PH FURNITURE & PIANOS The Revival of Poul Henningsen Design Classics
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PH Furniture is the art of interiors: liberated designs that are forever functional. It is furniture that is the embodiment of modern Danish living and will be enjoyed for many generations to follow.
PH Pianos are the fusion of visually stunning fine art and sonically exceptional fine musical instruments. PH Pianos are Danish art pieces and design icons, elegant and timeless: the art of music!
Poul Henningsen is most famous for his lighting designs and the PH Lamps, which are part of interior settings all over the world. PH also designed many items of furniture over several decades. Pictured here is the PH Dressing Table, which was the first item designed by Poul Henningsen in 1919 as well as the PH Stool with brass legs from 1920. In the 1930s Poul Henningsen designed a number of pianos, including the pictured PH Bow Grand Piano from 1937. 13
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Foreword When I was presented with the chance to be part of a project to revive the manufacture of Poul Henningsen’s iconic PH Grand Piano design - under exclusive licence from the estate of the late Poul Henningsen - I was immediately excited. Poul Henningsen’s PH Grand Piano design is an important part of Danish heritage and is immediately recognisable the world over. As a result of my commercial background, experience as Chairman of the Board of Designmuseum Danmark and lifelong passion for art, I recognised the importance of this opportunity to both preserve a significant part of Danish design history and to enable future generations to enjoy and benefit from Poul Henningsen’s early 20th Century creations. Fast forward several years and the kernel of an idea to put Poul Henningsen’s PH Grand Pianos back in to production has resulted in the successful reintroduction of the PH Grand Piano to the market, a high demand for PH Grand Pianos globally and the creation of a great deal of interest in other design pieces by Poul Henningsen. I am delighted in my role as Chairman of the Board to be part of the continuing narrative of a company that started out producing a small number of Poul Henningsen’s PH Grand Pianos to one that is now manufacturing a wider range of Poul Henningsen’s piano creations and an expanding range of Poul Henningsen’s sought after furniture pieces to 21st Century engineering standards. I am proud to say that as a company we have successfully brought to market a universe of Poul Henningsen’s designs in a form that is modern while remaining sensitive to the features of Poul Henningsen’s original drawings, prototypes and early models of furniture. This book is dedicated to celebrating Poul Henningsen’s piano and furniture designs and their continued relevance in enhancing contemporary living through both their exceptional aesthetics and practicality: I am certain you will enjoy it as much as I do.
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Flemming Lindeløv, Chairman of the Board, ToneArt & ToneArt Interior
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Contents Foreword
PH Office PH Productivity
Introduction The World of Poul Henningsen Design The Revival - Our Story PH Snake Collection PH Snake Collection: Danish Design Classics PH Snake Stool: Dare to touch the Snakes PH Snake Chair: Wild at Heart
PH Office Desk: A Statement of Intention PH Cabinet: To Have and To Hold PH Arm Chair: Armed for Comfort PH Play PH Pianos Forever: An Enduring Love Affair PH Grand Piano: An Investment for the Future PH Bow Grand Piano: Making Waves PH Pianette: Futuristic Piano Design PH Upright Piano: PH Piano Design for Smaller Spaces
PH Mirror PH Mirror: Visionary Design
PH Stories The PH Grand Piano at the Prestigious Hotel
PH Lounge Collection PH Lounge: Being Human PH Lounge Chair: For When the Living is Easy
Private Residence in California: Build for the PH Grand Piano Piano Heaven: Art and Music in one Studio
PH Lounge Table: A Display of Design Excellence PH Pope Chair: The Religion of Good Seating PH Dining PH Dining Tables: Feels Like Home
The Music Producer and the PH Grand Piano The PH Bow Grand Piano at the Living Room of the Boutique Hotel The PH Grand Piano and the Composer
PH Dining Table: Simply Fine Dining PH Circle Table: For the Circle of Life PH Axe Table: Design Beyond the Cutting Edge PH Table Lamp for PH Furniture
My PH Chair The PH Grand Piano at the Scandinavian A Piece of Art in the Heart of Hong Kong
