An homage to cabinetmaking

For Carl Hansen & Søn’s talented craftspeople, there are endless layers hidden in two simple words: passionate craftsmanship. A passion for creating the finest furniture that brings value and lasts for generations. A passion for immersing yourself in your craft. A passion for passing on traditional cabinetmaking to the next generation.

With a desire to promote cabinetmaking of the highest calibre, Carl Hansen & Søn now introduces two outstanding masterpieces, the Spherical Bed and the English Chair, designed by the master of them all: Kaare Klint. Both are renowned design classics, as well as the most complex pieces to craft in Carl Hansen & Søn’s collection. With their wealth of finesse and unparalleled level of detail, they are the essence of what Carl Hansen & Søn masters to perfection: the craft of furniture making.

Read more about the two masterpieces below.

The KK55761 Spherical Bed and the KK44880 English Chair are available exclusively by order.
For more information, write to: webshop@carlhansen.dk

Kaare Klint presented the KK55761 Spherical Bed in 1938 at the Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition in Copenhagen under the title “A Lady’s Boudoir”. Today, the Spherical Bed is recognised as one of Klint’s masterpieces, which not only showcases exceptional craftsmanship but is also a stroke of mathematical genius. Klint was known for designing furniture based on studies of the human body, and this is especially true for the Spherical Bed. It was originally designed as a single bed, where a large fictitious sphere could be placed on the bed’s headboard, footboard and sides – hence the name. It has since been relaunched as a double bed with dimensions adapted to today’s human proportions.

The bed’s construction and superior craftsmanship are time-consuming: It takes six weeks just to make one bed. The bed is only made to order, in the wood type of the customer's choice. The mattress is purchased separately.

Kaare Klint presented the sophisticated and exceptionally well crafted KK44880 English Chair at the Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1931. As the name suggests, Klint was fascinated by English chairs, which he believed were so perfect that he had to create his own, resulting in a piece that reflects the pinnacle of woodworking craftsmanship. In the English Chair, the wood is superbly used as a decorative contrast on the legs and as advanced intarsia on the arm rests, back rest and under the seat, all done by hand using traditional cabinetmaking techniques. It takes no less than eight weeks to craft one single chair whereas the intricate French canework on the chair’s sides, back and seat takes two weeks alone. The chair is only made to order, in the wood type and upholstery of the customer’s choice.

“The English Chair and the Spherical Bed are perfekt furniture pieces for our apprentice workshop THE LAB. Here, the apprentices get the opportunity to explore the work of one of Danish design’s greatest figures, and to be trained in traditional furniture making while keeping Klint’s legacy alive.” 

- Knud Erik Hansen, CEO and third-generation owner of Carl Hansen & Søn.

The Spherical Bed and the English Chair are crafted using the finest woodworking techniques through close collaboration between experienced master cabinetmakers and apprentices at THE LAB – Carl Hansen & Søn’s apprentice workshop at the furniture factory in Funen, Denmark. THE LAB has 22 apprentices and was established to pass on traditional craftsmanship to the next generation and to train the finest furniture makers of tomorrow.

Creating Klint’s masterpieces – most of them handheld – is an extensive process. All the wood for the bed comes from the same trunk and is carefully selected by Carl Hansen & Søn’s skilled apprentices and master cabinetmakers at THE LAB. Handheld templates and traditional methods with band saws, form-pressed parts and planes are used to shape the bed. The chair is made in the traditional way with hand tools and intarsia work, which involves many hours of manual work.

The detailed work gives the apprentices a unique understanding of what it means to carry on Kaare Klint’s design legacy. And the love for the craft follows the furniture from the workshop to its new home.