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Bruno Mathsson is most well known for his chairs and for his architectural designs such as his incredibly well insulated and beautiful glass houses, but he made other fine home furnishings (inredning) including computer desks, daybeds and tables. One of the most versatile and well known is the Fällbord table, a design that is elegant and beautiful but extremely practical as well.

Mathsson was indoctrinated into the family business virtually from the day he was born. Given that this operation had run for generation after generation, this is not surprising. He learned about the shop and the tools growing up. He knew all aspects of furniture (möbler) making, including actual experience completing pieces before he reached his twentieth birthday.

Because nothing was available in his small town of Varnamo, Mathsson sent away for books and consulted experts regarding engineering and technical factors of building furniture. By so doing he developed a base of mentors who he could count on later in his career. His lack of advanced formal education was allayed in part by the awards he was given for his furniture designs.

While he produced many different furniture (annorlunda möbler) 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 (inredning). 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 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.

When mathsson table folds into tiny 23 cm bundle it completely collapsed and expanded into a table of 280 cm long when it is fully extended. It can be served as a writing table in a coffee nook or expanded into a banquet table with nearly equal size in between as possible. It ranges of 9 inches a bit over to about 110 1/4 inches, even for not accustomed metric measurements.

The Fällbord table is most likely based on folding tables found in Swedish country homes that allowed flexibility in crowded spaces, but the purity of Mathsson's lines and construction made a traditional design his very own. Although Mathsson switched to using more modern materials such as metal tubing and synthetics about the 1960's and on, it is still his elegant wood furniture like the Fällbord that continues to be considered his best work.

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Bruno Mathsson was not only an architect of beautiful houses, he was also a creator of elegant, yet practical, fine furniture. Growing up in a family with a long, proud, multi-generational legacy of furniture making, he learned about all aspects of furniture making, which shows in the quality of his different furniture styles. For example, the mathsson fällbord table would be an excellent addition to anyone's home furnishing (inredning). It can fold and expand for maximum flexibility depending on its desired use and available space constraints. His furniture (möbler) is available in a variety of materials also.