Pernilla 69 at the Swedish Embassy
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One of the main rooms at the embassy was set out as a bedroom - a rather luxurious bedroom - with furniture from Dux with their version of the Pernille chair and foot stool that is based on a chair designed in 1944 by Bruno Mathsson but then developed with DUX as a new version in 1969 and still made by the company.
Recently, the posts on the review side of this blog have focused on Danish chair design and looked particularly at the development of plywood or laminated wood and the related techniques of laminating and steam bending so coming across this chair was a good opportunity to look carefully at the Mathsson design and to take photographs.
Here the curving of the laminated wood takes on an almost baroque exaggeration that revels in the technique and the craftsmanship. Specifically, this chair puts paid to any suggestion that steam bending is for cheap everyday furniture or mass production and this version also shows how high-quality upholstery and the very very careful choice of fabric and colour creates the distinct style and takes the finished chair to a much higher level of luxury.