PH Chair: Simplicity yet Seriously Good Seating PH Being PH Furniture: Pleasure in Every Moment PH Dressing Table: An Object of Desire PH Grand Dressing Table: Everyday, Luxury PH Grand Chest of Drawers: The Fine Art of Storage PH Small Drawer Chest: A Storage Gem PH Stool: A Beautiful Complement
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PH Snake Stool
PH Mirror PH Snake Chair
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Page 90
Page 80
PH Lounge Chair
PH Lounge Table
PH Pope Chair
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Page 116
Page 124
PH Dining Table Page 142
PH Circle Table Page 148
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PH Axe Table
PH Chair
Page 160
Page 172
PH Dressing Table
PH Grand Dressing Table
Page 186
Page 196
PH Grand Chest of Drawers
PH Small Drawer Chest
PH Stool
Page 206
Page 214
Page 220
PH Arm Chair
PH Office Desk Page 230
Page 248
PH Cabinet Page 240
PH Pianette PH Grand Piano
Page 290
Page 262
PH Bow Grand Piano
PH Upright Piano
Page 278
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Introduction Poul Henningsen’s designs represent a collection of pianos and furniture pieces that are unique, unconventional and capable of enhancing daily life with both practical functionality and exquisite form. To invest in Poul Henningsen design is to invest in the daily joy of owning a musical instrument or a piece of furniture that represents a work of fine art, produced from the finest materials, created to be enjoyed for now and for many generations in the future. Poul Henningsen wanted to be provocative in so many ways. Poul Henningsen’s designs stimulate thinking, they talk to you like any other art pieces and of course they are deeply functional. They reflect the fact that the designer behind it all had the courage, desire, willingness to challenge the establishment and only by doing that he could do something extraordinary. It’s definitely inspiring to work with products which are so innovative, uniquely impressive and very, very different from the rest. It’s an amazing privilege to work with such design. The considerations and the legacy of Poul Henningsen’s furniture and piano designs deserve to be brought into the future. There is a desire in the market for pianos and furniture that is forward-thinking beyond what has already been done before. As we say, it still belongs to the future. The more we examine Poul Henningsen’s designs, the more we discover the absolute logic behind every aspect of them – that was aimed one hundred percent at progressing both the function and the appearance of the object concerned. When our clients purchase a piece of Poul Henningsen designed PH Furniture or a PH Piano, they are buying in to the history of furniture and piano design from the beginning of the twentieth century to the mid-century period, one that very much reflects the ethos of both the Bauhaus movement and the Art Deco era. They are also acquiring a piece of design history and an item for an interior setting that solves a functional problem. Our customers will receive something that looks incredibly attractive, timeless and has been carefully designed and crafted with utmost care from the finest materials. Moreover, all the Poul Henningsen design classics are investments that yield daily beauty and joy at any setting and for future family generations. Most importantly though, we are offering something that Poul Henningsen design can deliver that is very special: the freedom to live everyday with design that is – in the most beneficial of ways – part of a world less ordinary!
Søren Vincents Svendsen, Founder & CEO of PH Furniture & PH Pianos. 21
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PH Pianos and PH Furniture - founded in history, forever for the future. Pictured: the PH Pope Chair, the PH Lounge Table and two PH Chairs, the PH Office Desk and PH Arm Chair. The PH Office Desk in high gloss lacquer finish is available in black (seen here) or a bold combination of green and red. The panels of the swing drawers and front console drawer are finished in the most intricately detailed way, covered in lambskin leather. The PH Pope Chair, PH Chairs and PH Arm Chair are upholstered in aniline leather and are manufactured in Denmark and Switzerland. 23
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The World of Poul Henningsen Design
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“We do not desire a new form unless it is dictated by the objective� Poul Henningsen, 1927
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Poul Henningsen at home, sitting on the PH Snake Chair in front of his PH Grand Piano. PH said there is no such thing as “bad taste” - there is only “good taste” and that is bad.
