Alf Svensson Furniture
Swedish architect and furniture designer Alf Svensson worked with a range of organic materials that are today commonly associated with Scandinavian modernism, utilizing rosewood, oak and teak in his cabinets, chairs, tables and other furniture, and opting for leather when it came to creating upholstery for his sleek seating. He worked for several manufacturers including String Seffle AB, Bergbom & Co., Nybrofabriken and Nesto but is best known to collectors for the designs he created for DUX.
As creative director at Bergboms, Svensson worked with brass and opaline glass to create a range of lighting. He designed sculptural tripod-style floor lamps with bodies of steam-bent solid teak — a popular material with furniture makers of the mid-20th century — while his hanging ceiling lights featured lacquered metal shades that bring pops of color into living rooms and entryways.
Svensson’s role at the lighting manufacturer, which was founded in 1940 by Efraim Ljung — also the founder of Ljungs Industrier — saw him collaborating with the likes of legendary designers such as Greta Magnusson Grossman and Edward Wormley, a favorite of mid-century modern furniture collectors and the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company.
Svensson also served as the creative director at Ljungs Industrier. In Sweden, Studio Ljungs Industrier AB is the large family-owned parent company of Duxiana (in America, DUX). In 1950, Folke Ohlsson, then leading Ljungs Industrier’s design team, decamped to the States to explore how he could expand DUX’s business, which at that point included a wide range of furniture. It was during this time, in the postwar era, that American tastemakers really sold the citizenry on the warmth and good craftsmanship that characterizes Scandinavian modern design.
Ohlsson established a DUX office not long after he arrived in California, first in San Francisco and later in Burlingame. Svensson, a chief designer in the Malmö, Sweden, office of Ljungs Industrier, was among the top-tier furniture design talent with which DUX collaborated (a list that included Wormley and Bruno Mathsson). Svensson’s Galaxy chair, a comfortable upholstered swivel seat attributed to a partnership between the designer and Yngvar Sandström that exudes Space Age charm, is highly sought after, and Svensson's relationship with DUX yielded similarly attractive sideboards, lounge chairs and other furnishings that are some of his most celebrated works.
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1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Beech
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Oak
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Teak, Rattan
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Steel
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Rattan, Teak
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Oak
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal, Brass
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Rattan, Beech, Oak, Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Beech
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Upholstery, Teak
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Leather, Fabric, Beech
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1950s Swedish Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Steel
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Rattan, Beech, Oak, Teak
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Alf Svensson Furniture
Leather, Wood
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Rattan, Oak
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Oak
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Bouclé, Wood
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal, Brass
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Aluminum, Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Oak, Rattan
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Walnut
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Bouclé, Wood
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Teak
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal, Nickel
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Teak, Fabric
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Oak, Leather
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Wool, Beech
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Cane, Oak
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1980s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Beech
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Steel
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Raffia, Wood
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Upholstery, Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Alf Svensson Furniture
Metal, Aluminum, Brass, Steel
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Brass
1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alf Svensson Furniture
Fabric, Birch