Jens Risom Square Walnut Coffee Table

About the Item

Jens Risom Design Inc. Square Walnut Laminate Coffee Table, USA, Circa 1970s–1980s Authentic Jens Risom Design Inc. square coffee table featuring a richly grained walnut laminate top over a solid walnut frame with tapered legs. The clean, architectural silhouette and recessed apron exemplify Risom’s understated Mid-Century Modern aesthetic, blending Scandinavian simplicity with American craftsmanship. The durable walnut laminate surface provides the warm appearance of walnut while offering exceptional resistance to everyday wear, making it ideal for both residential and commercial interiors. Retaining its original Jens Risom Design Inc. label, this table is a fine example of the designer’s later production and remains highly functional and versatile. Some minimal scratches to the laminate as expected with use. Overall good condition. Message with questions and for a discounted shipping quote delivered within 2-3 weeks.

Creator:
Jens Risom (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Laminate,Walnut,Oiled
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1970-1979
Date of Manufacture:
1975
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Some minimal scratches to laminate as expected with use.
Seller Location:
Stafford, TX
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU9585250938242

Shop All Jens Risom

Jens Risom

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.