I am coming up to s part of the work that I really enjoy. Freeform construction. What I mean by this is furniture that I dont have a kit for and a lot of the time I dont even have a fully formed idea of what or how I will complete a task. I literally make it up as I go. I have an idea of the function of what I am trying to achieve but in many cases as I go the plan changes or a new and better idea presents itself. In the case of the ensuite vanity, this has gone through 2 incarnations, at first I was only putting a quarter circle vanity into one corner, but then I realised that by extending the vanity all the way between the bulkheads I would be able to accomplish a couple of things, not least of which, completely hiding necessary pluming under it. I was concerned with using up critical space in such a small area but having moved the toilet to in front of bulkhead 3 and the angle of the chamfer panel meant that the floor area footprint was no larger and I end up with a much more functional vanity for no real loss of space.

I had already experimented with various shapes in cardboard and had settled on my preferred option, so now it was time to start constructing. I started by finding a duflex offcut to create the vanity top. This then sets the rest of the work train in motion. I started at the top with the vanity top, I then went to the bottom with the bottom shelf. I decided I want a kickboard. Kickboards add a little toe room. The reason kitchens have kickboards is because we naturally lean against or move right up to furniture causing our toes to “kick” the furniture, Setting them back just a few (20-30mm) cm’s will significantly change that. The shelves then create the shape (usually flat) for the doors to butt to. I am having a curved shape so the shelves create that shape for me.

I started by dry fitting the top. Unfortunately I made a cutting (or measuring) error and cut the top slightly to small at the front (I got the angle of the bulkhead to chamfer wrong). I will need to fill that void but I have convinced myself that loads transmitted from the mast would require a ply pad anyway so I will fix it by fitting a ply pad to dissipate the load of the vanity top if any load is indeed transmitted along it. Then I projected that top directly plumb down the the sole and because of the angle of the chamfer panel, the plumb drop in some parts did not make the sole but also fell on the chamfer panel. A plumb bob (a pointy weight on a string) or just a level will tell you where this falls.

With the fall marked on the chamfer panel it gives me the shape that the front needs to be. I will make a cardboard template first then cut that out from polycore, but before I can do that I need to make the shelves that will form a mold for the front. The front of the shelves need to be curved to match the top, but 30mm set back from the front edge so that once a 10mm front is stuck to the front of the shelves the top still has a 20mm overhang.

So using the top as a template I marked out and cut 2 shelves, a bottom shelf that will also have a kickboard set under it and the middle shelf and dry fit them in order to check if a front made from 9mm polycore will work out. The curved mark on the chamfer panel denote where the front will be cut to and when glassed on it will be blended (faired) to the chamfer when glassed on and bogged.