Sometimes we come across a piece of furniture that knocks us off our feet, and it’s from there that we begin the research it takes to put together an educational post for our loyal blog readers to enjoy. Occasionally, we come across furniture we like but can’t find enough information on the designer to write a post about. Well, we found a piece of furniture so fabulous that even though there’s not a lot written about the designer, we still have to share it with you. Today’s designer influence is Scandinavian designer Hans Olsen.
The weird thing about Hans Olsen is that many people are familiar with him. He created very specific pieces of work that are highly sought after (more on that later) but there’s just not a lot of information about his life or background. Here’s what we do know: he’s from Scandinavia. He designed fabulous Mid-Century Modern furniture on the same level of skill and talent as other Mid-Century Modern designers at that time. He designed primarily during the time period of the 1950s-1970s. He worked a lot with teak wood and rosewood, also some upholstery, especially black and camel-colored leather. We know he also collaborated often with the Danish furniture manufacturer Frem Rojle.
The weird thing about Hans Olsen is that many people are familiar with him. He created very specific pieces of work that are highly sought after (more on that later) but there’s just not a lot of information about his life or background. Here’s what we do know: he’s from Scandinavia. He designed fabulous Mid-Century Modern furniture on the same level of skill and talent as other Mid-Century Modern designers at that time. He designed primarily during the time period of the 1950s-1970s. He worked a lot with teak wood and rosewood, also some upholstery, especially black and camel-colored leather. We know he also collaborated often with the Danish furniture manufacturer Frem Rojle.
He created chairs, dining tables, dining chairs, stools, side chairs and more. All of his designs feature the hallmark characteristics of Mid-Century Modern design: sleek shapes, highly-functional and in the colors of the era. However, many of Olsen’s work also had a heightened natural and organic-feel to it, with sleek lines and smooth curves intersecting to create interesting and contrasting elements.
Now, we said earlier that Hans Olsen isn’t a stranger to many Mid-Century Modern design enthusiasts, even if they don’t know a lot about him, and it’s because of his fabulous dining table designs. He is famous for having created a genius and time-saving design for the dining table. Featuring a round wood table usually made out of teak, he creating dining chairs that tucked directly into the frame of the table—creating a seamless aesthetic that didn’t take up any extra space when not in use. Even his dining chairs were a brilliant idea: three-legged and very triangular, this dining set is highly sought after today, and one can see why!