When PH presented the very first PH Grand Piano or the “glass piano” it was a sensation at the exhibition called “Your Home”, which was held in Copenhagen in 1931. Poul Henningsen disliked many aspects of the “traditional family home” including the fashion of placing photographs and pictures on top of the piano. PH believed that a piano should not be used as a cabinet or a shelf and should be used only for its purpose as a musical instrument. The curved lids of Poul Henningsen’s piano designs means that it is not possible to easily place items on top of them.
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The History of Poul Henningsen (1894/1967) - A Rebel by Design A Danish author has described Poul Henningsen (PH) as “the only Danish rebel who died the year before the youth revolt and is still thriving” and that description is so informative in order to understand the work of PH and his ever lasting legacy. The early life of Poul Henningsen was considered rather unconventional in his lifetime. The fourth child of writer Agnes Henningsen and satirist Carl Ewald, PH was born in to a highly creative family environment. A common theme throughout Poul Henningsen’s life that can be observed from his very beginnings was his desire to design and craft items by hand. In his earliest years, Poul Henningsen’s zeal for ‘making things’ took the form of items made on a workbench he was gifted at the age of three. Later, his creativity manifested itself in paintings, before he trained as a carpenter and then as a stone-mason. These artisanal craft skills of two and three dimensional manufacture were all acquired prior to PH’s choice to study as an architect, giving him not just theoretical knowledge of design - but crucially, a deep interest and understanding in what would work in practice in home and building design. From this point in time, Poul Henningsen’s output as a designer, architect and sometimes writer and cultural commentator was prolific. He consistently challenged the status quo of Danish life on many levels, sometimes through the very practical re-designing of homes, furniture and everyday objects and sometimes as the source of often provocative writing and thinking of a more political nature. Poul Henningsen believed that well-designed, functional and aesthetically pleasing environments were the right of every individual: this was the enduring philosophy behind all his work. Whether designing a two-bedroom city apartment or writing for publications, making a good quality of life accessible for all was a recurrent theme. Inherent in Poul Henningsen was a desire not just to improve the day to day quality of life of the socially elite and the bourgeoisie, but also to make available ‘good design’ to working people.
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At the time PH was working prolifically on reinventing furniture and lighting designs in the 1920s and 1930s, it could be said that he was part of a movement of similarly progressive architects and designers who considered that traditional methodologies of building and home design could be improved upon. This shift in attitude among forward thinking designers can be seen as early at the 1920s, when Kaare Klint designed a piano that was made of natural wood rather than the black gloss finish traditionally expected of a grand piano, so that it would appear more cohesive with other furniture in the room and also other musical instruments made of wood. PH continued this theme one step further with his 1930 PH Grand Piano design, when he questioned the need for the wooden casing found on grand pianos and decided it was altogether unnecessary. Liberated from its wooden box, PH’s Grand Piano design allows us to see inside the instrument as far as the very beating heart of hammers on strings, enabling the audience to experience music more authentically than ever before. PH’s Grand Piano is still as progressive viewed from a 21st Century perspective as it was in the 1930s and the productions of the design currently produced by PH Pianos continue to be highly desirable for this reason. In synergy with the German Bauhaus movement of the 1920s and 1930s, Poul Henningsen approached design from the perspective that the issues of function and practicality must be addressed before aesthetics are to be considered and that aesthetics would then almost take care of themselves.
Poul Henningsen’s understated open design crafted from curved steel tubes is the embodiment of freedom. While it is functional furniture it evokes a feeling of liberation from the traditional heavy timber framed designs. PH’s design has the illusory quality of creating a sense of space within interiors. Poul Henningsen’s collection of steel tube furniture was presented in 1932. The steel tube pieces were never put in production and the first prototypes were hand bent by metal-smiths after the steel tubes had been softened in hot water and wrapped on a wooden mold. Today, the production takes place in Denmark and Switzerland.
