Hello folks! Remember I posted recently about the new Danish modern dining chairs we found? Our dilemma was what to do with our dining table. The table and chairs no longer seemed to go well together. Don’t get me wrong; eclectic can work and not everything has to be matchy-matchy (in fact, better when it’s not), but sometimes it doesn’t work. Especially when our Danish chairs were designed for the low-sitting, small Danish Moderns (were they a race? Like the Morlocks?) and our table was designed for extra tall country-fed Shaker-like puritans. So, what else? I found this great new Danish modern dining table on Craigslist and snatched it up. It looks great in our dining room. I guess we’re suckers for Danish modern (amid all the mid-century styles) because they found a way to combine modern sensibilities and clean lines while keeping the softer touches of natural materials and organic shapes.
This table has subtle differences that make all the difference. All the edges are slightly scooped and swooped. The sides and ends of the table are bowed out in the middle, creating a minimal taper at the ends. Likewise the table skirt is not a straight line, but has a slight arch leading into the gently tapering legs. Some of this is almost imperceptible, but creates a lightweight feeling of movement and elegance. When the two hidden leaves are extended, the taper really shows up and the table looks like a teak surfboard.
The table has two stamps underneath, 'Skovmand and Andersen: made in Denmark', and 'Moreddi Danmark'. I found out that Moreddi was the company of two brothers, Morris and Eddie Frank, who were among the first to start importing Danish Modern to the US in the 50's-70's.
The new table with the new chairs! To purchase the table, I had to meet the seller at a remote storage facility in Hunter's Point area of SF. As I waited there at twilight, alone, for this stranger to show up with the table in the back of his van, I grew paranoid that I was going to be kidnapped by the Danish Modern Mafia and whisked away to...I dunno, Danish Modernia...where I would be forced to labor at bending plywood into organic shapes and sand furniture legs to a perfect taper.
Oh, I also wanted to mention our photographer. We’ve gotten some nice comments from readers about the quality of photos on this home blog. To give credit where credit is due, our fab photographer is Sanh Tran, whose photos you can see at here. Thanks Sanh!
