Nancy Hiller has been profiling woodworkers in a series of posts at Lost Art Press and recently interviewed Fine Woodworking’s Anissa Kapsales. I enjoyed the whole article, but what really caught my eye was the cover image from FW August 2019 featuring Kapsales’ take on a design by Poul Cadovius. It was almost enough to tempt me to pick up a recent copy of the magazine archive (mine runs through 2011) which has been on sale, but a look at finewoodworking.com showed they have the article available for free download. The design foregoes metal shelf standards (used in my favorite wall unit by Finn Juhl) in favor of drilled posts, an approach perhaps more amenable (if unforgiving) to the home shop.

A wide Mid-Century Modern dresser with a mitered plywood case.

I spotted this Mid-Century modern dresser at thrift store in Saugerties, New York. It features a mitered plywood case overhanging a leg-and-aprons base. Though the white knobs create a jarring effect, the design and build feature some thoughtful details. The grain runs continuously across the drawer fronts in each row, with the top narrower than those below. The heavy, curved molding breaks the facade, and the mitered divider creates more visual interest than would a divider meeting the outer frame in a simple straight line. The faceted leg offers an interesting alternative to a turned or straight leg, with the curved ends of the long apron providing a subtle counterpoint to the strong horizontal lines of the case.

Construction seems straightforward, with a mitered case and mortise-and-tenoned base. Care in execution and subtle details elevate what might otherwise be an uninteresting design, which is an important reminder about the cumulative effect a series of small details has on a finished work. I would still use different pulls if I were reproducing the design.

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I’ve written extensively on furniture of this period both here and in my book Mid-Century Modern Furniture (available on Amazon and ShopWoodworking).