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Illuminated Being: Poul Henningsen’s futuristic lighting, furniture and piano designs were visionary and ahead of their time. Designing lighting from the 1920s until the late 1950s, Poul Henningsen’s lighting creations manufactured by Louis Poulsen are as popular today as they have ever been. The 1958 ‘Artichoke Lamp’ designed by Poul Henningsen is now widely considered to be a ‘contemporary classic’ in the narrative of mid-century lighting design. The PH ‘Artichoke Lamp’ is part of the lexicon of PH designed pendant, floor and table lamps featuring gently curved layers of glass to softly diffuse light Poul Henningsen created in his lifetime, representing a new language of lighting. Today, Poul Henningsen’s lighting designs continue to influence how many people see the world around them.
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By focussing on selecting materials best suited to achieving the practical goals of his designs and setting himself free from the ideas of what furniture ‘should’ look like, PH was able to be truly groundbreaking. When PH unveiled his tubular steel furniture designs in 1932 at Denmark’s leading national industrial fair, they were considered by many at the time to be avant-garde, radical designs. Viewed from a contemporary perspective today we can see that PH’s tubular steel PH Snake Chair, PH Snake Stool, PH Chair, PH Arm Chair, PH Lounge Table, PH Pope Chair and PH Lounge Chair are durable, practical and beautiful. In many ways, in the 1930s, PH’s mindset was simply ahead of the time. Poul Henningsen’s designs can be thought of as Danish Design Classics even though these furniture pieces have never before been available to purchase in the contemporary furniture market. Interestingly, ideas that Poul Henningsen wrote about during his years of extensive designing in the 1920s and 1930s that were considered by the establishment as ‘avant-garde’ at the time are now fundamental to the concepts behind modern furniture production today. Poul Henningsen’s approach to designing new products was very much the reverse of the design philosophy of many creators who went before him, who were responsible for the furniture that was available in the early part of the 20th century. Rather than designing with the view to solving a ‘design problem’, so therefore putting the issue of ‘function’ first, designers and cabinet makers had historically referred to tradition and what ‘had always been done’ when creating furniture. PH turned this philosophy inside-out: by resolving the issue of the function of the design of a new piece of furniture first and only then deciding on how it should look. Poul Henningsen did not just design curved steel tube furniture pieces. PH was also a prolific designer of wooden furniture, including a number of designs for tables and an extensive collection of pieces designed for storage. He completed his first design for wooden furniture in 1919 at the age of 25 and continued to design a whole collection of wooden furniture pieces the following year, to be presented to a Danish couple in celebration of their marriage. Every piece of that collection was made with brass legs and these vintage items are still held in a private collection.
Poul Henningsen presented the PH Snake Chair in 1932: designed to be different and constructed of one piece of steel tube and bent counter-clockwise in to a spiral. A true masterpiece and Danish design classic. 31
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Poul Henningsen believed that furniture and everyday objects are of great importance, since they shape our experiences with the world around us and consequently affect our mindset, mood and ideas. Henningsen believed that rest and relaxation is as vital to quality of life as well-designed work spaces and lighting. PH designed a number of chairs in his lifetime, each of them intended specifically to resolve what PH considered to be a number of long-standing problems of furniture design in the traditional furniture found in Danish homes in the early and mid twentieth century. Henningsen aimed to evolve the concept of good furniture design by creating pieces of superior function and exquisite physical form. PH’s rather comprehensive collection of steel tube furniture received some attention in the media when being presented in 1932 because of its innovative character and more importantly because its distinctive, bold yet still elegant shapes were created in steel rather than wood. PH’s steel tube furniture did not, however, come to a point of a mass production, nor was it marketed during his lifetime. Possibly this was due to the fact that the commercial market was not ready for what was possibly perceived as “fancy, modern and avant-garde” furniture. Poul Henningsen had designed furniture belonging to the future just as was the case with the completely distinctive Poul Henningsen Grand Piano, which had been presented a year earlier. Additionally, 1930s manufacturing technology was simply not advanced enough to produce on a scale the sophisticated Poul Henningsen designs, with their curvaceous forms and innovative use of materials. Even today, it is a major challenge to produce Poul Henningsen´s steel tube furniture in line with his original designs, although modern manufacturing techniques now make it possible for PH Furniture to successfully achieve this. The fact that Poul Henningsen’s furniture pieces were never put in to production means that historically only a small number of early prototype PH Furniture models exist and have reached auction, where they have commanded extremely high prices.
