Twelve Restored Kai Kristiansen Rosewood Dining Chairs - Inc. Custom Upholstery
About the Item
- Creator:Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik (Cabinetmaker),Kai Kristiansen (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29.14 in (74 cm)Width: 21.26 in (54 cm)Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)Seat Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 12
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Refinished. Reupholstered. Repaired: All joints have been checked and reglued if needed, needed repairs made, frames sanded and varnished to ensure they are in very good conditon. Seats and backrests deupholstered, and reupholstered with new strings, foam and fabric or leather. Wear consistent with age and use. Frames of the chairs restored and refinished. Seats and backrests fully reupholstered.
- Seller Location:Knebel, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU271339706003
Chair #42
A radical, simple piece of furniture, Kai Kristiansen's (b. 1929) Chair #42 perfectly exemplifies Danish modern design’s meld of form, space and functionality.
Produced in 1956 for Danish manufacturer Schou Andersen, the functional and modest properties of Kristiansen’s minimalist dining chair are emphasized when viewed from the front. Admiring Chair #42 from the side tells a different story, however, as the focus shifts from its sharply inclined rear legs and joined armrests to a tilting, floating backrest.
The chair’s profile is dramatic and radical, and examining the frame from this perspective helps clarify why Chair #42 earned the nickname “Z Chair” over the years. Kristiansen’s elegant piece is both simple and technically difficult, its soft lines belying the expert craftsmanship therein while referencing earlier artisan furniture that influenced the Danish modern movement as well as Kristiansen himself.
Trained as a cabinetmaker, Kristiansen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen under Kaare Klint, who is widely recognized as one of the founders of modern Danish design. The young Kristiansen established his practice soon after, focusing mostly on seating and storage for prominent Danish manufacturers such as Andersen, Fritz Hansen and Magnus Olesen. While he’s largely known for the quality of his designs, Kristiansen was equally comfortable designing chairs, desks, sideboards and wall units.
Kristiansen designed the Model 31 chair shortly after Chair #42 — a similar model, with inlaid arms — as well as the popular Paper Knife series of sofas and chairs. As a designer, he favored teak and rosewood, and garnered major renown for his dark-wood FM modular wall unit in 1957 for Feldballes Møbelfabrik. The customizable shelving system was popular throughout Europe and in the United States, and remains one of the best-known examples of modular shelving, predating Dieter Rams’s 606 Universal Shelving System for Vitsoe by several years. Many of Kristiansen’s designs fell out of production due to their manufacturing challenges, although some collections have recently been reissued by Japan’s Miyazaki Chair Factory.
The stripped-down, spare Chair #42 is one of the earliest modern ergonomic chairs, specifically designed to support the sitter. Suitable for a dining room or as a reading chair, it is Kristiansen’s best-known chair. The piece has effectively remained in production since the 1950s and is currently available from Miyazaki.
Kai Kristiansen
With a passion for math and engineering, Kai Kristiansen has created high-quality wood furniture for decades. Beginning in the 1950s, his chairs, modular shelving and other furnishings were made in the style that would become internationally renowned as Danish modern and boasted clean lines, perfected functionality and exacting craftsmanship.
Born in Denmark, Kristiansen trained in cabinetmaking before studying with Kaare Klint, often cited as the “father of modern Danish design,” at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. At just 26 years old, Kristiansen opened his own studio.
Kristiansen had his mid-century breakthrough in 1956 with the Chair #42, which he made with Schou Andersen. Unlike most other chairs at the time, Chair #42’s armrests, with their wealth of radical angles, were connected to the back rather than the front legs. This unconventional flourish makes the backrest appear as though it is floating in midair above the seat.
Kristiansen’s next innovation was a modular wall system in 1957 — three years ahead of Dieter Rams’s more famous 606 Universal Shelving System. Called the Reolsystem Wall Unit, produced by SB Feldballes Møbelfabrik, it’s also known as the FM Wall Unit as FM/Fornem Møbelkunst began producing it in the 1960s.
Kristiansen would go on to work with other leading Danish furniture manufacturers such as Magnus Olesen, Fritz Hansen and Vildbjerg Møbelfabrik, designing everything from chairs and desks to sideboards and cabinets, frequently in rosewood and teak. (The latter was a sought-after wood by Scandinavian modern designers.)
