Mathsson Fällbord - Flexibility Through Design
Architect and furniture designer, Bruno Mathsson, is celebrated for his chairs and well insulated houses. His designs are extremely practical, versatile and beautiful. Mr. Mathsson's acclaimed home furnishing credits also include computer desks, daybeds and tables. An example embodying his fine taste for design is the Mathsson Fällbord table which incorporates and exemplifies beauty, elegance, versatility and practicality.
Mathsson was indoctrinated into the family business virtually from the day he was born. Given that this operation had run for generation after generation, this is not surprising. He learned about the shop and the tools growing up. He knew all aspects of furniture (möbler) making, including actual experience completing pieces before he reached his twentieth birthday.
Because nothing was available in his small town of Varnamo, Mathsson sent away for books and consulted experts regarding engineering and technical factors of building furniture. By so doing he developed a base of mentors who he could count on later in his career. His lack of advanced formal education was allayed in part by the awards he was given for his furniture designs.
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 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.
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.
The Mathsson Fällbord table is most likely based on folding tables found in Swedish country homes that allowed flexibility in crowded spaces, but the purity of Mathsson's lines and construction made a traditional design his very own. Although Mathsson switched to using more modern materials such as metal tubing and synthetics about the 1960's and on, it is still his elegant wood furniture like the Fällbord that continues to be considered his best work.
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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
Filed in History