Poul Henningsen designed the PH Grand Piano in 1930 and today it is part of the permanent exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark, which is located on the same street in Copenhagen as the Home of PH Furniture & Pianos. Poul Henningsen observed that the world of Classical music world is extremely conservative. PH was inspired to create a piano that broke with the traditional concepts of piano design that would inspire composers and musicians to create and play music in a way that was innovative. 33
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If at all, Poul Henningsen is best known for his design of the steel tube furniture collection in the 1930’s. However, actually he did design more wooden furniture pieces and designed the first piece in 1919. In 1920 he was asked to design a whole collection of wooden furniture pieces as a wedding gift to a young Danish couple and every piece was made with some very characteristically shaped, thin brass legs that make the body float and provide a clear distinction between what is carrying and what is being carried. These old pieces are still in the private collection of a family in Denmark. Today, more of the wooden furniture pieces from 1920 have been put in production according to the original design and the whole collection is available both with wooden legs or with the legs manufactured in sold brass. The luxurious finish with brass will patina beautifully as the years go by.
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Poul Henningsen’s expertise as a lighting designer is reflected in the PH Mirror: it offers perfect illumination
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Live life in harmony with Danish art pieces and design classics: Poul Henningsen’s PH Furniture and PH Piano designs seamlessly fit together to create a rich world of functional yet luxurious interiors.
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Poul Henningsen was unique in his ability to design and work in different fields: he is one of the few designers to produce furniture, lighting and fine musical instruments. Pictured here, the PH Pianette, different PH lamps, the PH Cabinet in mahogany, PH Chairs and the PH Circle Table in natural oak with two extension leaves, the PH Lounge Table placed in between a PH Lounge Chair and a PH Pope Chair, a PH Mirror in polished copper hanging on the wall in front and above the PH Small Drawer Chest in mahogany and with brass legs. The optional extension leaves of the PH Circle Table can be used together or individually and when not in use are stored within the table itself or are completely removable.
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The PH Chair Collection - Designed for the Next Generation Poul Henningsen believed that furniture and everyday objects are of great importance, since they shape our experiences with the world around us and consequently affect our mindset, mood and ideas. PH designed a number of the characteristic steel tube chairs at the beginning of the 1930’s, each of them intended specifically to resolve what PH considered to be a number of long-standing problems of design in the traditional furniture found in Danish homes in the early and mid twentieth century. Poul Henningsen aimed to evolve the concept of good furniture design by creating pieces of superior function and exquisite physical form with fluid lines. The PH Chair Collection today represents classic Danish design, where functional objects are elevated to become an art-form.
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The Revival - Our Story A World Less Ordinary: The Home of PH Furniture & PH Pianos in Copenhagen
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The PH Grand Piano with brass legs and metal parts in brass plating. Delicate in appearance, stylish, the next generation of refinement and conductor of warmth: the brass finish enhances the richness of music. 49
The Revival - Our Story By Founder & CEO, Søren Vincents Svendsen My story with Poul Henningsen products probably began subconsciously many years ago, as I was aware of the iconic design of the PH Lamp that is such a large part of Danish Design history. Sometime later I encountered an old Poul Henningsen PH Grand Piano. Even though I don’t play the piano, I was deeply captivated by this piano as a piece of ‘art’. It turned out that the owner of the piano I had seen was keen to sell it and so I bought it. I didn’t have the space in my own home that it deserved so reluctantly accepted that I needed to re-sell it as fast as possible. I found a piano shop with a fantastic location in the heart of Copenhagen and located on the same street with as the high-end galleries as well as Designmuseum Danmark where an old model of the PH Grand Piano is part of the permanent exhibition. In other words, it was the right place and location for selling the piece of art that I had purchased. Later on, this location would become what is now the Home of PH Pianos and PH Furniture. At that time, every day I walked by the piano shop and I noticed how much attention this spectacular PH Grand Piano was receiving from people passing by and admiring it and talking about it. And that’s the whole point about everything Poul Henningsen created – they are pieces of art that talk to you and inspire thoughts of your own. And that’s how the nerve of art is, it talks to you and makes you think.
