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Bruno Mathsson Fällbord - Impact On Furniture Design

by Richard Guilfoyle

Bruno Mathsson is world-renowned for his classically-comfortable chair designs as well as the creation of his extremely well-insulated and architecturally-amazing glass houses. Another of his best known designs is the Fällbord table, a practical table that provides both beauty and elegance in a home. Additionally Mathsson designed many other versatile pieces of furniture, including computer desks, daybeds, and a selection of tables.

It was natural that a young Mathsson would grow up to work with wood primarily, because the Mathsson family had done nothing else for five generations before him. As a little boy, his chores were in the family furniture 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 his furniture was designed with comfort and beauty in mind. He, also, realized that people desire different furniture that is flexible and functional. They want pieces that are easy to rearrange and are able to be used in different designs . His modular style is adaptable which makes it more appealing to the buyer.

You can use a Fällbord table in so many different ways. While "fällbord" only translates to "folding table" in the language of Sweden, this piece offers more than the name implies. It was initially made in the year 1935, and the major components of its base were crafted from birchwood. The surface of the table was laminated in white after also having been crafted from birchwood. Other versions were manufactured from lumber such as oak, beechwood, cherry, ash, etc.

The Mathsson table folds into a tiny 23 cm bundle when completely collapsed and expands into a table 280 cm long when fully extended. It can be arranged with a dropped leaf at one or both ends and could serve as a tiny writing table in a coffee nook or expand into a banquet table with nearly every size in between possible. For those not accustomed to metric measurements, that is a range of a bit over 9 inches to about 110 1/4 inches.

It would seem that the Fällbord table was inspired by the collapsible tables one sees in rural houses in Sweden, permitting flexible usage where there is not much room. However, the elegant simplicity of Mathsson's renderings and craftsmanship turned their style into one uniquely his own. While he changed in the 1960's and used metals and up-to-date man-made materials from that point, it is generally felt that his high point was reached with the creation of those furnishings (möbler), such as the Fällbord, which he crafted in wood.

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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 (möbler) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile and well known is the fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well. All of Mathsson's different furniture styles were designed to provide the utmost in comfort and beauty. In Swedish country homes it was popular to use folding tables in crowded spaces to allow more flexibility with the interior design (inredning).

Published December 5th, 2007

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