Set Your Designs on Danish Furniture

The greatest period of Danish furniture design was between the years 1925 and 1975 and became known as the ‘mid century modern’.  With its use of oak, ash and mahogany combined with leather and the simple lines and minimalistic decoration, Denmark’s unique furniture will never go out of style.

There are over 450 manufacturers of Danish furniture, employing in excess of 20,000 people. These Scandinavian pieces are renowned throughout the world for their outstanding quality and craftsmanship.  Some of the better known names include: Schou-Andersen Mobelfabrik; Beni Møbler; Fritz Hansen; Aksel Kjersgaard; Magnus Olesen and Tvilum Scanbirk.

There has been some very famous Danish furniture designers with possibly one of the most illustrious being Hans Wegner, who gained iconic notoriety for his Chinese chair, which later became known simply as ‘The Chair’.  He created a series of chairs which helped establish Denmark as a leader of modern designs, with his Wishbone version widely considered his most successful.

Other eminent designers of Danish furniture are Kurt Østervig, who specialized in furniture for rest homes, ships and theatres; Eric Marquardsen and Takashi Okumaru who together were responsible for the Rhombus lines of arm chairs, stacking chairs and tables; and Nanna Ditzel with her 2001 joy bed in maple veneer and two and three seat sofas.

Arne Jacobsen was another who made a name for himself with his three or four legged ‘ant’ chairs; but it was one of his subordinates Verner Panton who really kicked Denmark into a more modern era with his use of imaginative and high-tech materials, playful shapes and bold colors.  The Panton chair was the world’s first one piece mouldered plastic chair.  Jacobsen actually gave him the name ‘enfant terrible’ of Danish furniture design.

Finn Juhl became the first Danish furniture designer to be recognized Internationally when he was asked to design the interior of the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.  Contacts made from this helped cement the ‘Danish Modern’ into world furniture.

The three shaded hanging lamp, which became better known as the PH lamp, was named after its creator Paul Hemmingsen who was probably Denmark’s most famous lamp designer.  The three shades became his trademark with the hanging version being joined later by table, floor, chandeliers and wall mounted constructions.  He went on to create over one hundred different lamps. You could say he was light years ahead of his antagonists!

The greatest period of Danish furniture design was between the years 1925 and 1975 and became known as the ‘mid century modern’.  With its use of oak, ash and mahogany combined with leather and the simple lines and minimalistic decoration, Denmark’s unique furniture will never go out of style.