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My PH Grand Piano - was now surrounded by all the traditional black wooden cased grand pianos and when placed next to them, I could see that it could do something more. I saw how it inspired people, made people dream and that provoked and motivated me further because it is part of my DNA to believe that if you can dream it, you can do it. Therefore, I decided to go to the family of Poul Henningsen and ask if I could have the opportunity of producing more of his spectacular piano design. Eventually, the family of the late Poul Henningsen agreed that we should produce his piano in a unique way to previous versions. Concerning the technique we would use, the quality of the sound had to meet the exceptional visual design. The old PH Grand Pianos may have a reputation for not being such good musical instruments because of an unreliable sound quality: we wanted to overcome this claimed issue with our production. To do this we went to BlĂźthner in Leipzig, as the most esteemed family owned German piano manufacturers and we agreed to let BlĂźthner do the manufacturing of the piano on our behalf. Then we really started. We introduced the PH Grand Piano on the international market - and now we have the piano available in two sizes which both have a sound quality as outstanding as the design. When you see it, it makes you smile and the design still belongs to the future. It is a piece of art, an example of world class Danish design.
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Experience the call of the wild with the PH Snake Chair
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I should emphasize that the beginning of all this is really based on an accident, that I happened to buy an old PH Grand Piano which I definitely loved, and I felt something for and in which I saw the beauty – but there was no reason why I should buy a piano. Anyway, this brought us to the point we are at today, where this chance encounter with an old PH Grand Piano lead me to form a company to acquire the rights to produce the PH Grand Piano once more. Once we had the piano business and beautiful destination shop on Bredgade in Copenhagen, the next logical step was to look at other Poul Henningsen archival designs which could complement the PH Grand Piano. Therefore, we wanted to create an ‘experience’ that extended from Poul Henningsen’s PH Grand Piano to a wider PH ‘lifestyle’ offering that reflected PH’s design values, which we feel are extremely relevant to contemporary living in the 21st Century. In other words, we wanted to create the full collection of the art of music and interiors. We started to focus also on Poul Henningsen´s other piano designs we were aware existed, as well as the furniture designs and so today we can present the full PH Piano Collection including the PH Bow Grand Piano, the PH Upright Piano and the PH Pianette. It is all genuine masterpieces in piano design, designed by Poul Henningsen in the 1930’s and there is still nothing else like it! Every PH Piano stands out as a piece of art and is furthermore an investment that yields daily joy and excitement for the owner who takes care of it on behalf of future generations in the family. When our journey into the furniture designs of Poul Henningsen started, we had no idea how many furniture designs would be in Poul Henningsen’s archive. The only thing we knew at that time was, that there would be a lot of steel tube furniture designed by PH and to some degree based on the German Bauhaus tradition, yet still unique as with everything done by Poul Henningsen. It is the steel tube furniture pieces that have received the most attention in the history books – if anything at all – as nothing much has been said about Poul Henningsen’s furniture designs.
