The Danes know design. Nearly 8,000 square miles smaller than West Virginia, the country has produced some of the most iconic furniture designs of the 20th century — designs that are still among the hottest furniture trends. Sparked by a post World War II thirst for renewal, Denmark fueled a style that many today call midcentury modern.
“We’ve been selling it for years,” said Glynn Romero, co-owner of Millennium Decorative Arts on U Street, a vintage furniture story specializing in midcentury modern design, much of it Danish.
| Resources |
| Millennium Decorative Arts: http://www.millenniumdecorativearts.com/ |
| Annette Rachlin: http://www.furniturefromscandinavia.com/ |
| Room and Board: www.roomandboard.com |
| Carl Hansen and Son: http://www.carlhansen.com/ |
| Design Within Reach: http://www.dwr.com |
“It’s amazing that a country of 5 million people has such an impact on the whole world when it comes to architecture and design,” said Annette Rachlin, a Danish-born furniture dealer who sells Scandinavian furniture from her Georgetown home.
Denmark produced design masters like Hans J. Wegner, whose shell and wing chairs grace the floors of many modern American furniture showrooms. Wegner once worked for Arne Jacobsen, whose most notable designs include the egg chair, the ant chair and the Series 7 chair.
Reproductions or copies of the Series 7 chair are found in schools, offices and homes throughout the country. An original can be purchased from Design Within Reach in Georgetown for $682.
Wegner and Jacobsen, along with contemporaries Borge Mogensen and Poul Henningsen, were among the leaders of the Danish design explosion that began in the 1940s.
Mogensen’s streamlined sofas and Henningsen’s famous PH lamp and artichoke lamp exemplify modern design. Henningsen’s artichoke lamp now retails for more than $7,000.
“Many of these designs are still being produced by the original manufacturer,” Rachlin said.
Carl Hansen and Son, established in 1908, is a family operated furniture manufacturer that began collaborating with Wegner in the 1940s, continues to produce Wegner designs that date back to that time. Room and Board on 14th Street sells Wegner’s shell chair starting at around $3,000.
Rachlin points to the work of Jorn Utzon, who designed the Sydney (Australia) Opera House in the late 1950s, as example of the timeless, yet uniqueness found in Danish design.
Utzon, Jacobsen and Mogensen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts under Kaare Klint, considered the father of Danish modern furniture design.
“The Danes are very innovative. Everything is user friendly and accessible,” Rachlin said. Because nearly 85 percent of all Danes live in urban areas, attention to efficiency and functionality are essential to Danish design.
“We’re a very small country and very conscious about resources,” Rachlin said. “We are aware that we have limited resources.”
When Rachlin moved to the Washington area in 1990 with plans to sell Scandinavian furniture, friends suggested she try the New York City market. They doubted that modern design would appeal to traditionally colonial Washington.
Interest in modern design has skyrocketed in Washington, however, particularly over the past five years. Rachlin opened her showroom almost two years ago and travels to Copenhagen regularly to seek items.
“The lines are so clean. The stuff is made better than furniture you can find today,” Romero said, adding it blends well with other styles.
Many people want case goods like credenzas and dressers. Oddly, people purchase these items, designed a half-century ago, to house the latest technology.
“A couple of years ago people started buying them to put flat-screen TVs on and put the DVR in the cabinets,” Romero said. “They are the perfect height for that and the gliding doors make it easy to store additional components. It’s also easy to drill a hole in the back because most have lightweight plywood backing.”
These credenzas were designed as sideboards to store china in dining rooms.
“It’s rare that a person buys these for their original use,” Romero said.
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