The Danish Furniture Boom 1945-1975

‘Furniture Boom. Mid-Century Modern Danish Furniture 1945-1975’ tells the story of the ‘golden age’ of Danish furniture design. Hans J. Wegner, Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen acted as the vanguard in the international breakthrough of Danish Modern.

The modern organic style was embraced by people from all walks of life, as was the new FDB furniture designed with Børge Mogensen at the helm. At the same time, Poul Kjærholm gave the industrial steel aesthetic renewed international vitality, and Verner Panton set the ball rolling for the pop furniture plastic craze of the 1960s. The new designs furnished the welfare society. The demand for furniture for home, workplace and public institutions was booming, and furniture designers, cabinetmakers and industrial furniture factories were ready to deliver.

In 13 lavishly illustrated chapters the book describes all the new interior trends and production possibilities and shines the spotlight on a diverse range of furniture types: from spindle constructions and laminated materials to wickerwork and nomadic furniture as well as children’s furniture, storage solutions and office furniture – and from the warm look of wood to cool steel, intensely colorful plastic chairs and sensuous lounge furniture at the time of the youth rebellion. The closing chapter draws a line to contemporary furniture design. The book is written by Lars Dybdahl, head of research at Designmuseum Danmark.