Pleasurable work space: the PH Office Desk designed in 1935 and the PH Arm Chair designed in 1932 54
We agreed with the family again that we should take the lead on a revival of the furniture designed by Poul Henningsen. PH designed so many pieces – more than sixty in total. It came as a surprise to us, that he in fact designed more wooden furniture pieces than we had anticipated. The first piece of wooden furniture Poul Henningsen designed in 1919 is the PH Dressing Table. At the time he was only 25 years old! It is extraordinary that more than one hundred years ago Poul Henningsen started creating designs that even by today’s standards are to be considered contemporary and still belong very much to the future. Every product still has a story to tell and PH’s furniture pieces are just not ‘ordinary’. Poul Henningsen furniture items are beyond just functional products. If it was just about functionality, then there are plenty of chairs in the world to sit on already and I would not have launched a business selling more of them. This world does not need more chairs or the traditional pianos as ‘black boxes’ for that matter. I would find it very hard to consider it a mission in my life as a founder and CEO of PH Pianos and PH Furniture, if we were just mass producing another piece of furniture or another ‘black box’ that was not in some ways innovative and challenged the expectations of what piano and furniture design ‘should be’. We feel very strongly and passionately about the positive benefits of the progressive and innovative way of thinking by Poul Henningsen. Poul Henningsen’s design values elevate everyday environments from the ‘ordinary’ to places of ‘extraordinary’ pleasure, luxury and well-being. That is really motivating to me. The Poul Henningsen design classics are contributing to a less ordinary world because it is the art of music and the art of interiors and therefore, it is a privilege to stand behind the revival of all the Poul Henningsen design classics.
Poul Henningsen’s understated open design crafted from curved steel tubes is the embodiment of freedom. While it is functional furniture it evokes a feeling of liberation from the traditional heavy timber framed designs. PH’s design has the illusory quality of creating a sense of space within interiors. 55
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Home of PH Furniture & PH Pianos 57
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Located on the same street as the Designmuseum Danmark, The Home of PH Pianos and PH Furniture in the centre of Copenhagen is an essential destination to visit in order to learn about and enjoy Poul Henningsen’s PH Furniture and PH Piano designs. Poul Henningsen’s designs carry at their heart the traditional Bauhaus principles of creating functional objects that are also visually arresting, tactile and inspiring. At the PH Pianos and PH Furniture showroom it is possible to experience the full collection of Poul Henningsen designed pianos as well as the furniture pieces. 59
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The Board of Directors: Søren V. Svendsen (CEO), Henrik Bring Larsen and Flemming Lindeløv (Chairman).
Having the Back of the Board.
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At Copenhagen Design House you can not only find the full selection of Poul Henningsen designed PH Furniture and PH Pianos, but also a creative design hub in the centre of Copenhagen. Based in the same space as the Home of PH Furniture and PH Pianos is Art Gallery Copenhagen, owned and managed by Tom Nybroe and Lars Nybroe. Art Gallery Copenhagen is a gallery showcasing the very best of contemporary art.
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Tom Nybroe’s work with PH Furniture and PH Pianos includes studying and researching Poul Henningsen’s original drawings, taking product development through the full production ‘lifecycle’ from inception to completion, from initial prototyping to point of sale.
Based at this site is Tom Nybroe, who in addition to being an established glassware designer for Holmegaard and Rosendahl, works closely with PH Furniture and PH Pianos to realise Poul Henningsen’s historical furniture and piano designs for production in the 21st Century.
