TimeOut

Hi All,

I have fallen in love with mid-twentieth century Danish furniture. Apart from recognising an Eames chair or a Noguchi table, I had never thought I would own and live with 'designer' pieces. But after adding a desk, tallboys, lamps and chairs to the house in the last year or two, I find myself enjoying these pieces from much more than a functional perspective. Who would have thought I would get so much pleasure from getting socks and undies out of a drawer or writing at a rosewood desktop?

So I am interested to hear about the furniture that you love and why. They don't necessarily need to be pieces that you own, but photos would be appreciated.

The first piece I want to share with you is a Model 75 Omann Jun desk from the late 1950's. Omann Jun remains a family-run business that started in 1933, initially focusing on bedroom furniture and later living room and office pieces. Much of the furniture was designed 'in-house' by family members, the most famous being Gunni Omann. Their vintage pieces from the 1950's and 60's were typically made from solid Brazilian rosewood which retains the wonderful grain of that wood. The solid legs and sculpted handles are a signature of the company. There are hidden cubbies (not shown) and all the draws are dovetailed. The lines are beautifully organic and it's a pleasure to work at and touch. So now you know where I sit with a 27 inch Mac and surf PPro.
 

The second piece is also in Brazilian rosewood although some of it is veneered. It is again Danish and dates from the early 1960's. Teak wood was more commonly used for these tallboys, but again I love the grain and was pleased to find one in rosewood. The legs and handles are solid and the varying depth draws make arranging clothes a pleasure. It is a very functional piece with simple clean lines. Nicely resolved.

I love this rosewood and its grain so much that I thought I would share some more high-res images with you. I even use this as my PC 'desktop' at work!

Andrew

love the look of the timber grain like this  i see why you love it too

Andrew,

When I was a child, I would lie in bed staring at the paneling on our wall looking for the faces I could find. The first two pictures bring back that old feeling.  Actually, I still have a tendency to see faces and animals in unusual places; rugs, clouds, speckled tile, wood, etc. not that I do it intentionally; it just happens. 

My grandson and I had a discussion about the patterns in the first two shots; we like the second one the best.  It’s great to see how the patterns of the inside of the tree can be replicated over and over to make such a beautifully unusual piece of furniture. 

That Rosewood highboy fits perfectly in that nitche; it’s just the right size. You've picked out some very nice pieces of furniture indeed.   Congratulations on you new found love.

Regards,

Helen

 

 

 

 

Thanks Helen,

That's a lovely story and I am pleased my pictures prompted you to share that with your grandson. The grain in the table comes 'out' in different ways depending on the time of day and how the light catches the surface. The wood is finished with shellac and is perfectly smooth.

Actually the shellac finish is something else I love. My father used to make up shellac when I was a child and the amber flakes of dried shellac secreted from the female Lac bug, Laccifer (Tachardia) lacca Kerr, really fascinated me. In fact I think I half doubted the veracity of his "bug resin scraped off tree bark" story until I was able to confirm it myself.

Yes the tallboy fits perfectly in the alcove and protects it, but the downside is that I can't so easily admire the wood and shape, particularly of the legs. Still, it faces me when I get up each morning and the morning sunlight catches the grain just beautifully.

Andrew

I have always liked rosewood furniture.

JerryW

Another great post Andrew! Furniture is another area where you can find many fine craftsman working on some amazing pieces of exotic wood materials.  Those pics have some really nice graining to it.  My favorites are Cocobolo and Mahogany.

-MW

Nothing like in my house unfortunately. Though I am a fan of Eames. I have a couple of arm shells which I love.

I for one also like mid-20th century modern furniture. I personally appreciate both very modern designs and very traditional designs as well.

The graining of the rosewood desk is indeed very ornate and impressive.

Very beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

very nice and the simplicity of the commode is just beautiful.

Wegner, Wanscher, Mogensen, ... and there are even more designers from Denmark,
which did a great job. Like them, but don´t own a single piece - so far

Pieces I like and have the pleasure to own ...

Antique pair of chairs from China:



Antique campher chest form China, sofa from B&B Italia, ...



Antique cabinet from China:



Chairs from Eames, Panton, ...

Nice topic and I hope we will see a lot more from others

Oliver

... that's what we (mostly my wife ...) drags into our home .... from the scrapyard (true) to design-stores ... .

the old cinema-chairs, they sit very comfortable and look so vintage ... .

Some 300 watches are stored in here (in my dreams that is).

This German Rolf Benz 6500 is a model they make for over 25 years now ... i especially love the quality of the leather and no need to say it's very comfy ... .

My favorite is this BoConcept chair, everybody sitting in this chair will be given a glass of red wine and will experience full relaxation .. ...

No message body

I have a desk in my home office from Arne Vodder.
Thanks for showing the pics,

Dirk

and the pieces you have are extra ordinary, incredible wood.
Really nice.
And I loved to see the reply's as well, very nice to know a little bit about each others style of living.
Although I am really interested in homes in all styles, from antique to Art deco to Chinese influences,
my own studio is a kind of homage to the designers/architects that worked between 1920 and 1965.
Charles ad Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Eileen Grey, Eero Saarinen, Gerrit Rietveld,
Marcel Breuer.





I really like the room divider by Charles & Ray Eames, this one is in walnut,
but it comes in about five different finishes to choose from,
Silly enough in Europe only light ash is available.



Hope to seeing some Chinese (influenced) interiors here.
GEO

as always. No surprise

I could imagine pieces from GEOrge Nakashima in your apartment as well:







A real master of wood and furniture.

China - what are you interested in? Spaces or furniture? Which style/century? Special wood like Zitan,
Huanghuali, ...?

I used to hunt, collect, buy, sell, ... them. Some memories in bad quality, because my digital
point and shot camera was not that good these days.













Hunting them, was the biggest fun ...





and sometimes you paid for it ...





but you never got them, like the last pieces shown.

Anyway, it was fun

Oliver

Hi Geo,

 

I Love your studio, particularly the built in shelving; good use of space, of course, but the colours, the flooring and the various pieces of furniture look great together. I could definitely be very comfortable, both physically and mentally, living in such an environment.

 

Well done and thanks for sharing this.

 

Andrew

Thanks for sharing your pictures, Andrew!  There's very little in the world of wood that matches the amazing depth, grain, and tone of Brazilian rosewood.  Your furniture provides a good, graphic example of that.  I don't own any furniture of note, but I appreciate the attraction of fine wood, as you can see on my instruments here: 

Cheers,

Daos