Axel Einar Hjorth Credenza

Swedish furniture designer Axel Einar Hjorth created tables, chairs, cabinets and other pieces that were as elegant as they were functional, and he frequently worked in references to a litany of inspirations including French Art Deco, Gustavian style and modernism. Ahead of his time, his style was refined and daringly simple.

Born in Krokek, Sweden, Hjorth grew up in a foster family and at 20 moved to Stockholm where he studied architecture and design at the Högre Konstindustriella Skolan (now the University of Arts, Crafts & Design). Although he dropped out when his foster father died, he went on to work for some of the largest furniture manufacturers in Sweden during the 1920s. 

Hjorth’s work was featured in the 1923 Gothenburg Exhibition world’s fair, and he exhibited a birch and cherry cabinet in the 1927 “Swedish Contemporary Decorative Arts” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His role as the head of the furniture department at Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), an upscale department store in Stockholm, from 1927 to 1938, further brought his designs to widespread acclaim, including pieces exhibited at the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.

At the 1930 Stockholm Exhibition, an influential event in the emergence of functionalism in Swedish design, Hjorth exhibited a dozen room settings that featured examples of sportstugemöbler. These furniture lines were named for islands in Sweden’s archipelago — Utö, Blidö and Torö — with designs intended for cabins and vacation homes. The use of solid Swedish pine in these pieces revealed a love of traditional rustic furniture while the simple forms boldly looked to the future. He also brought his eclectic influences to armchairs formed from tubular metal, blocky case pieces made from birch and upholstered sofas with neoclassical details, each exuberantly mixing form and function.

Find vintage Axel Einar Hjorth furniture today on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage credenzas can add an understated touch of grace to your home. These long and sophisticated cabinet-style pieces of furniture can serve a variety of purposes, and they look great too.

In Italy, the credenza was originally a small side table used in religious services. Appropriately, credere in Italian means “to believe.” Credenzas were a place to not only set the food ready for meals, they were also a place to test and taste prepared food for poison before a dish was served to a member of the ruling class. Later, credenza was used to describe a type of versatile narrow side table, typically used for serving food in the home. In form, a credenza has much in common with a sideboard — in fact, the terms credenza and sideboard are used almost interchangeably today.

Credenzas usually have short legs or no legs at all, and can feature drawers and cabinets. And all kinds of iterations of the credenza have seen the light of day over the years, from ornately carved walnut credenzas originating in 16th-century Tuscany to the wealth of Art Deco credenzas — with their polished surfaces and geometric patterns — to the array of innovative modernist interpretations that American furniture maker Milo Baughman created for Directional and Thayer Coggin.

The credenza’s blend of style and functionality led to its widespread use in the 20th century. Mid-century modern credenzas are particularly popular — take a look at Danish furniture designer Arne Vodder’s classic Model 29, for instance, with its reversible sliding doors and elegant drawer pulls. Hans Wegner, another Danish modernist, produced strikingly minimalist credenzas in the 1950s and ’60s, as did influential designer Florence Knoll. Designers continue to explore new and exciting ways to update this long-loved furnishing.

Owing to its versatility and familiar low-profile form, the credenza remains popular in contemporary homes. Unlike many larger case pieces, credenzas can be placed under windows and in irregularly shaped rooms, such as foyers and entryways. This renders it a useful storage solution. In living rooms, for example, a credenza can be a sleek media console topped with plants and the rare art monographs you’ve been planning to show off. In homes with open floor plans, a credenza can help define multiple living spaces, making it ideal for loft apartments.

Browse a variety of antique, new and vintage credenzas on 1stDibs to find the perfect fit for your home today.