While many of Kristiansen’s timeless designs remain in production, such as his Paper Knife sofa, which was reintroduced by Miyazaki Chair Factory in 2008, and his 1950s Entré collection, which was relaunched with Great Dane Furniture in 2016, others are prized as vintage mid-century pieces.
Today, Kristiansen is still at work on new furniture with an expert eye to thoughtfully functional designs that are made to last.
Find a collection of vintage Kai Kristiansen furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Knebel, Denmark
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Kai Kristiansen Twelve Fully Restored Dining Chairs in Teak - Custom UpholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of twelve fully restored, 1960s teak dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik. The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical light and elegant design that make them fit in easily where you want them in your home - a design that was so uniqe that his colleague the famous designer Hans J. Wegner characterized model 42 as beautiful from all angles when the chair with it´s unique backrest swivel function was revealed in 1956. The chairs are in very good condition as they have been fully restored, sanded by hand and refinished by our experienced workshop to insure that they are in very good condition with only minimal signs of age and use and will be reupholstered without additional cost in fabric of your choice from "Kvadrat" / standard leathers from "Sorensen Leather" or for additional price luxury leathers (Elegance, Vegetal, Rustic, Pure and Royal Nubuck). Kai Kristiansen was one of the last pupils of the famous architect Kaare Klint who founded modern Danish design and laid the foundation for the "Danish Modern" style. During the years 1958-78 Kristiansen worked in his business in Aarhus owned jointly by himself and furniture maker Illum Wikkelsø (1919-99). Kristiansens works met their most intense demand during a few decades from 1950, then production of them was discontinued. However, several of them are now being produced again by the Japanese furniture producer Miyazaki Chair Mill in Tokushima. An Australien producer has also included Kristiansen production in their portfolio. Kai Kristiansen might have been the originator of mass produced furniture, had he accepted an offer from Ikea-founder Ingvar Kamprad. He declined to let himself enroll in the Ikea staff. Kristiansen exhibitions include numerous participations in furniture and design shows in Milano, Paris, Cologne and London. Among his most cherished works is the Paper Knife collection...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Teak, Leather
- Eight Restored Kai Kristiansen Rosewood Dining Chairs Custom Upholstery IncludedBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of eight fully restored, 1960s rosewood dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik with custom upholstery. The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical light and elegan...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
- Ten Restored Kai Kristiansen Rosewood Dining Chairs Including Custom UpholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of 10 model 42 rosewood dining chairs with adjustable backrest by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik. The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical light and elegant design that ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
- Set of Six Restored Kai Kristiansen Rosewood Dining Chairs - Custom UpholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKSet of six fully restored, 1960s rosewood dining chairs by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik. The chairs have Kai Kristiansens typical light and elegant design that make them fit in easily where you want them in your home - a design that was so uniqe that his colleague the famous designer Hans J. Wegner characterized model 42 as beautiful from all angles when the chair with it´s unique backrest swivel function was revealed in 1956. The chairs are in very good condition as they have been fully restored, sanded by hand and refinished by our experienced workshop to insure that they are in very good condition with only minimal signs of age and use and will be reupholstered without additional cost in fabric of your choice from "Kvadrat" / standard leathers from "Sorensen Leather" or for additional price luxury leathers (Elegance, Vegetal, Rustic, Pure and Royal Nubuck). Kai Kristiansen was one of the last pupils of the famous architect Kaare Klint who founded modern Danish design and laid the foundation for the "Danish Modern" style. During the years 1958-78 Kristiansen worked in his business in Aarhus owned jointly by himself and furniture maker Illum Wikkelsø (1919-99). Kristiansens works met their most intense demand during a few decades from 1950, then production of them was discontinued. However, several of them are now being produced again by the Japanese furniture producer Miyazaki Chair...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
