Hall tree design review

[Jamie Buxton]

Here’s a design thread with opportunity for comments by Creekers. I’m going to spread my initial discussion over several posts so that I can place text near specific pictures, so read on.

A friend of a friend asked me to build “a mudroom sort of area” in a wide place in a hallway just inside a side door to her house. This door is the one closest to the detached garage, and is the primary entrance for the family. I was puzzled by her interest in a mudroom. We live in central California. We never have snow, and with less than 20” of rain per year we barely have mud. It turned out that she wanted a place for people to hang jackets, for the kids to drop their school packs, and for everybody to remove their shoes. They have gleaming Santos Mahogany floors, and encourage stocking feet in the house.

I suggested a hall tree plus some open hooks for jackets. She was receptive to this approach, but the discussion slowed a little when we started talking about what style the furniture should be. This is common. Many people don’t know how to describe what they like, and only know they like something when they see it. I looked around her home for clues about her taste, and didn’t get much help; the place is eclectic, with a wide range of styles. I tried my furniture design “Rorschach test” --- looking through furniture books with her to find pieces she likes. Again, she liked a wide range of styles. The result is that I’ve had to come up with a bunch of designs to see which one she likes. Fortunately, it will be a while before my schedule allows me to set saw to wood on her behalf, so I have time to think of many different designs.

I thought I’d post several of these designs to see if y’all have suggestions for improvements.

The first drawing records the design objectives. That is, it shows the critical issues in the design, but doesn’t address how they will be achieved. The red stairs to the right are made from that Santo Mahogany, the floor is light oak, and the walls are off-white sheetrock. The point of view for this drawing is actually someplace through the hall’s opposite wall.

[Jamie Buxton]

This drawing is the first hall tree I tried out on her. She describes her home as a Craftsman, so this drawing is intended to be a hall tree as Gustav Stickley might have designed it. (I was surprised to find that the Stickley catalog doesn’t include a hall tree. It seems like such a Craftsman-era thing that I really expected to find a ready-made design from him.) I’m thinking fumed white oak, but the design could almost be any species. I actually did several variants on this design – with and without arms, and some differences in the back.

[Jamie Buxton]

This drawing uses designs elements from her kitchen – particularly the rectalinear shapes and the simple crown molding. The kitchen is cherry, so that might be good for this approach.

[Jamie Buxton]

This approach is much more sculptural than the first ones. My initial inspiration for this came from the onion-shaped domes on Russian Orthodox churches. Don’t ask me how I made the leap from a church to this hall tree – it just came to me. The sides are likely to be bent laminations. I don’t know what species this wood be. I’d like to do it from Santos Mahogany like the floors, but none of my local hardwood dealers carry Santos in lumber form.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here is another curvy one. There’s really no reason that a hall tree must be symmetrical. I like the animation of this approach. To me, it looks a dancer swooping across a stage, or a person leaning over to talk intimately with a friend.

[Jamie Buxton]

So what do you think?

[Jim Becker]

They are ALL excellent, but my first inclination is for either the "Craftsman" in post #2 or the "Onion" in post #4. I really like the very unique design in post #5, but it really has to be the right person/home for it. I'd show it to her to get a reaction, for sure...one never knows.

I'm also confused about Stickly not having a hall tree, especially since there are a number of examples of that form out there...Norm even did one in the NYW series a few years ago.

For all of these, I like your use of both walls and just the narrower bench for sitting while being "shod" or "un-shod". This goes beyond just the furniture design and makes for a look of continuity in the area surrounding the main piece. That's good design in my book.

Oh, and on the "bend" design in post #5, the wall hook on the opposite wall is too straight and regular...it needs to have the same interest as the hall tree through an irregular shape or something...

[Joe Mioux]

I like number three. LOML wants meto build that exact coat rack/seat/book bag holder/etc for our mud room.


That design fits our house the best. With that said, what is the architecture of your client's house? The style of home and interior should help lead you in the right direction.

