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Free Standing Rack
Tuesday 12 August 2008
Alan Holtham builds this shelving and cupboard unit
1. The first stage in this project is to prepare the four long uprights. For speed and convenience I used solid European oak. The material is supplied as square-edged boards approximately 150mm wide, ideal for splitting down the middle to provide two uprights from each board
This bathroom storage rack is part of a suite of furniture for a modern bathroom, the wall cupboard having been featured last month. However, the design is so universal that it could be used equally well as a hallway unit or a display cabinet in the living room. In this case the timber requested by the clients was oak to match the rest of the bathroom, but I am always wary of using large pieces of solid material in an environment which is going to be subjected to such extremes of humidity. It is asking too much to expect wide panels to stay flat under such conditions, so where possible I use veneered board and lip the edges with solid material, though for the smaller-section material it is quite acceptable to use solid timber. To my mind veneered blockboard is better than veneered MDF, as although dearer it is stronger and much lighter in weight, as well as being totally stable and more pleasant to work. The downside of all these advantages is that all exposed edges need to be lipped, and you have to work it carefully to avoid chipping the very thin veneer.
