Design

Pirollo Design and Norman Pirollo bring a new design aesthetic to contemporary furniture. Cutting edge designs deliver excitement to modern living spaces. Traditional craftsmanship combined with contemporary design bring you unique, one of a kind furniture. Console tables, side tables, floor lamps and display cabinets can be designed and created. Console tables are configured either as hall tables or as sofa console tables. Display cabinets are designed to showcase your prized collection, small art pieces or decorative objects.

Once you have decided on an idea or image of a display cabinet, I work with you to develop the optimum sizing, interior layout, and select the woods to be used. With display cabinets, there is an emphasis on the exterior as well as the interior. Woods are hand selected and veneers are created in-house to provide the most appealing graphics. The furniture design can be a one-off or a series of furniture pieces.

The furniture at the Pirollo Design web site can be used as a basis for new furniture designs. The furniture designs can be either one of a kind or small production editions. The furniture evolves from a preliminary sketch to either a prototype or completed piece of furniture. Designs are unique from one another. Design time is included in the pricing. This process ensures you are truly commissioning a one of a kind piece of furniture.

Maquette_HallTable1_240H   Maquette_WallArt1_200 

A series of scale models can be created to better visualize the final furniture design. The resulting design will best reflect the final furniture piece or series of furniture pieces. An investment in this step will provide the benefit of accelerating the design process without a large investment in prototypes which are not suitable.

Furniture prototypes as in the lounge chairs below aid considerably in determining the optimal ergonomics of a furniture piece. Since chairs are inherently dynamic and not static objects, developing a functioning prototype is a critical step in the design process.


Maquette_WallArt_240   Maquette_HallTable_240H 
Pricing is composed of material costs and build time for the piece. Most pieces are created over a 6-8 week period, allowing for initial design work. The commission stage involves creating a proposal after determining the effect you are trying to accomplish with the furniture. A proposal is then drafted, and if accepted, we proceed with a few sketches of the furniture piece. Upon acceptance of a sketch and drawing, a deposit is paid, with the balance due upon completion.

After working through a series of preliminary sketches and drawings, the final drawing is rendered to illustrate it visually in a room setting. A maquette of the design (miniature versions shown above) is then created to form a more realistic view of the project. As well, the maquette is used to determine if the elements of the piece are in harmony, both in dimensions and structure. Any changes or design issues are addressed at this point and further iterations of the design are fleshed out until everything is in harmony. The design process also includes CAD renderings of the furniture for a more realistic 3-D view.

real_time_SideTable11

The result is the desired piece of furniture. The woods used in the construction of the furniture piece are carefully selected and oriented to accentuate grain patterns. We strive to create harmony in the woods used in the furniture piece. Door panels are book-matched whenever possible to provide a striking, dramatic look to the cabinet facade. Small inlay can be added to enhance the piece. Pirollo Design provides a commitment to advance the art of furniture making by combining traditional craftsmanship with leading edge contemporary design.

Authored articles
Articles by Norman Pirollo which describe woodworking processes

Furniture Design (Concepts)
Get Started In Woodworking
Social Media Marketing for Woodworkers

Woodworking Course
Downdraft Table Plan
Furniture Design Course
Woodworking Business Course
Dovetail Jig Plan
Shooting Board Plan
Wood Basics
Hand Plane Basics
Veneering Basics
Sliding Miter Sled Plan
Jewelry Box Build
Router Table Plan
Stanley 45

Follow along my builds, techniques and processes at Instagram: @woodskillsmag