Our Eileen Gray-Inspired Bibendum Chair and Finn Juhl-Inspired Chair 45 Pulled Up to Our Kjaerholm-Inspired PK61 Coffee Table
When it comes to living in a sustainable home, certain measures can be taken to have a bigger impact on preserving the environment than you may realize and, once set in place, require even less effort than walking all the way over to the recycling bin to throw away your water bottle.
Lightbulbs: Replacing your five most used lights in your house with energy efficient lightbulbs, such as LED or CFL, in a year will save you enough for a mini-shopping spree (around $75-100). What is most manageable and reduces waste is replacing any traditional incandescents with energy efficient bulbs one-by-one as they burn out. This way you can gradually transition to an entirely sustainably lit home without wasting any incandescent bulbs already in place
Furniture: Do you know where your furniture was made and where those materials were sourced and how their manufacturing practices might impact the environment? Its a surprising number of well-known furniture manufacturers who do not have these answers. By manufacturing all our furniture in our factory, we have full control over the entire production process, and a big part of it is ensuring the most sustainable methods are properly being practiced to minimize any impact on the Earth’s limited natural resources. Our sustainable practices value human safety and the environment, and our customers can feel good about having our furniture in their homes.
Non-Disposable Containers: A few months ago, I bought a dozen glass water bottles and made a commitment to stop buying plastic water bottles. This small change has saved so much money and trips to the recycling bin, not to mention is more stylish than a carrying a crinkled plastic water bottle. This same practice can be applied to every type of container in the house and only requires a few adjustments how you buy the products going in each container (for example, buying in bulk or making your own cleaning formulas)
Making Your Own Cleaning Formulas: Not only can these easy-to-make formulas decimate germs and bacteria just as well as anything store bought, but harmful chemicals are kept out of your home, thus protecting your health and the environment.
You can learn more and visit us at any of our three factory showroom locations in Bellingham, Chicago or Dallas!
Tags: energy efficient, entertaining, fiddle leaf fig, furniture layout, Scandinavian Modern, Succulents | Eileen Gray, Finn Juhl, Furniture Notes, Indoor Plants, Minimalism, Poul Kjaerholm, Scandinavian Modern, Sustainable | Permalink | Posted April 5, 2019 by Alison Mitchell
Kjaerholm-Style PK31 Lounge Chair
To the untrained eye, many signature designs can look so similar to other versions of the same furniture design when placed side by side when the right measures are taken to adhere to the original specifications. On various pieces there are distinguishing features in the original models that can be the tell tale sign of which is an acceptable similar and inspired version of the original design and which is a cheap knock off:
Down Feather Filled Cushions:
The down feather filling is the only way to achieve this relaxed aesthetic in the cushions that is especially popular on furniture from the modern periods. The PK31 Chair is a perfect example of this and, unlike our Kjaerholm-Style PK31 Lounge Chair which uses the down feather filling, you will see many other manufacturers overlook this key detail and end up with an obvious knockoff
Welting:
Also known as piping, this is one of those details that may not be immediately obvious to some. When something seems to be not quite right with a cheap knockoff but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is, it is usually the welting. Unlike other furniture manufacturers, we hand roll the welting on all of our pieces.
Dimensions of the Furniture:
It is amazing how some furniture versions tend to deviate too far from the original dimensions and visually become a totally different piece of furniture. We have made slight adjustments for comfort in a few of our pieces though always taking into account the original design.
These are just a few features to take into consideration, and we are always happy to answer any questions you may have. You can always stop in to our Bellingham, Chicago or Dallas showrooms to see firsthand how our inspired furniture designs adhere closely to the original designs and fine details!
Tags: Closer Looks, Conrad Moulton, Kjaerholm, minimalism, modern, modern furniture, PK31 | Furniture Notes, Kjaerholm-Style PK31 Lounge Chair, Minimalism, modern, Modern Furniture, Poul Kjaerholm, Scandinavian Modern | Permalink | Posted August 31, 2018 by Alison Mitchell
Kjaerholm-Style PK22 Lounge Chair in Black Leather
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris
I have always considered these words to be the boiled down essence of interior design, rather than just another famous quote on a needlepoint pillow (although I do have it on a needlepoint pillow but I also think its hip to square). Abiding by these two qualifying factors, useful and beautiful, William Morris’ words serve as a simple guide to eliminate unnecessary clutter and ornamentation from a space. I can only assume Poul Kjaerholm, 20th century iconic and minimalist designer, was also a fan of William Morris. Kjaerholm’s minimalist furniture designs bring an unexpected serenity to a room with their perfect balance of form and function, nothing more, nothing less.
Our
Kjaerholm Style PK22 Lounge Chair honors the original design Kjaerholm created and that launched him to fame in the modern design world. With the low seat height and minimal design, it brings an astonishing impact of sophistication to any room of the house. It possesses an ageless beauty and level of comfort that will forever remain a classic.
Kjaerholm Style PK25 Element Chair
Today, I wanted to introduce a very cool chair designed by Poul Kjaerholm in 1951. Besides it’s surprising comfort, the construction of this chair is truly unique and is worth a closer look. But first, a little background:
In 1948 Poul Kjaerholm (pronounced cure-holm), completed his training as cabinetmaker and moved to Copenhagen. There, he enrolled in the furniture department of the School of Arts and Craft to prepare for a career as an industrial designer. Coincidentally, his principal instructor at the school was Hans Wegner. After three years of classes, as a graduation project, students were required to design and construct an original piece of furniture. So in 1951, Kjaerholm presented his first piece as a furniture designer as part of this graduation project. He called it the Elementstol or ìElementî chair, as a way to describe a simple object that could be used in a variety of settings. For the Element Chair, he used a bent steel frame wrapped in a halyard line, the braided cord used on sailboats.
The really unique part of the Element Chair design was that he started with a single piece of half-inch steel plate, cut out the chair pattern with a metal saw, and then bent into the chair into shape. His intention was to create a chair with a continuous frame that did not require joints or fasteners for connections. He also drew inspiration Wegnerís Flag Halyard chair of 1950 which used panels of halyard line over a welded frame.
For our reproduction of this chair, we were able to duplicate the exact same pattern on stainless steel, cut it with modern laser cutting equipment and bend it using hydraulic brakes. Take a look at this close-up of our reproduction of this chair frame and you can really see how this all comes together. As a metalworker myself for the past 15 years, I have never seen anything like this and think it is absolutely amazing that such a thick piece of steel can be formed in such a way to make legs and a back, without a single weld!
You can have a seat and also check out everything else we have by visiting any of our three showroom locations in Bellingham, Chicago or Dallas!
