As I write this (April 2004) the couch is still in the "design" phase.  My design process generally starts out with rough sketches, but these sketches are then quickly expanded upon in an AutoCad drawing file.  The pictures immediately below come from the AutoCad rendering feature.

I've created thorough AutoCad drawings wherein each component of the couch has been designed.  I use this stage of the process primarily for aesthetics; however, structural considerations also come to the fore.

While this is not the first couch I have designed and constructed, it is the first time I used AutoCad in the process.  I hope to save a lot of time in the shop due to thorough planning before-hand.

A previous couch project dragged on and on because I kept making design changes after construction began.  Yuck.

In addition to working out a design on AutoCad, I have also begun to prepare a parts list and diagram in Excel.  This will allow me to determine the amount of wood to purchase, cutting layouts, and approximate materials costs.

The most difficult thing for me in building the scale model was to use "large-scale" power tools to fashion small-scale pieces.  Slight imperfections in ripping can lead to oddly-tapered planks, and slightly off-measurement cross cuts can result in ill-fitting joints.  I was able to get the craftsmanship accurate enough to assemble the main structure (above right) and stand it upright without any glue!

Finally, bevel cuts are pretty near impossible for me to do well, so I only did a partial beveled inlay (shown below in Purple Heart).

Progress to this point is continuing with an attempt at upholstery to assess the feasibility of this stage.  Once the model is adequate, I will take it to an upholsterer to get some additional pointers to finalize the design.