- Set of Four Restored Kai Kristiansen Rosewood Dining Chairs - Custom UpholsteryBy Kai Kristiansen, Schou Andersen MøbelfabrikLocated in Knebel, DKSet of four 1960s fully restored rosewood dining chairs with adjustable backrest by Kai Kristiansen for Schous Møbelfabrik. he chairs have been restored and refinished by our experi...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRosewood, Leather, Fabric
- Kai Kristiansen Twelve Restored Teak Dining Chairs Including Custom ReupholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Knebel, DKKai Kristiansen set of twelve fully restored teak dining chairs by Schou Andersens Møbel Fabrik. The A-frame model 31 dining chairs were designed by Kai Kristiansen in 1956 for Schou-Andersens Møbelfabrik and the A-frame chair is one of the most well-known chairs designed by Kai Kristiansen - a true Classic with its modest appearence but advanced design with curved backrest, crooked angles, straight yet at the same time curved and bended lines... and on top of that as all of Kai Kristiansens chairs very comfortable in use. The chairs have been checked, restored and reglued if needed, sanded and refinished by our cabinetmaker to insure that they are in very good condition with only minimal signs of age and use and and will be reupholstered in fabric from a wide list of "Kvadrat" / Romo fabrics of your choice or a list of standard leathers from "Sorensen Leather" / "Camo Leater". Kai Kristiansen who is still alive was born in 1929 and raised in Thy, North Denmark. Originally a carpenter, Kristiansen was educated as a building architect at the Royal Academi of Arts in Copenhagen and graduated from here in 1954. His father was the propritetor of at furniture production company, so his interest in furniture was founded early. Kristiansen was one of the last pupils of the famous architect Kaare Klint who died in 1959 and is considered the founder of modern Danish design. During the years 1958-1978 Kristiansen worked in his business in Aarhus owned jointly by himself and designer and cabinetmaker Illum Wikkelsø (1919-1999). Kristiansens works met their most intense demand during a few decades from 1950, then production of them was discontinued. However, several of the are now being produced again by the Japanese furniture producer Miyazaki Chair Mill in Tokushima. An Australien producer has also included Kristiansen production in their portfolio. Kai Kristiansen might have been the originator of mass produced furniture, had he accepted an offer from Ikea-founder Ingvar Kamprad. He declined to let himself enroll in the Ikea staff. Kristiansen exhibitions include numerous participations in furniture and design shows in Milano, Paris, Cologne and London. Among his most cherished works is the Paper Knife collection...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsTeak
- Six Kai Kristiansen Dining Chairs Armchairs Oak, S. Andersen New UpholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Hans J. Wegner, Kai KristiansenLocated in Berlin, DEVery beautiful set of six dining chairs designed by Kai Kristiansen and produced by V. Schou Andersen, Denmark in 1964. The chairs are in very good condition, all of them were newly ...Category
20th Century Danish Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Kai Kristiansen Set of 4 "Universe 301" Dining Chairs, 1960, DenmarkBy Magnus Olesen, Kai KristiansenLocated in The Hague, NLMid-Century Modern set of 4 model "universe 301" dining chairs Made in Denmark, 1965. Designed by Kai Kristiansen for Magnus Olesen (marked on bottom of each chair). Seats are newl...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsTeak, Fabric
- Dining Chairs by Kai Kristiansen Model 42By Kai Kristiansen, Schou Andersen MøbelfabrikLocated in Vienna, ATDining chairs, model 42, designed by Kai Kristiansen and manufactured in Denmark by Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik. The chairs are made from solid teak, featuring tapered legs, curved ar...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsHardwood, Teak
- Set of four Kai Kristiansen Dining Chairs Armchairs, S. Andersen New UpholsteryBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Hans J. Wegner, Kai KristiansenLocated in Berlin, DEVery beautiful set of four dining chairs designed by Kai Kristiansen and produced by V. Schou Andersen, Denmark in 1964. The chairs are in very good condition, all of them were newly...Category
20th Century Danish Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- 4 Rosewood Model 31 Danish Mid Century Modern Dining Chairs by Kai KristiansenBy Kai Kristiansen, Schou Andersen MøbelfabrikLocated in New York, NYIconic Danish Mid Century Modern dining chairs designed by Kai Kristiansen, made in Denmark by Shou Andersen Mobelfabrik, circa 1960's. The chairs feature sculptural, architectural ...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Rosewood
- Vintage Danish Modern Rosewood Chair Model 42 by Kai Kristiansen, 1960sBy Schou Andersen Møbelfabrik, Kai KristiansenLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish Modern rosewood chair Model 42 by Kai Kristiansen, 1960s. Mid-Century Modern armchair designed by Danish architec...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsBouclé, Rosewood