• It is usually made of paulownia (which is what 利休 would've used), but there are also models made of 桑 or 焼杉, lacquered ones with maple leaves (淡々斎）or, very pretty, one made from cedar and reed covers (玄々斎好み, of course).
• It has two boards in it:
  • The upper one has a notch for the 柄杓, and there's nothing to be supposed to be put on that board. The 蓋置 lives next to the 水指 on the bottom.
  • The lower one is a bit shorter, and this is where the 薄茶器 sits. It doesn't move, but because of it, the 水指 acts a little bit like the moving board in the 杉棚 (see below).
• 仙叟 preferred a style with only one board that both held the 薄茶器 and 柄杓.

• It is very similar to the 八千代 (in that one, however, the 柄杓 blocks the 水指, so after opening the cover, you put the 柄杓 and the 蓋置 on the 棚 to unlock the 水指).
• It has elements of the 徒然 in that the 茶碗 is also hidden from sight in 総荘!
• The middle board acts a little bit like in 杉棚
• The handling of the 水指 and the door is quite similar to 紹鴎棚: The door stays open until 水次, usually.

👆 Difference: with the 旅箪笥 in 薄茶, it stays open longer still, so you can put the 薄茶器 in it; in 紹鴎棚 you close the door always after the 水次. The 紹鴎棚 then has the funny afterlude where you put the 柄杓 and 蓋置 away, though I have this from a 淡交テキスト, and I don't trust it fully.

• L holds the top left corner of the door. With R, remove the pin, insert it from the side, then pull the door forward. L holds the lower L part of it, R moves to hold the upper L part of it. With both hands, lean it against the L side of the box.
• I've not seen this documented somewhere, but I presume if there was a calligraphy at the back of the lid, you could lean it against the R side (probably holding L upper left, R upper right, L lower right).

• 炭: 香合 and 羽 are on the 箪笥, in the character 八 form.
• 濃茶: Door is already open, 水指 half-way out (similar to 紹鴎棚).
  • The 仕覆 lives in the middle of the 天板 (that means, on top of the box, in plain sight — I find this a pity, you could use the 柄杓 board for it; but it's consistent with the 徒然棚, for example. But what if you had a pin instead of a board…? 😎)
  • Remember that in 濃茶 with a 棚, the 柄杓 and 蓋置 first go near the wall, and get placed on the 棚 after the 拝見物 are sorted.
  • Leave the box open and leave the 水指 halfway out! After the 水次 (3 hands, resting the lid on the front side of the 水指), put the 水指 in. Close the door (since nothing else will be put in it), then leave with the 水次.
• 続薄茶: After 拝見, just put the 薄茶器 back, close the door; then get the remaining 道具 as you would normally.
• 薄茶: Come in with 茶碗 (separated from 建水, which I find a pity). Open door, and, if not doing 芝点, get the 水指 out. Then arrange 薄茶器 and 茶碗. All remains the same, except that you don't close the door after 水次, but only put the 水指 back! After 拝見, you put the 茶杓 on the 棚 temporarily, then put the 薄茶器 where it needs to go, close the 箪笥 and leave with the 茶杓.
• 総荘: 茶碗 and 薄茶器 go on the middle board after 柄杓 and 蓋置 have been put where they need to be put. Then come back with the 水次. It is interesting: The book sais to leave the 帛紗 even when you've used the 水次, and to leave it on the 水指 if it has a lacquered lid (and on the top shelf otherwise, I presume?).
• 芝点(じてん):
  • For 薄茶, you can either leave the middle board in, in which case you need to pull the 水指 forward before getting out the 薄茶器; or you can leave the 水指 where it is and remove the board before purifying the 薄茶器 to use as a space to put 薄茶器 and 茶筅 on similar to 茶箱!
  • It's not the rule to do it like this, but I think it adds a nice touch of outside-ness if you don't put the 薄茶器 lid next to your knees, but instead put it back on the board when schooping the tea.
  • Then closing, the board goes back after the 水指 lid is closed. It's nice if the guests wait until then to ask for 拝見.
  • For 濃茶, you can't do 芝点.
• You don't use the 古帛紗 for the 茶碗 with this 棚 (according to the book, I need to verify that 🤩).

• Since the 蓋置 lives near the 水指, and you need to be able to pull out the 水指 without moving the 蓋置, best to pick a more slender 水指.
• Still, I used a 平水指 once, and it still worked, giving a bit of a 紹鴎棚 feeling with the big ass lid being rested against the wall. In a video, I saw the 蓋置 being taken out, then 水指 being moved for the 水次. The books don't confirm this, but it seems to be a good idea to deal with a big 水指; or you could even do it like with the 八千代　棚.
• Since you'll often find this in March or April, the 五徳 蓋置 should be common here.

• Make the notch in mine a bit bigger.
• Have a holder for 短冊 poems on the lid, or do some 蒔絵 on the back side.
• For the 芝点, maybe some raised painting of fallen 桜 or 菜の花 akin to the 菊 would be very suitable. It should have little feet, raising it off the ground ever so slightly
• Get the lock remade by a silver-smith
• To make one from a Swiss wood with some cutouts on the side, except for the lid (which you'd then put on the R side), that would be quite dramatic!.