Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Danish, American, 1916-2016
The Danish-born Jens Risom brought the Scandinavian modern design sensibility to a wide audience in the United States. As the first designer for Knoll Inc., Risom introduced American buyers to the region’s enduring design values of simplicity, grace and craftsmanship.
Risom trained in furniture making at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design under Ole Wanscher, alongside classmates Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. In 1939, a year after graduating from business school, Risom decided to move to the U.S.
While working for an interior designer in New York in 1941, he met Hans Knoll, and the businessman and the designer hit it off. They brought out their first line the next year, despite wartime materials restrictions. The signature piece — now a design icon — was a lounge chair with a striking, undulant birch frame and a seat made of webbed sub-military grade parachute straps. Risom was drafted into the army, and served as a translator under General George Patton. When he returned from the war, Risom clashed over furniture design ideals with his business partner’s new bride, Florence Knoll, the pioneering mid-century modernist who was schooled in the Bauhaus method, which favored furniture with strict, geometric metal frames. Risom then started his own company, Jens Risom Design.
In the course of his long career, Risom developed a stylistic vocabulary that was a reflection of the life of the man himself: his furniture has Danish warmth coupled with an American air of crisp efficiency. Vintage Risom chairs are almost instantly recognizable — the arms and seat backs are set at a distinctive angle that seems to invite people to sit back and relax, yet they know they can hop up in an instant, ready to go.
As you will see on these pages, Jens Risom is one of the great men of American modern design who made furniture that is unique and timeless.
Find a collection of vintage Jens Risom furniture on 1stDibs that includes lounge chairs, desks, coffee tables and more.
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Creator: Jens Risom
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
By Jens Risom
Located in Countryside, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
This chest of drawers measures: 36 wide x 21 deep x 24 inches high
All pieces of furniture can be had ...
Category
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Brass
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
By Jens Risom
Located in Countryside, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
This chest of drawers measures: 36 wide x 21 deep x 24 inches high
All pieces of furniture can be had ...
Category
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Brass
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
By Jens Risom
Located in Countryside, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut and Brass Wall Mounted Cabinet Chest of Drawers
This chest of drawers measures: 36 wide x 21 deep x 24 inches high
All pieces of furniture can be had ...
Category
1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Brass
Jens Risom Danish Mid-Century Fall-Front Walnut Bedside Table / Commode
By Jens Risom
Located in New York, NY
Danish Mid-Century walnut bedside table / commode with a bottom cabinet with a fall-front drawer and brass drawer pull with an open compartment above with four dowel legs. (JENS RISOM)
Category
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Wood, Walnut
Pair of Jens Risom Danish Mid-Century Blond Oak Bedside Table / Commodes
By Jens Risom
Located in New York, NY
PAIR of Danish Mid-Century blond oak bedside tables / commodes with a single upper drawer above a cabinet compartment with angled wooden drawer pulls...
Category
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Wood, Oak
Two Modern Chests or Credenzas designed by Jens Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Atlanta, GA
Two Modern Chests or Credenzas designed by Jens Risom, American, circa 1960's. The price noted below is for each chest.
Category
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Materials
Walnut
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Jens Risom Mid-Century Modern Walnut Cabinet Credenza
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Jens Risom Walnut Credenza
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Jens Risom designed this credenza as part of an executive office suite. The handsome walnut case sets a shallow divided drawer above a deep drawer on either side of two shelves conce...
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French 19th Century Petite Walnut Commode
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
This darling commode was crafted from a richly toned walnut during the 1880s in France. The whole has been recently cleaned and waxed with French wax paste ...
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Midcentury Credenza Sideboard Chest
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Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Executive Desk
By Jens Risom
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All pieces of furniture can be had in what...
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Mid-Century French Louis XV Marble Top Walnut Inlaid Commode Chest of Drawers
Located in Dallas, TX
This elegant, kidney-shaped fruitwood antique commode was crafted in France, circa 1950. The commode sits on cabriole legs ending with bronze sabot mounts over a scalloped apron decorated with a bronze mount. The bow front features two drawers decorated with parquetry motifs and dressed with the original pulls and intricate escutcheons. The cabinet is further decorated with bronze mounts at the shoulders, and both rounded sides are also embellished with inlaid marquetry decor. The surface is dressed with the original beveled "Breche d'Alep" marble top. The traditional nightstand...
