Fallbord - Extraordinary Design

Bruno Mathsson is a famous furniture designer who is most noted for his chairs and architectural elements. Examples of these include his homes made of glass, which were very well insulated. He, also, designed computer desks, daybeds, and tables. The Bruno Mathsson Fällbord table that has an elegant and exquisite appearance as well as incredibly usable, is one of Mathsson's best designs.

It was natural that a young Mathsson would grow up to work with wood primarily, because the Mathson family had done nothing else for five generations before him. As a little boy, his chores were in the family furniture and woodworking shop, and he had hands on experience with techniques, tools and woods all of his life.

To get more skills and knowledge, especially in the engineering and technical aspects, not readily available in his small town of Varnamo, Mathsson sent away for books and consulted experts. Not only did he gain the knowledge and skills, he also created a network of mentors who helped him later on. His formal education was supported in part by design awards he earned for his furniture.

While he produced many different furniture types, comfort and beauty were common themes for each type. What's more, he designed his pieces with innovation in mind; he recognized that people value flexibility in furniture arrangement. The modular style of his pieces enhanced their popularity due to the ease in which the pieces could be used to create unique spaces and moods.

The Bruno Mathsson Fällbord table is such a versatile piece. In Swedish, fällbord simply means "folding table" but in reality it is much more. It was first produced in 1935, with the main parts of the supporting trestle made of birch. The table top was made in birch and with a white laminate surface as well as models in oak, beech, cherry, oak, ash and other woods.

The Mathsson table folds into a tiny 23 cm bundle when completely collapsed and expands into a table 280 cm long when fully extended. It can be arranged with a dropped leaf at one or both ends and could serve as a tiny writing table in a coffee nook or expand into a banquet table with nearly every size in between possible. For those not accustomed to metric measurements, that is a range of a bit over 9 inches to about 110 1/4 inches.

In Swedish country homes it was popular to use folding tables in crowded spaces to allow more flexibility. Bruno Mathsson very likely based his popular Fällbord table on these folding tables of his homeland. His designs, though, have a personality of their own with pure lines and construction. In the 1960s Mathsson began using more modern materials in his furniture designs, such as metal tubing and synthetics. Even so, the elegant Fällbord table and other wood designs continue to be held up as his finest work.