Asymmetry: The Designer’s Secret
Use this dynamic effect to add life to your furniture
Synopsis: Perfect symmetry is easy to find—in faces, in furniture, in architecture, even in nature. It appeals to us, and gives us a sense of balance and harmony. That’s why things that are not symmetrical immediately catch the eye. Asymmetry is a compelling design element, and the result can be extremely appealing or simply a mess. The key is to use it sparingly, and to find ways to establish a visual balance without complete symmetry. Here are a variety of successful furniture designs that use asymmetry well, from cracked-ice cabinets to live-edge tables, interesting door and drawer layout, decoration, and beyond.
From Fine Woodworking #222
If you open a history of world furniture and leaf all the way through from Ancient Egypt to the present day, you’ll find examples of perfect symmetry on nearly every page. In furniture—as well as in buildings and cars, toasters and tweezers—we almost always…
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