golden Ratio B.S.?

[Steve N]

I have never consciously laid anything out off the golden ratio. IMHO the people who created so many of the ohhhh's and aaaahhh's in furniture, and architecture through the ages were likely illiterate by our standards and wouldn't have had the requisite knowledge to figure the math involved, many couldn't write their names. They didn't have time for school because their apprenticeships started at such a young age. Instead I think what you see are items that are pleasing to the eye, and mathematicians try to attribute this to math. For my money some of the most attractive furniture has been Shaker, and they frequently unordered the "normal" big drawer on the bottom, little one on top. Of many of the people of that time, they were more likely to be literate.

[Ron Brese]

I think the golden ratio is a good starting parameter. Even though I also appreciate the uneven or offset symmetry of some Shaker pieces it's also still very possible to make a very nicely fitted and joined white elephant.

The best idea is to study pieces that are considered some of the best pieces in history and then see how the proportions of those pieces compare to the golden ratio. Sometimes they are surprisingly close and so it may be a good starting point for making the proportions of an object pleasing to the eye but I don't think it's a hard and fast rule that needs to be strictly adhered.

Ron

[Bill Holt]

One time. But did not build the piece. Like others said, it is a starting place or eye pleasing furniture often comes close.

[Bibliophile 13]

I have, and it does work.

The article is making a mountain out of a molehill. Here's my perspective:

1. Yes, the Golden Ratio is an irrational number, so of course an actual piece of furniture will only approximate the Golden Ratio. The eye doesn't usually get bothered by rough approximations of basic ratios. The fact that a particular piece of furniture doesn't exactly, precisely, absolutely conform to the Golden Rectangle proves nothing. Anything between about 1:1.55 and 1:1.66 probably looks "Golden" to the eye.

2. Look at the dates in the article. A 15th century book inspires a late 18th century writer to propound a theory of mathematical proportions in furniture designs. A 19th century pundit popularizes it further. And much of the furniture that we really, really admire was made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The rich customers commissioning fine furniture probably knew about the Golden Ratio, and once customers get attached to a certain "look" based on a theory, that "look" will appear in a lot of furniture. The 18th century was crazy about theory-driven architecture and furniture.

3. The article does correct some over-application. Verifiable use of the Golden Rectangle appears in art and architecture exactly where we would expect it to: between the Renaissance and the 19th century, when the theory was popularized. Botticelli's "Venus" certainly seems to use it. I still think it likely that the architects of the Parthenon had something like it in mind. Others may well have used it by accident. Just because it's been over-identified in works of art doesn't mean that it's useless for furniture design today. It's a baby/bathwater thing.

[Paul K. Murphy]

I've gone thirty five years in the trade without once using it. (I think)
I'm not saying it isn't..., well, whatever it is, it must be that.
I'm not saying I'll never use it either. I think people concern themselves with it too much.

[JR1]

Interesting article and well researched; supports his point. While we often find things that fit or are close to the Golden Ratio æstheticaly pleasing there are many examples which do not fit. Most likely using it will lead to OK results but not necessarily to optimum ones—after all 'form follows function'.

[MarkSingleton]

Probably more than you want to know, and from an unusual source.

Donald Duck learns all about the "golden rectangle". It is kind of fun.
( But then I was a nerd before the term was widely known.....)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJgkaU08VvY

[Pink Floyd]

More often than not I work from plans or pictures when building furniture and the designs are generally based on the golden ratio.

I've seen enough poorly designed, ill-proportioned furniture on WW forums that perhaps more woodworkers should consider using it, at least as a starting point.

[Tony Z]

I like to follow established guidelines in what I built: for example, a side table, had the exterior dimensions following the "golden ratio" and it came out very pleasing to the eye. If building an upright chest, I'll use the ratio, except it is on edge, and then follow "hambridge proportions" for the drawer sizes.

I'm a hobbyist and prefer to build things that look pleasing to the eye. Maybe they ain't the flashiest, but they do get compliments.