DANISH FURNITURE DESIGNER · født 1929
Kai Kristiansen
Kai Kristiansen designed furniture for the Danish factories in the 1950s and 60s, and his chairs are among the most traded on the second-hand market. The Model 42 with its curved back is a classic we regularly get in for reupholstery.
The factories’ designer
Kristiansen trained as a cabinetmaker, studied at the School of Arts and Crafts under Kaare Klint and opened his studio in 1955. He designed for Schou Andersen, Magnus Olesen, Feldballes Møbelfabrik and Fritz Hansen, and his furniture was exported in large numbers to the USA, Germany and Britain.
His style is simple and technical: slender legs in teak or rosewood, upholstered seats and a detail that makes the chair recognisable. The Model 42 from 1956 has a back that can tilt, and the Paperknife Chair from 1955 has armrests shaped like paper knives.
Reupholstering Model 42 and 31
The Model 42 and Model 31 dining chairs exist in their thousands in Danish homes, often with their original, worn covers. The seat is a loose frame that we pad and cover in leather or wool, and the back of the Model 42 is covered with a narrow piece that must sit tight.
We also reupholster the Paperknife Chair and the sofa from the same series, which have fixed upholstered cushions on a frame in teak or oak.