A Part of it All

Kofod Larsen was a Danish furniture designer and architect. His mid-century modern furniture designs were popular in his day. His pieces have become timeless and are still relevant and very fashionable today.

I can talk and write about mid century and Danish modern all day.  However, it’s still the hunt, the reclamation, and the return to life of these unique pieces that excite and generate the energy to talk and write about this subject matter. 

Recently, we removed the dull patina of time from a set of Danish Kofod Larsen chairs. As the grime was being lifted from the chairs, the original colors, light and life were returned. Restored to an all original finish these treasures brighten any space they are placed in. 

On a trip through Western Connecticut we rescued a large Danish secretary / desk from an old barn. The piece looked just as tired and weathered as the old building that it came out of. Some of the glue joints in the drawers were coming undone.  Veneer was peeling and an assortment of water rings and stains scarred the tired elegant piece. I swear I heard it sigh as I bent to lift it. The diamond in the rough sat quietly in the back of the van as we returned to Massachusetts.  And for a year it sat quietly in storage waiting its turn for reclamation. A year almost to the day that we rescued the piece we wheeled the patient to the work area where we assessed the damage done by time and weather. We jumped in and first stripped off the dried, flaking, chipped and split veneer. Then we took the drawers apart cleaned the old glue off the joints and off of the former veneered areas. The brass details were just that…details and they too were removed and cleaned. Next with love and care and assorted tools of the trade we removed the stains and water rings from the damaged finish.  Joints were refitted and glued new veneer attached. 

The piece sat for a day trussed up with clamps. And after the removal of the clamps, a rich oil base stain was lovingly applied by hand. Day after day the piece was slowly brought back to life. And day after day the work brought us joy. I believe that the joy was transferred back to the Danish piece as beauty and elegance renewed. Elegance rewarded.

Now this gem proudly stands against a wall and quietly and happily hums all day long.

Pedestrian versus Unique

As defined by the Encarta English Dictionary the definition of unique is “different from others in a way that makes somebody or something special and worthy of note” While the definition of pedestrian, also by the Encarta English Dictionary, means “dull, ordinary, unimaginative or uninspired”

Original owners of American Modern and Danish Modern furniture from that narrow slice of time from the 1950’s through the early 1970’s, have been passing away while their pieces live on.  And here lies the rub. We are becoming over-saturated with the stuff. A mid century modern search on just two of the largest ecommerce sites EBay and Etsy will net you the following, with a search on EBay you will find over 75,000 assorted Mid Century Modern tables, chairs, sofas, dinnerware and lamps. A similar search on Etsy will net you 71,000 mid century modern pieces. Over-saturation like this causes a dulling of the period and of the common product.

 What was once unique and cool is getting close to becoming pedestrian.  The darker side of this dilemma will be a drop in value for what is now becoming the new mundane or…pedestrian pieces.  On the other hand, the bright side of this issue is that truly unique furniture design from the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Charles Ames his wife Ray, Harry Bertoia.  Arne Jacobsen, George Nelson, Paul McCobb, Eero Saarinen, Ib Kofod Larsen and Harvey Probber, just to name a few, will always remain unique, desirable and valuable. I for one will wait for the over-saturation to subside and pick up a few gems from the fray along the way.