Jewelry Armoire

It all started with my wife being continually frustrated with her jewelry box. A jewelry, as she points out, proves inadequate for more than a few necklaces. In spite of effort, the necklaces inevitably become tangled. Wall mounted jewelry cabinets are a step up, but still do not provide a lot of space.

Being both an engineer and a woodworker, I could hardly pass up the opportunity to solve this problem. “What you need my dear”, I explained to my wife, “is not a jewelry box, but a Jewelry Armoire.”

 This Jewelry Armoire represents the most challenging project to date for me. There were several challenges in this project that pushed my skills to the limit. The most noticeable challenge is the curved doors, which were made by gluing several layers of flexible plywood together on a form. Then, the Rosewood veneer had to be laminated atop the curved substrate. The fun did not end there, however. The curved doors telegraph complexity to other parts of the piece as well.

Other challenges include the Japanese inlay in the commercial veneer, the five-sided from legs of the base (which look four-sided at first glance), and the eboniziing of the walnut trim

Materials:

case: Lyptus plywood and Ebonized

Walnut base: Ebonized Walnut doors Santos Rosewood veneer, Walnut, and Italian Bending

Poplar inlay: dyed cherry (metal acid dye)

Stain/dye: Lyptus: Minwax Cabernet stain

Ebonized Walnut: Iron Buff and Minwax Ebony

Stain Topcoat: Minwax Wipon-Poly gloss (under coat) and Minwax Wipon-Poly satin