Johannes Andersen Bar Stools

Denmark has a long tradition of producing some of the most acclaimed furniture designers of the 20th century. Johannes Andersen is no exception — his name is synonymous with mid-century modern design. He elevated Scandinavian modernism’s prioritization of practicality and space conservation to new heights and worked with luxurious woods like teak, mahogany and rosewood for a range of designs that merged grace and function.

After completing his cabinetmaker apprenticeship in his early 20s, Andersen began to design for several furniture makers, including CFC Silkeborg and Trensum. A few years later, he opened his own workshop and enjoyed success from the outset. Free of the constraints of working under another studio, Andersen quickly developed his own, distinctive style that drew on Danish functionalism and human-centered design.

After the end of World War II, Andersen noticed the worldwide postwar consumption boom and the burgeoning interest in Scandinavian modern design. He took full advantage of this and began to sell his shapely and eye-pleasing tables, chairs and sideboards to markets outside of Denmark. Other Scandinavian manufacturers took notice of Andersen’s work, which led to many successful, career-long collaborations for the furniture maker.

Like Finn Juhl and Alvar Aalto, Andersen was deeply drawn to organic shapes and flowing lines. He transformed furniture’s traditionally square or rectangular panels and surfaces — like the tops of coffee tables and seat-backs of dining room chairs — into imaginative half-moons with rounded corners, beveled edges and fluid contours. His unexpected use of curves is the highlight of his sleek Capri line for Trensum and can be found in his comfortable saddle-shaped Allegra bar stool and playful but elegant Smile coffee table, which sports an anthropomorphic grin in the slot intended to hold magazines.

Andersen wanted his furniture to be compact — he experimented with reducing the footprints of bulky furniture, and his simple, iconic credenzas, sideboards and folding bar cabinets were born. These and other vintage Johannes Andersen furnishings are in high demand today by collectors and mid-century modern enthusiasts all over the world.

On 1stDibs, find a wide range of Johannes Andersen tables, seating, cabinets and other furniture.

Stools are versatile and a necessary addition to any living room, kitchen area or elsewhere in your home. A sofa or reliable lounge chair might nab all the credit, comfort-wise, but don’t discount the roles that good antique, new and vintage stools can play.

“Stools are jewels and statements in a space, and they can also be investment pieces,” says New York City designer Amy Lau, who adds that these seats provide an excellent choice for setting an interior’s general tone. 

Stools, which are among the oldest forms of wooden furnishings, may also serve as decorative pieces, even if we’re talking about a stool that is far less sculptural than the gracefully curving molded plywood shells that make up Sōri Yanagi’s provocative Butterfly stool. 

Fawn Galli, a New York interior designer, uses her stools in the same way you would use a throw pillow. “I normally buy several styles and move them around the home where needed,” she says.

Stools are smaller pieces of seating as compared to armchairs or dining chairs and can add depth as well as functionality to a space that you’ve set aside for entertaining. For a splash of color, consider the Stool 60, a pioneering work of bentwood by Finnish architect and furniture maker Alvar Aalto. It’s manufactured by Artek and comes in a variety of colored seats and finishes.

Barstools that date back to the 1970s are now more ubiquitous in kitchens. Vintage barstools have seen renewed interest, be they a meld of chrome and leather or transparent plastic, such as the Lucite and stainless-steel counter stool variety from Indiana-born furniture designer Charles Hollis Jones, who is renowned for his acrylic works. A cluster of barstools — perhaps a set of four brushed-aluminum counter stools by Emeco or Tubby Tube stools by Faye Toogood — can encourage merriment in the kitchen. If you’ve got the room for family and friends to congregate and enjoy cocktails where the cooking is done, consider matching your stools with a tall table.

Whether you need counter stools, drafting stools or another kind, explore an extensive range of antique, new and vintage stools on 1stDibs.