Articles

Fällbord - Flexibility Through Design

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 Mathsson Fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well.

For five generations the Mathsson family had earned a living working with wood, so it comes as no surprise that a young Mathsson would follow in his family's footsteps. As a young boy most of his chores were centered in the furniture and woodworking shop of his family. He grew up around tools, wood and the techniques of furniture building and woodworking.

Mathsson talked with experts and sent away for books in order to learn the technical and engineering skills that were missing in his small town of Varnamo. By doing so he not only mastered the skills he needed, he also formed a network of mentors to assisted him later on. He earned awards for furniture design and these partially helped support his formal education.

Although he created a lot of different furniture (annorlunda möbler) types, all of it was carefully made to be comfortable and beautiful. In addition, he recognized that people like flexibility and like furniture pieces that can be rearranged and used in innovative ways. His modular style adapts easily to different spaces and moods and increases its appeal.

You can use a 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.

When mathsson table folds into tiny 23 cm bundle it completely collapsed and expanded into a table of 280 cm long when it is fully extended. It can be served as a writing table in a coffee nook or expanded into a banquet table with nearly equal size in between as possible. It ranges of 9 inches a bit over to about 110 1/4 inches, even for not accustomed metric measurements.

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 his architectural designs, but he made other fine home furnishings (möbler) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile is the bruno 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

Filed in Art, Hobby, Home, Recreation