Valentine's day is just around the corner, but here at H&H we're busy planning the May issue — hooray for spring! — which is one of my favourites of the year. Its indoor-outdoor living theme is the mandate of my dream home, which I imagine having fold-away glass walls, vases full of flowering branches and scads of natural light. It would also be filled with beautiful furniture, which brings me to legendary Danish architect Finn Juhl.
A little history: Last Monday, January 30th, would have been Juhl's 100th birthday, and in preparation for his centennial, his home in Denmark was recently restored and opened to the public in September as part of the Ordrupgaard Museum. (The museum also hired architect Zaha Hadid in 2005 to give it a futuristic extension. Yep, I want to go to there.)
The house, which Juhl designed as a young architect in 1942, looks almost exactly as it did when he died a celebrated pioneer of the Danish modern movement in 1989. Shaped like an L, the home's two ends are joined by an entrance hall that opens onto the garden — just like in my dream home! In fact, no matter where you are in the house, there's always a view to the garden, and the ceilings are painted a pale yellow that gives the rooms a warm sunny glow.
The furniture — mostly designed by Juhl himself — is organic in shape, with soft inviting curves. One chair (pictured above right) is called the Pelican, but I think it looks like a brilliant spring bloom.
A few years ago, the only way you could get your hands on Juhl's furniture was to luck into it at an auction or stumble across it on eBay. It had been out of production for decades and was increasingly scarce. Then Juhl's widow asked Denmark's OneCollection to reproduce a piece for her. One thing led to another, and now Juhl's designs are once again being made (available through Design Within Reach in Canada).
And the lovin' is growing: to celebrate Juhl's 100th, a 1:1 copy of his house was built in Gifu, Japan by the Finn Juhl Art Museum Club (Juhl is big in Japan.) This year will also see the restoration of the Trusteeship Council Chamber in the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which Juhl designed in the 1950s. Click here to see archive photos and a video of the on-going restoration. If my Valentine is smart, he's already plotting a pilgrimage for next year, when the space is completed. In the meantime, I'll keep planning my dream home, with its lush garden views and a Poet sofa in a cosy corner.
For more mid-century furniture pieces, browse our Iconic Furniture gallery.
Photo credits:
1, 3a, 4a. Ordrupgaard Museum
2. Poet Sofa, Design Within Reach
3b. Finn Juhl Art Museum Club
4b. Pelican Chair, Design Within Reach
5. Baker Sofa in Fabric A, Design Within Reach
6a. Chieftains Chair, Design Within Reach
6b. Eye Table, Design Within Reach
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