Articles

Bruno Mathsson is most well known for his chairs and for his architectural designs such as his incredibly well insulated and beautiful glass houses, but he made other fine home furnishings (inredning) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile and well known is the Bruno Mathsson Fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well.

It was natural that a young Mathsson would grow up to work with wood primarily, because the Matsson family had done nothing else for five generations before him. As a little boy, his chores were in the family furniture (möbler) and woodworking shop, and he had hands on experience with techniques, tools and woods all of his life.

To get more skills and knowledge, especially in the engineering and technical aspects, not readily available in his small town of Varnamo, Mathsson sent away for books and consulted experts. Not only did he gain the knowledge and skills, he also created a network of mentors who helped him later on. His formal education was supported in part by design awards he earned for his furniture .

All of Mathsson's different furniture styles were designed to provide the utmost in comfort and beauty. He also knew that people love furniture pieces that are flexible enough to be moved around and used in new and different ways. His modular furniture, which can be used in a variety of applications, proved to be very popular.

The Bruno Mathsson Fällbord table is such a versatile piece. In Swedish, fällbord simply means "folding table" but in reality it is much more. It was first produced in 1935, with the main parts of the supporting trestle made of birch. The table top was made in birch and with a white laminate surface as well as models in oak, beech, cherry, oak, ash and other woods.

When fully-extended the Mathsson table expands to a length of 280 cm. When the table is collapsed, it fits into a tiny 23 cm bundle. With the use of table leaves, the table could be used as a small writing table for one or expanded into a banquet table and everything in between. If you're used to doing measurement using inches, the above table range is from 9 inches to around 110 1/4 inches.

In Swedish country homes it was popular to use folding tables in crowded spaces to allow more flexibility. Bruno Mathsson very likely based his popular Fällbord table on these folding tables of his homeland. His designs, though, have a personality of their own with pure lines and construction. In the 1960s Mathsson began using more modern materials in his furniture designs, such as metal tubing and synthetics. Even so, the elegant Fällbord table and other wood designs continue to be held up as his finest work.

Visit http://www.contentspooling.net/public.php?id=164&a=2573 if you'd like to obtain a unique variant of this article for publishing on your website.