Bar and Coffee Cart
A mid-century bar cart and coffee cabinet designed under one constraint: a drill, brackets, and a store panel saw.
working
Summary
A 36 by 18 inch bar cart and coffee cabinet for a NYC apartment, designed over several versions with AI: open brass-railed bar shelves on the left, a single-door coffee cabinet on the right for a Breville Barista Express, locking casters, walnut and brass. Every version produced a parametric Blender model, rendered views, a cut list for the panel saw, and a materials PDF with real store items.
Problem
I own a drill and nothing else. Most furniture plans assume a table saw, a jig, and angled cuts. I wanted something that looks designed but assembles with brackets and screws from rectangles a store will cut for me.
AI Usage
AI generated and iterated the Blender Python that builds the 3D model parametrically, the scripts that produce the cut-list and materials PDFs, and the design itself under explicit constraints (rectangles only, no dados, no notches, no angled cuts). The constraint checking is in the design conversation and the generated geometry, not in a model guessing. Human decisions are recorded per version, including what was rejected and why.
- Each design version has a handoff doc recording my feedback, the decisions made, and what was rejected.
- Parametric Blender model regenerated from a script, not hand-modeled.
- Cut list and materials list generated as PDFs, ready for the store.
- Straight 2x2 posts chosen over tapered legs specifically because L-brackets need a flat face.
Stack
Blender, Python, bpy, ReportLab