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Carl Hansen & Son gives Bodil Kjær’s architectural furniture series a new lease on life

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Carl Hansen & Son gives Bodil Kjær’s architectural furniture series a new lease on life

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In 1959, Danish architect and professor Bodil Kjær designed an extensive range of furniture for both indoor and outdoor use. The clean and precise series was developed in dialogue with its surrounding architecture. Called Indoor-Outdoor, the series now joins Carl Hansen & Son’s collection of classic designer furniture.

Throughout her diverse career, Bodil Kjær has worked to create harmony between design and architecture – an ambition that, in 1959, resulted in an elegant outdoor furniture series characterised by such high functional and aesthetic qualities, that it was also suitable for indoor use.

Almost six decades after the initial launch of Indoor-Outdoor, Carl Hansen & Son is adding this architectural furniture series to its collection of design classics.

The Indoor-Outdoor series is now available to explore in Cult showrooms across Australia and New Zealand.

Furniture inspired by architecture

For Bodil Kjær, designing has always involved a dialogue with architecture and a belief that the scale of furniture should always be balanced with its environment. Often, it has been linked to specific projects, fulfilling a need for strong aesthetic and functional interplay between buildings, spaces, and interiors. This was the case with Indoor-Outdoor, a furniture range Kjær designed in 1959 for the American market.

“Indoor-Outdoor was designed for modernist spaces and for weather conditions that are very similar to those in Denmark. At the same time, the designs bring together the best of Scandinavian and international design traditions. The furniture has a clear identity, an evident simplicity, and is based on high-quality materials and superior craftsmanship. For all these reasons, it makes very good sense to add Bodil Kjær’s sophisticated furniture series to our collection,” says Knud Erik Hansen, Carl Hansen & Son CEO.

Kjaer_BK15_Dining-Table-Teak_BK10-Dining-Chair-Teak

Indoor-Outdoor

Consisting of a lounge chair, a small table, a dining table, a dining chair, a two-seater lounge sofa, a swing sofa, and a sunbed, the relaunched Indoor-Outdoor series will be available in solid teak, a material that patinates beautifully with age and is highly durable, able to withstand diverse weather conditions. The aesthetic and functional design of the architectural furniture series lends itself to both outdoor and indoor use.

Today, the furniture continues to radiate Kjær’s intended spirit, with materials, joints and a construction built to last. The only change is the pieces’ height, which has been adjusted to accommodate contemporary proportions. All seats, chairs and beds can be supplied with slender cushions made from weather-resistant Sunbrella fabric.

Swing sofa

Clean, precise forms

Radiating both warmth and precision, the Indoor-Outdoor series has an elegantly clear form inspired by the cubist idiom. The lounge chair’s inclined, slatted seat and back are stretched between two squares formed by armrests, legs and runners that are mortised together – a detail requiring great skill and craftsmanship. The tables, lounge sofa, swing sofa and dining chair within the series feature the same geometric principle, and the sunbed has a continuous slatted seat and an adjustable back.

For media enquiries or stylist loans please contact Ben Downey (ben@cultdesign.com.au) or Alex Gorford (alexg@cultdesign.com.au).

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