1960s Kai Kristiansen Small Dresser or Console in Teak

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1960s Kai Kristiansen Small Dresser or Console in Teak

About the Item

Small Danish teak dresser or console with four small drawers designed by Kai Kristiansen for Feldballe Møbelfabrik in the late 1950s. The dresser / console features Kai Kristiansens classic eyelid design on each drawer pull and it´s seize and design makes it very flexible in use no matter weather it´s as a small chest of drawers in the bedroom, a entry hall table with drawers, a console for your TV or something else. The dresser / console has been overlooked by our cabinetmaker and is in very good condition with minor signs of age and use. Kai Kristiansen who is still alive was born in 1929 and raised in Thy, North Denmark. Originally a carpenter, Kristiansen was educated as a building architect at the Royal Academi of Arts in Copenhagen and graduated from here in 1954. His father was the propritetor of at furniture production company, so his interest in furniture was founded early. Kristiansen was one of the last pupils of the famous architect Kaare Klint who died in 1959 and is considered the founder of modern Danish design. During the years 1958-78 Kristiansen worked in his business in Aarhus owned jointly by himself and designer and cabinetmaker Illum Wikkelsø (1919-99). Kristiansens works met their most intense demand during a few decades from 1950, then production of them was discontinued. However, several of the are now being produced again by the Japanese furniture producer Miyazaki Chair Mill in Tokushima. An Australien producer has also included Kristiansen production in their portfolio. Kai Kristiansen might have been the originator of mass produced furniture, had he accepted an offer from Ikea-founder Ingvar Kamprad. He declined to let himself enroll in the Ikea staff. Kristiansen exhibitions include numerous participations in furniture and design shows in Milano, Paris, Cologne and London. Among his most cherished works is the Paper Knife collection, including two sofas, a coffee table and an armchair. His 4110 og Handy chairs are also widely sold. In fact, the Kai Kristiansen name is probably better known by a selected global furniture design public than it is known generally in his home country. One of his main producers is Feldballes Møbelfabrik, a furniture line company that was founded in Århus, Denmark. It did fairly brisk business in the 1950, and is especially famous for its collaboration with Kai Kristiansen, with whom it created the "FM-reolen" or FM system; a beautiful and flexible system of shelves in various woods like teak, oak, rosewood etc.

Creator:
Feldballes Møbelfabrik (Manufacturer),Kai Kristiansen (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 24.61 in (62.5 cm)Width: 33.67 in (85.5 cm)Depth: 12.6 in (32 cm)
Style:
Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Teak
Place of Origin:
Denmark
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
1960s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Knebel, DK
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU2713311017711

Shop All Kai Kristiansen

Kai Kristiansen

With a passion for math and engineering, Kai Kristiansen has created high-quality wood furniture for decades. Beginning in the 1950s, his chairs, modular shelving and other furnishings were made in the style that would become internationally renowned as Danish modern and boasted clean lines, perfected functionality and exacting craftsmanship.

Born in Denmark, Kristiansen trained in cabinetmaking before studying with Kaare Klint, often cited as the “father of modern Danish design,” at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. At just 26 years old, Kristiansen opened his own studio.

Kristiansen had his mid-century breakthrough in 1956 with the Chair #42, which he made with Schou Andersen. Unlike most other chairs at the time, Chair #42’s armrests, with their wealth of radical angles, were connected to the back rather than the front legs. This unconventional flourish makes the backrest appear as though it is floating in midair above the seat.

Kristiansen’s next innovation was a modular wall system in 1957 — three years ahead of Dieter Rams’s more famous 606 Universal Shelving System. Called the Reolsystem Wall Unit, produced by SB Feldballes Møbelfabrik, it’s also known as the FM Wall Unit as FM/Fornem Møbelkunst began producing it in the 1960s.

Kristiansen would go on to work with other leading Danish furniture manufacturers such as Magnus Olesen, Fritz Hansen and Vildbjerg Møbelfabrik, designing everything from chairs and desks to sideboards and cabinets, frequently in rosewood and teak. (The latter was a sought-after wood by Scandinavian modern designers.)

While many of Kristiansen’s timeless designs remain in production, such as his Paper Knife sofa, which was reintroduced by Miyazaki Chair Factory in 2008, and his 1950s Entré collection, which was relaunched with Great Dane Furniture in 2016, others are prized as vintage mid-century pieces.

Today, Kristiansen is still at work on new furniture with an expert eye to thoughtfully functional designs that are made to last.

Find a collection of vintage Kai Kristiansen furniture on 1stDibs.