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.
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Flip Top Console Dining Table
By Jens Risom
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Flip Top Console Dining Table This flip top console table measures: 60 wide x 21 deep x 28.75 inches high, with ...
Walnut
$850
H 22 in W 38 in D 20 in
Vintage Danish Modern Walnut Coffee Table with Shelf – Mid Century Side Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful vintage Danish Modern coffee table crafted in walnut, featuring elegant tapered legs, softly rounded edges, and stunning walnut grain throughout. The clean Scandinavian sil...
Walnut
ICO Console Table in Dark Walnut
By Stamford Modern
Located in Westport, CT
The ICO Console Table channels the visionary elegance of Ico Parisi by marrying airy sculptural form with modern living demands. From its lean, refined frame to the meticulously scul...
Walnut
Mid-Century Modern Walnut Console Table with Ebonized Legs, 1950s
Located in Houston, TX
Beautiful and elegant console is made out of walnut wood with spectacular wood grain. Console has 2 spacious drawers and an extra shelf on the bottom. Console is elevated by 4 thin l...
Ebony, Walnut
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.
$7,800
H 17 in W 51.5 in D 24 in
Jens Risom Danish Mid-Century Walnut Coffee / Cocktail Table with Magazine Rack
By Jens Risom
Located in Queens, NY
Danish Mid-Century walnut coffee table with a rectangular top with tapered edges and a rectangular cutout on one side resting on a stretcher base with built-in magazine rack and four...
Wood, Walnut
$16,800
H 30 in W 90 in D 20.5 in
Andrianna Shamaris Midcentury Couture Espresso Stained Teak Wood Console Table
By Andrianna Shamaris
Located in New York, NY
Introducing the midcentury Couture Collection new to 2021. Furniture constructed by hand from start to finish. A single two inch beautiful slab of reclaimed teak wood, taken from my ...
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
$3,760
H 28.35 in W 51.19 in D 15.75 in
Mid-Century Modern Sassári Dark Brown Oak Console, Handmade by Greenapple
By Rute Martins, Greenapple
Located in Lisboa, PT
Mid-Century Modern Sassári Console, Contemporary Collection, Handcrafted in Portugal - Europe by Greenapple. The Sassári console table is a celebration of fine woodworking and timel...
Stone, Onyx, Limestone, Marble, Brass, Steel, Stainless Steel
$5,195
H 29 in W 60 in D 35.75 in
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Surfboard Expanding Dining Table with 2 Leaves
By Jens Risom
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Jens Risom Mid Century Walnut Surfboard Expanding Dining Table with 2 Leaves This table measures: 60 wide x 35.75 deep x 29 inches high, with a chair clearance of 27.75 inches, each...
Walnut
$17,629
H 28.35 in W 51.19 in D 21.46 in
Freestanding Console Table in Rosewood and Formica by Arne Vodder, 1960's
By Arne Vodder
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Freestanding Console Table in Rosewood and Formica by Arne Vodder, 1960's Additional Information: Material: Rosewood and formica Style: Mid century, Scandinavian Produced by Sibast ...
Rosewood, Formica
Hans Wegner Teak & Oak Coffee Table
By Hans J. Wegner, Andreas Tuck
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1950s. A rare model AT-308 coffee table by Hans Wegner for Andreas Tuck. Features rectangular teak top supported by solid oak X-shaped legs with tubular brass supports ...
Brass
George Nelson EOG Walnut Table
By George Nelson, Herman Miller
Located in Cambridge, US
USA, ca. 1950s. A large dining table or work table from George Nelson’s Executive Office Group for Herman Miller. Features a generous rec...
Steel, Chrome
Finn Juhl Teak Dining Table
By France & Søn, Finn Juhl
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1950s. A large and incredibly well made Model FD 540 dining table by Finn Juhl for manufacturer France & Son. Unlike many Scandinavian modern tables, which typically...
Teak
Niels Otto Møller Model 12 Teak Draw Leaf Dining Table
By Niels Otto Møller, J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1960s. A large Model 12 dining table by Niels Møller for JL Møllers. Features sturdy teak construction with a generous rectangular top supported by a softly curved apron...
Teak
Hans Wegner JH-570 Dining Table
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1950s. A scarce and quite covetable JH-570 dining table by Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen. Features a generous rectangular teak top with elegantly beveled lip supported...
Brass
Long Danish Rosewood Bench
By Torbjørn Afdal
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1960. A long Krobo style bench or coffee table most likely by Norwegian designer Torbjørn Afdal. Features rosewood construction with a generous rectangular top finished ...
Metal