Joe

edit: Didn't read all your posts re: craftsman style, but what is your take on the house?

[Jamie Buxton]

Originally Posted by Jim Becker

I'm also confused about Stickly not having a hall tree, especially since there are a number of examples of that form out there...Norm even did one in the NYW series a few years ago.
.
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Oh, and on the "bend" design in post #5, the wall hook on the opposite wall is too straight and regular...it needs to have the same interest as the hall tree through an irregular shape or something...

Jim --
I have a reprint of the Stickley catalog, and it does not have a hall tree. I've also searched the web and my other furniture history books, and have not found one by Stickley. As I said, I find that surprising, and would be happy if somebody could show me one.
Curving the coat-hook rail for #5 is a good idea. I'll play with it this evening.

Jamie

[Karl Laustrup]

I'm in favor of #3, but of course it's not going in my house. That said, while I'm not a fan of #5, I do agree with Jim about the hook rail on the opposite wall. It would need to follow the design of the hall tree, at least to some degree.

It also came to mind, if the client has children, how big/small are they. Perhaps a couple of hooks at their level would be advantageous.

My 2 cents for what it's worth.

Karl

[Jim Becker]

Jamie, I checked my copies of Bob Lang's Craftsman shop drawings books and didn't find any examples there, either. But I did email Bob and asked if he would comment here on his thoughts. No promises he will, but it will be appreciated if he does.

[Ken Leshner]

I like #3. It's sort of country style and that's my favorite.

Just a couple of ideas. First, the coat hooks over the seat may get in the way when someone is sitting on the seat. How about a small built-in mirror instead? Second, why not make the space under the seat a box? That way, anything that's dirty, like toys or garden shoes, etc., can be hidden away.

[Bert Johansen]

Jamie,

Just another totally subjective response. I like the onion (symetrical) one, except I would ditch the coathooks at the top of this one and add either a mirror or some sort of artistic pastiche to draw the eye, perhaps a carving if you are so inclined.

Bert

[Bob Lang]

Hi Jim,

I can't recall every seeing a "Hall Seat" per se. The furniture catalogs had some "costumers" which were stick like coat racks. The Craftsman magazine had a lot of built in benches, some typical ones are detailed in my book "Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors". It is kind of unusual, as this was a common form of furniture at the time. Maybe Gus just didn't like them.

Personally, I like #s 2 & 3, but you might want to enclose the base and make the seat lift up. It's a good way to hide some of the junk that inevitably builds up in an entry. If I really have a picture attached, here is an examle of a rare free standing Gus Stickley hall bench.

Hope this helps,

Bob Lang

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks all for the comments.

Karl -- The kids are ten and twelve, but they're going to be tall soon. The older one is already over five feet. Their mother says that the hooks inside the hall tree are for them. They can stand on the seat to reach the hooks if they need, but it won't be long before they don't need to. I did propose a lower rail of hooks on the right-hand wall, but she didn't see a need for them.

Ken -- Yes, I'm guessing that book packs hanging inside the hall tree would hit anybody really sitting on the bench. I'm going to set them fairly high to help with this. However, the homeowner says that people will sit there only long enough to remove their shoes. As I look at how her house is structured, I believe her.

And I tried the enclosed box idea on the homeowner. She laughed and said that it was all she could do to train her family to take off their shoes when they enter the house. Training them to lift a lid and put the shoes inside just wasn't going to happen. That is, there is going to be a pile of shoes in plain sight. With the open design, at least the pile is under the seat instead of being out in front where folks will trip on it.

Bert -- One of the main requirements for this project was a place for kids' packs filled with books. Those hooks inside the tree are my best shot.

Your mention of an eye is interesting. If I squint just right at drawing #5, I can see a cartoonish queen. She even has sort of a crown at the top. If I transformed the two coat hooks into two eyes, it'd be even more obvious. However, I can't see how to hang backpacks from eyeballs. Or maybe I should say that the only ideas I've had are rather grotesque -- like steel pins sticking out of the eyeballs.

Jamie