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Fällbord Table - Designed For Versatile Beauty

by Richard Guilfoyle

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.

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 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 his furniture was designed with comfort and beauty in mind. He, also, realized that people desire different furniture (annorlunda möbler) 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 Bruno Mathsson 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 table designed by Mathsson can be converted to be extremely small (23 cm) when it is completely folded and can be expanded to 280 cm in length with its greatest extension. You can lower or raise the leaves at either end, so that you can utilize it as a small surface for composing letters or as a surface large enough to hold an entire feast. You can also set it up for almost any size in between. If you are not used to metrics, we are discussing a spread of approximately 9 inches to approximately 110 1/4 inches.

It would seem that the Bruno Mathsson 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 his architectural designs, but he made other fine home furnishings (möbler) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile is the mathsson fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful, and also practical. Mathsson was indoctrinated into the family business virtually from the day he was born. Later, he sent away for books and consulted experts. All of Mathsson's different furniture styles were designed to provide comfort and beauty. You can use a Fällbord table in many different ways for versatility in interior design (inredning).

Published December 5th, 2007

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