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By Davis Cabinet Company
Located in Dayton, OH
"Vintage Davis Cabinet Company commode or side table. Made of Walnut featuring square serpentine form with two drawers, carved accents and cabriole legs. Circa late 20th century, Nashville Tennessee.
These words of our venerable leader introduce this short history of our firm which began in 1929. There are certainly older furniture companies ---- and obviously younger ones, but quite likely, none with a more romantic history or a more Horatio Alger-like history than ours. Davis Cabinet Company began as the dream of one man, Lipscomb ""Lip"" Davis, and as is the case with most dreams, this one ---- the impractical idea of building fine furniture from solid wood ---- was thought to be an impossibility. Wood, like steel and iron and most other substances, expands and contracts with climate changes. Furniture built of solid wood must of necessity rack itself to pieces through the inexorable changes of expansion and contraction. Lipscomb Davis thought otherwise. His personal philosophy might be expressed as ""Anything can be accomplished if it is done correctly"", and to this end he had already conceived and engineered a startling new concept of free floating construction that would allow the solid wood case construction to move at will . . . . naturally . . . and thereby avoid the stresses of climatic change. The opportunity to test the idea came dramatically in 1929 ---- but we're getting a bit ahead of our story.
While Davis Cabinet Company was formed in 1929, it really had its beginnings around the turn of the century as a sawmill located near Fifth Street on the banks of the Cumberland River. The mill produced lumber from logs rafted down the river from neighboring forests. A ready market existed for most of the high grade lumber turned out by the mill. But, in order to utilize their entire production, the enterprising mill owners formed a subsidiary business, Standard Furniture Company. Here, they manufactured primarily veneered bedroom suites and sewing machine cabinets...
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Previously Available Items
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Style: Mid-Century Modern / Scandinavian...
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1960s Petite Low Chest in Walnut by Jens Risom
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Pair of Bachelors Chests by Jens Risom
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Jens Risom Dresser Credenza
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Mid-Century Credenza by Jens Risom Design
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Located in Brooklyn, NY
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1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Stylish Mid-Century Modern Chest of Drawers by Jens Risom
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Located in Brooklyn, NY
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Jens Risom Walnut Cabinet with Leather Top
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This handsome cabinet has two hanging file drawers and two narrow drawers with removable dividers. It is finished in the back so it can float in the room or form an "L" with another ...
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Pair of Jens Risom Nightstand End Tables
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Early Jens Risom Walnut Chest
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Pair of Mid-Century Modern Teak Dressers by Jens Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This beautiful pair of Mid-Century five-drawer dressers by Jens Risom feature unique carved pulls, detailed sled style legs, and tremendous teak wood grain. Perfect matching pair wit...
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Jens Risom Credenza
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Handsome and nicely proportioned. Five drawers, including one hanging file. Richly toned walnut construction. Custom mirrored top surface. Presentable from every angle.
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1960s American Vintage Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
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Jens Risom commodes and chests of drawers for sale on 1stDibs.
Jens Risom commodes and chests of drawers are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Jens Risom commodes and chests of drawers, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original commodes and chests of drawers by Jens Risom were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider commodes and chests of drawers by Ry Møbler, Hans J. Wegner, and Feldballes Møbelfabrik. Prices for Jens Risom commodes and chests of drawers can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,800 and can go as high as $9,800, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $3,295.
Creators Similar to Jens Risom
Questions About Jens Risom Commodes and Chests of Drawers
- Who is Jens Risom?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Jens Risom was a Danish designer. Many people credit him with bringing the modern style of Scandinavian design to the U.S. He is well-known for his chairs, which feature angled seat backs often upholstered with webbing. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Jens Risom furniture.
- Was Jens Risom Danish?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Yes, Jens Risom was Danish. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 8, 1916, and attended Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design. Following his graduation, Risom moved to the U.S., where he lived for the rest of his life. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Jens Risom furniture.
- Who sells Jens Risom rockers?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022Normally, vintage furniture dealers or auction and online platforms specializing in authentic vintage furniture sell Jens Risom rockers. From time to time, rocking chairs produced by the Danish designer may appear at thrift shops and secondhand stores or be available directly from individuals who own them. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Jens Risom chairs.