Pair of Attr. DUX Swedish Mid-Century Nightstands or End Tables
About the Item
- Creator:Dux of Sweden (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 20.5 in (52.07 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. Some fading. Minor chips and scuffs throughout.
- Seller Location:Norwalk, CT
- Reference Number:Seller: C022 (M)1stDibs: LU2916333853482
Dux of Sweden
Today, Swedish manufacturer DUX’s most popular furniture lines — as well as the furnishings created by its first president, Folke Ohlsson — are synonymous with the work that vintage mid-century modern design obsessives love. Also important, the brand is known for some of the most commonplace means of furniture shipping and production in the modern era.
In Sweden, Studio Ljungs Industrier AB is the large family-owned parent company of Duxiana (in America, DUX). Initially a purveyor of bedding that is today celebrated for its ergonomically guided designs, Ljungs Industrier was founded by entrepreneur (and chocolate maker) Efraim Ljung in 1926. 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. Ohlsson established a DUX office not long after he arrived in California, first in San Francisco and later in Burlingame.
On the West Coast, the booming postwar American market was eager to embrace DUX’s affordable and practical bedroom furnishings, tables, armchairs and other seating. Characterized by sleek walnut and teak frames and low-slung silhouettes, the brand’s designs were emblematic of a generation of Scandinavian modernism that had gained popularity owing to visionaries such as product designer and architect Greta Magnusson-Grossman, who arrived in California from Sweden a decade prior to Ohlsson, and Finn Juhl, who created a Danish modern line for Michigan’s Baker Furniture Company in 1951.
DUX frequently collaborated with top-tier furniture design talent — among them Bruno Mathsson, Edward Wormley and Alf Svensson, a chief designer in the Malmö, Sweden, office of Ljungs Industrier — expanding the brand’s portfolio and establishing credibility as a design source. Ohlsson’s own designs, such as his comfortable leather lounges and wool-upholstered reclining rocking chairs, continue to be among the brand’s most desirable — and most imitated — however.
In 1949, DUX put into practice an idea that Ohlsson patented for the so-called “knock-down,” or “KD,” chair, a term referencing easy, flat-pack assembly. It saved DUX space in warehouses and money on transportation and was a concept that would provide inspiration to hundreds of subsequent companies — most notably fellow Swedish brand IKEA.
Today, vintage DUX sofas and dining chairs are valuable collector’s items. Find this coveted seating and other authentic DUX furniture on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Vintage 1970s Swedish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Teak
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
Late 20th Century Hollywood Regency End Tables
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Oak, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Canadian Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Neoclassical End Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Chinese Chinoiserie End Tables
Wood
More From This Seller
View AllLate 20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Beech
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern End Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Brass
20th Century Swedish Figurative Sculptures
Copper, Iron
