Risom For Knoll
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Sofas
Walnut, Leather
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Maple
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
20th Century American Sofas
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Birch
Vintage 1940s American Lounge Chairs
Felt
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Maple
Vintage 1950s American Slipper Chairs
Vintage 1940s American Chairs
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Cotton, Walnut
Vintage 1950s American Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Cotton, Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Birch
Vintage 1940s American Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cotton, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Cotton, Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Cotton, Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Cotton, Maple
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Cotton, Maple
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Birch
Mid-20th Century American Sofas
Metal
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Upholstery, Birch
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Stools
Leather
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Settees
Fabric, Maple
Vintage 1940s German Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Felt, Beech
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Birch
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Canvas, Oak
Vintage 1940s German Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Beech
Vintage 1980s American Lounge Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Maple
Vintage 1940s American Side Chairs
Birch
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Cherry
Vintage 1950s Unknown Chairs
Velvet, Maple
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton, Wood
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
Birch, Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Early 2000s European Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1940s American Armchairs
Vintage 1940s American Ottomans and Poufs
Mohair, Walnut
Vintage 1940s American Lounge Chairs
Mohair, Walnut
Vintage 1940s American Armchairs
Mohair, Walnut
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Slipper Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
20th Century American Dining Room Chairs
Canvas
Vintage 1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Linen, Walnut
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric, Cotton
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Birch, Cotton, Maple
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Risom For Knoll For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Risom For Knoll?
Jens Risom for sale on 1stDibs
The Danish-born Jens Risom brought the Scandinavian modern design sensibility to a wide audience in the United States. As the first designer for Knoll Inc., Risom introduced American buyers to the region’s enduring design values of simplicity, grace and craftsmanship.
Risom trained in furniture making at the Copenhagen School of Industrial Arts and Design under Ole Wanscher, alongside classmates Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen. In 1939, a year after graduating from business school, Risom decided to move to the U.S.
While working for an interior designer in New York in 1941, he met Hans Knoll, and the businessman and the designer hit it off. They brought out their first line the next year, despite wartime materials restrictions. The signature piece — now a design icon — was a lounge chair with a striking, undulant birch frame and a seat made of webbed sub-military grade parachute straps. Risom was drafted into the army, and served as a translator under General George Patton. When he returned from the war, Risom clashed over furniture design ideals with his business partner’s new bride, Florence Knoll, the pioneering mid-century modernist who was schooled in the Bauhaus method, which favored furniture with strict, geometric metal frames. Risom then started his own company, Jens Risom Design.
In the course of his long career, Risom developed a stylistic vocabulary that was a reflection of the life of the man himself: his furniture has Danish warmth coupled with an American air of crisp efficiency. Vintage Risom chairs are almost instantly recognizable — the arms and seat backs are set at a distinctive angle that seems to invite people to sit back and relax, yet they know they can hop up in an instant, ready to go.
As you will see on these pages, Jens Risom is one of the great men of American modern design who made furniture that is unique and timeless.
Find a collection of vintage Jens Risom furniture on 1stDibs that includes lounge chairs, desks, coffee tables and more.
Finding the Right Seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.