By 1954, Danish Modernist Kai Kristiansen designed the now-iconic Entre series for Danish manufacturer Aksel Kjersgaard, which epitomized the era’s focus on clean lines, streamlined manufacturing, and practical beauty – in many ways setting the standard for what has now became a signifier of good taste. Today, Dagmar London stewards a decades-old classic Kristiansen design into a new era with the expanded Entre Collection as part of long-term collaboration between the Scandinavian brand and Kristiansen family.
Modular, sleek, and accessible, the original series – comprising benches, bedside cabinets, and chests – was one of the first collections that offered pieces versatile enough in language and utility to use separately as well as systematically, able to furnish nearly any kind of space. Revolutionary for the time, each piece’s intrinsic elegance imbued a timeless sensibility that captivates modern audiences almost seventy years later.
Manufacturing efficiency, versatile end use, and practical embellishment found in the contemporary release – starting with two bedside tables, a bench, and a stool – express themselves in the works’ gently chamfered legs, distinctive half-moon drawer pulls, and modular configuration.
It is the Entre Bedside Table, though, that boasts the iconic half-moon cutouts. This simple embellishment serves as a slight handhold for those operating either of the drawer configurations, which are available in standard and tall models. That central element, encapsulated within a delicately rendered cabinet structure, is given an even greater lightness of form by the leg proportions and placement, jutting out just past the drawers to form a wide, stable stance. These new editions are offered in an equally light oak as well as a deeper, stately walnut.
Keeping in line with the collection’s edge work and continuity, the Entre Bench makes a quaint companion to the bedside table, adding a smart end cap solution to the large area a bed commands. They may also be used singularly or aligned to create simple seating solutions elsewhere like any grand living, dining, or perhaps long hallway space. This member of the Entre family is specifiable first by three types of upholstery, which include two by Pierre Frey – Teddy mohair velvet, woven Arsene fabric, and cognac leather, further available in three finishes – fumed or oiled oak, as well as walnut.
Need a little less? Try the Entre Stool, perfect for perching on as much as it is for featuring in smaller spaces. It speaks the same language as its larger counterpart and is available in three finishes and various upholstery options for effortless coordinating. What’s more, aesthetes and furniture collectors alike will rejoice browsing Dagmar’s collection of original Kristiansen pieces, refurbished and available upon request.
The Entre Collection’s reissue comes with implications bigger than sales or the allure of reproductions. With Dagmar as a liaison, a fresh generation gains access to an archive of timeless furniture and the invitation to join a broader dialogue regarding Scandinavian modernism.
The late Danish Designer and Modernist Kai Kristiansen.
To learn more about the Entre Collection by Kai Kristiansen, please visit dagmar-london.com.
Photography courtesy of Dagmar.
