Bruno Mathsson Fällbord - Flexibility Through Design
Bruno Mathsson is most well known for his chairs and for his architectural designs such as his incredibly well insulated and beautiful glass houses, but he made other fine home furnishings (inredning) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile and well known is the Fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well.
One familiar with Mathsson's heritage would find it only natural that his primary focus would involve wood pieces. Five generations of his family had all devoted their lives to fine furniture and woodworking. As a boy, Mathson was given the knowledge required to excel in this art. His chores involved hands on experience with the technique, tools and woods he would need to continue the tradition throughout his life.
Mathsson ordered books and consulted experts in order to acquire skills and knowledge, particularly in engineering and technical aspects, not available to him in the Varnamo area. As a result, he acquired the skill sets he needed at the same time that he made contacts that were valuable to him later in his career. The design awards he received for his furniture (möbler) helped to finance his formal education.
While he produced many different furniture types, comfort and beauty were common themes for each type. What's more, he designed his pieces with innovation in mind; he recognized that people value flexibility in furniture arrangement . The modular style of his pieces enhanced their popularity due to the ease in which the pieces could be used to create unique spaces and moods.
In Swedish, fällbord, as in the Fällbord table, basically means a "folding table". The Fällbord table was first produced in 1935. The table support was made of birch. Table tops have been fashioned using a variety of woods including birch, oak, beech, cherry, ash, and other fine woods as well as a white laminate surface.
When fully-extended the Mathsson table expands to a length of 280 cm. When the table is collapsed, it fits into a tiny 23 cm bundle. With the use of table leaves, the table could be used as a small writing table for one or expanded into a banquet table and everything in between. If you're used to doing measurement using inches, the above table range is from 9 inches to around 110 1/4 inches.
During the 1960's Mathsson utilized modern materials such as metal tubing and synthetics in the furniture he constructed. While these later works were impressive, Mathsson is probably best known for his earlier creations such as the elegant Fällbord which allows for flexibility in crowded areas. While the Fällbord is believed to be based on folding tables that were once found in Swedish country homes, Mathsson transformed the traditional design into something unique and all his own.
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Bruno Mathsson is most well known for his chairs and for his architectural designs such as his incredibly well insulated and beautiful glass houses, but he made other fine home furnishings including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile and well known is the fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well. All of Mathsson's different furniture (annorlunda möbler) styles were designed to provide the utmost in comfort and beauty. In the 1960s Mathsson began using more modern materials in his furniture designs, such as metal tubing and synthetics.
Published December 5th, 2007
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