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.
$3,700 / set
Jens Risom Walnut Credenza
By Jens Risom
Located in Astoria, NY
Jens Risom Walnut Two-Piece Credenza, the left side having single cabinet with three shelves and white vinyl tambour door opening to two shelves, the right side with four drawers hav...
Brass
Pair of Jens Risom Slipper Lounge Chairs with Charcoal Tweed and Aluminum Frames
By Jens Risom
Located in Dallas, TX
A striking pair of 1960s classic slipper lounge chairs designed by Jens Risom, showcasing his signature blend of sculptural elegance and modernist restraint. These chairs feature new...
Aluminum
Mid-Century Modern Leather Walnut Armchair By Jens Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mid-Century Modern, solid walnut armchair by Jens Risom with seat, back and arms, newly upholstered in a rich cognac leather.
Leather, Walnut
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Swivel Chairs - Pair
By Jens Risom
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Swivel Chairs - Pair Each chair measures: 26.5 wide x 25.5 deep x 32 high, with a seat height of 18.5 and arm height/chair clearance of 23.5 inches Go...
Upholstery, Walnut
Jens Risom Mid Century Ebonized Walnut Desk
By Jens Risom
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Ebonized Walnut Desk This desk measures: 75 wide x 36 deep x 27.25 high (front); 29.5 high (rear), with a chair clearance of 25.75 inches Restored - Ready to...
Walnut
2023 Jens Risom for Knoll Amoeba 42” Child's Table in Beech
By Jens Risom, Knoll
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Child's Risom Amoeba Table, originally designed by Jens Risom in 1941. This particular example was produced by Knoll in the USA in 2023. The table is comprised of solid bee...
Beech, Laminate
Jens Risom Walnut and Laminate Coffee Table
By Jens Risom
Located in Asbury Park, NJ
Versatile square coffee or cocktail table by Jens Risom, with straight, turned walnut legs, squared stretchers and a floating white laminate top.
Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Upholstered Walnut Arm Chair
By Jens Risom
Located in Clarksboro, NJ
This listing is for a Mid-Century Modern Jens Risom Upholstered Walnut Arm Chair. Featuring a straight line design, wooden frame with slanted arms, new gray upholstery, and a beautif...
Upholstery, Wood, Walnut
Jens Risom Full-Size Upholstered Walnut Headboard
By Jens Risom
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Walnut headboard by Jens Risom, c.1960s USA. This frame is made from solid walnut, and a gray upholstered cushion with four buttons. Dimensions 56" width x 4.5" depth x 35.5" height...
Walnut, Upholstery
1960s Jens Risom Walnut Side Table with Faux Walnut Laminate Top
By Jens Risom
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Jens Risom Walnut Side Table, designed by Jens Risom in 1950 and produced by his company, Jens Risom Design Inc., in the 1960s. The Table's design is composed of a floating...
Walnut, Laminate
Lounge Chair by Jens Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Dallas, TX
A large scale lounge chair on walnut base. Designed by Jens Risom. Fully restored and reupholstered.
Walnut
Walnut Credenza by Jens Risom
By Jens Risom
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Designed by Jens Risom, c.1960s, USA. This four drawer walnut credenza features one side of drawers and two shelves concealed by a roll top tambour door. The walnut handles have a br...
Walnut
2020 Knoll Risom Side Chair in Maple with Tan Straps, Model 666C-WB
By Knoll, Jens Risom
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a Risom side chair, Model 666C-WB, designed by Jens Risom for Knoll in 1943. This example dates to 2020. The design features a lacquered maple frame, and has tan cotton webbi...
Steel
$3,650 / set
Pair of Jens Risom Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
By Jens Risom
Located in New York, NY
Danish Jens Risom attributed Mid-Century Modern armchairs with new wool felt upholstery, circa 1960s . Button tufted. Tapered legs with minor loses and fading to wood. Good original ...
Wool
There isn’t much of a difference between Nordic and Scandinavian design in that when it comes to furniture and decor, the descriptors “Nordic” and “Scandinavian” are often used interchangeably. The term Scandinavia is primarily used to refer to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. (It is sometimes inclusive of Iceland and Finland, too.) The Nordic region of the world also includes the likes of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden as well as Iceland, Finland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland.
Scandinavian modernism is a warm and organic iteration of modernist design that chiefly originated in Denmark, Sweden and Finland during the 1930s. It was introduced to the United States during the mid-20th century and had a profound influence on American mid-century modern design.
Scandinavian modernists are known for their emphasis on craftsmanship and use of natural materials such as ash, pine and beech. Scandi interiors are minimalist, bright and airy, and feature neutral palettes and classic shapes.
Characteristics of the work of such Scandinavian modernists such as Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl and Greta Magnusson Grossman include bold, clean lines and simple, sturdy symmetries. Finland produced a truly ingenious Scandinavian modern furniture designer in the architect Alvar Aalto, a master at melding function and artistic form in works like the Paimio chair, created in collaboration with his first wife, Aino. Yet Finnish glassware was pre-eminent, crafted in expressive, sculptural designs by Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva.
For design enthusiasts all over the world, the promotion of functionality and simplicity associated with Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design continues to prove irresistible.