Latest project

[mlzettl]

I finished this wall hung jewelry cabinet a few days ago. My goal was to design and build a functional storage solution for a large collection of jewelry. The problem with many jewelry boxes and cases is that most of the jewelry is hidden away, and difficult to find. I designed this wall hung cabinet to display all of the earrings and necklaces as soon as the doors are opened. Since it is wall hung, depth becomes an issue, and traditional drawers are a problem. I designed swing out drawers that pivot on a brass rod, allowing total access to the drawer's contents. All in all, I think the functionality works well. It is 18" wide, 29" tall, and 6" deep at the center. It will hold between 125 and 150 pairs of earrings and between 50 and 100 necklaces, bracelets, and watches.



Function is one thing, but a pleasing and elegant design is another. Rather than using a lot of contrasting woods, I decided to do something more subtle. All of the wood is makore, with some minor accents in wenge. The door panels are curved, and faced with bookmatched crotch makore. I used rare earth magnets, 14 in all, as door and drawer closures.






Additional pics of some details can be found in my album. Overall, I am very happy with the result, and the owner of the gallery where I have my work locally loved it. I'm thinking of doing a smaller version, as this one is really quite large. I would be interested in any comments, criticisms, questions, etc.

Matt

[Trent Mason]

Matt, I wish I could offer some criticism, but it's hard to when everything looks so perfect. OUTSTANDING work!

[FredP]

thanks matt. it's much clearer now.... the angle was the part I wasn't seeing. good design.

[mlzettl]

Was the curve on the door laminated or is it mdf curfed with the laminate wood on top?

Michael, the door panels are glued up with a makore core that is about 3/8" thick with the grain running vertically, a layer of makore veneer with the grain horizontal on each side of the core, and then the vertical grain face veneers on each side. So, there is a total of 5 layers. I did not do the glue up all at once. I did the core first, then the face veneers separately. That gave me a little more control, although it took longer. I decided to use two curved forms and mechanically press it as opposed to my vacuum press. For some reason, it just seemed better to me that way. Vacuum probably would have been just as good.

Matt

[redhawknc1]

Just to echo the remarks of everyone else! Stunning work! Definitely inspiring! Thanks for posting the pics! If only someday I could do that.....

[Bryan S]

Matt that looks great. I would have loved to had stoppped in and seen that or anything else you have in the works while we were down that way.

[LeftyTom]

Everything seems well laid out. I like the earring hooks, and the swing out drawers.