Are you sitting comfortably?

Recently I spent a great morning exploring at the Danish Design Museum.
http://designmuseum.dk/en
I had been meaning to go for ages as I often cycle past it. The chill wintry days continue and museum visits have been a good way to keep exploring the city, and also stay warm.

I was interested in the area of the museum which show cased the mid twentieth century furniture, particularly a huge range of Danish chair designs. There were so many variations on a these wooden chairs. Normally you just see a couple of examples. Here are a few of my favorites, along with shots of the galleries.

Y-stolen, 1950 by Hans J Wegner

Double chieftan chair, 1949 by Finn Juhl

Arne Jacobsen: Egg chair (C) & Swan chair (R)

There was a small room dedicated to the designer and architect Arne Jacobsen.
http://www.arne-jacobsen.com/en/arne-jacobsen  Many of his original designs are still being made. Some will look very familiar as his bentwood chairs have been much copied.

Ant 3100 chair,  by Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Hansen

Sometimes while looking at furniture in museums I want to know what it is like to use it. An added bonus in Denmark is that because many of these chairs are still in production you actually can test them at some of the furniture design shops.

In the case of some Arne Jacobsen's chairs you can visit the Radisson Blu Hotel in the center of Copenhagen. It was designed by Jacobsen, completed in 1959 and at the time was Denmark's first skyscaper. Jacobsen designed everything for the interior as well as the building. There is still one room 606 preserved with all the original pieces. If you want to sit in an Egg or a Swan chair you can go in and enjoy a drink at the hotel bar and try one out.

I am definitely a fan of the mid-century designers, the later rooms from 1970's and 1980's were not so inspiring. If you want to learn more about Danish design I found this site very informative http://www.danish-furniture.com/

Some of the more recent designs definitely raise the question "are you sitting comfortably?"