Tom Nybroe and Lars Nybroe are seasoned design professionals with a background as owners and managers of a leading Danish advertising and media company. Additionally, they are also responsible for all picture editing and visual layout of this book, ‘PH Furniture and Pianos - The Revival of Poul Henningsen Design Classics’. 67
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PH Snake Collection
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PH Snake Collection - Danish Design Classics Poul Henningsen was a master of functional design - thinking like his Bauhaus contemporaries, PH saw no need to over-complicate his design for the PH Snake Stool and PH Snake Chair that he first revealed to the world in 1932. The design of the PH Snake Collection accomplishes something so few stools or chairs do: it is slimline and compact and yet sturdy and strong, thanks to the spiral shape of the frame that resembles that of a coiled snake. The PH Snake Stool and PH Snake Chair pay homage to the concepts of ‘function’ and ‘form’ in synergy, to create something structurally minimal but not at the expense of the realisation of the purpose of the object itself. Versatility is part of the charm of the PH Snake Collection: The PH Snake Stool as well as the PH Snake Chair will sit unobtrusively in the corner of a room or take centre stage in the interior setting. Through the conservative use of materials, Poul Henningsen’s Snake Collection is a triumph of minimalist 1930s design. Graceful, functional, convivial and now manufactured in Switzerland to 21st Century engineering standards, the PH Snake Collection is set to be rediscovered as a contemporary design classic to covet. Poul Henningsen was himself frequently photographed sitting on the PH Snake Chair, often at the piano he also designed. The PH Snake Stool and the PH Snake Chair is a visionary and ground-breaking design which PH considered would revolutionise the very concept of how a stool or chair should be constructed. The PH Snake Collection is truly egalitarian in design: it is such that it will find a place in virtually all home environments and though it is a ‘design’ piece, it is also designed to be affordable. With versatility as a part of its design-DNA, the PH Snake Chair and PH Snake Stool are available in a variety of colours and finishes, including leather upholstery or a wooden finish in vibrant red, eye-catching yellow, calming green, white or understated black, so there is a piece of the PH Snake Collection to suit the personality of every room. There is no other chair or stool like it on the market today.
The Mystery of the Snakes! One of the things that makes the Poul Henningsen designed Snake Chair and Snake Stool so unique is the manufacturing process of the curved steel tubes that is fundamental to their design: it is so specialised that it is kept an extremely closely guarded secret, known only to the manufacturer in Switzerland. 71
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PH Snake Stool
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The PH Snake Stool - Dare to Touch the Snake The PH Snake Stool is available finished in painted wood in a variety of colours and with visible steel tubes. The PH Snake Stool is also available in aniline leather upholstery in two possible presentations: with The PH Snake Stool: A Danish Design Classic. The PH Snake Stool is a masterpiece by Poul Henningsen and designed in 1932. It is - together with the PH Snake Chair - part of the permanent exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen and is to be considered a Danish design classic although it has never been in production. It has now been given new life with the revival of the PH Furniture collection. The first few pieces from the 1930s were bent by hand and today the PH Snake furniture is precision crafted by expert technicians at a specialist factory in Switzerland. The steel tube of the PH Snake Stool as well as the PH Snake Chair is bent counterclockwise and with the absolutely highest precision. Tradition suggests that a stool or chair is expected to have three or four legs, yet with this masterful design, Poul Henningsen has created furniture that is made of one simple, unbroken spiral. There is no other stool like it on the market and it definitely stands out as a unique piece of art that fits into any interior setting as a stand alone piece of furniture or in a beautiful combination with the PH Snake Chair. The PH Snake Stool is available finished in painted wood in a variety of colours and with visible steel tubes. The PH Snake Stool is also available in leather upholstery in two possible presentations: with the leather covering the steel tubes around the seat or with the steel tubes of the seat fully visible.
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The PH Snake Stool: a naturally superior design concept, alive with style. Founded in nature and now finished to superior 21st Century manufacturing standards. A genuine Danish design classic.
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The “PH Snake Charmer�: tradition suggests that a stool is expected to have three or four legs, yet with this masterful design, PH has created a stool that is made of just one simple, unbroken spiral of chromed steel. With a base inspired by the shape of a coiled snake, the PH Snake Stool is the definition of both strength and minimalism. Designed in 1932.
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PH Snake Chair
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The PH Snake Chair - Wild at Heart The design of the PH Snake Chair is compact yet strong, due to the spiral shape of the frame that resembles that of a coiled snake. Featuring sensuous fluid lines realised in the smoothest of chromed steel and devoid of harsh angles, the PH Snake Chair sits harmoniously with the widest variety of interiors. The PH Snake Chair is truly a Danish design classic and a unique design piece; there is no other similar chair like it. The PH Snake Chair is ergonomic, flexing with the movement of the body of the person seated. The PH Snake Chair is a functional piece of furniture as well as an art piece, certain to be the talking point in any room in which it is placed. The PH Snake Chair sparks curiosity, challenging all conventional concepts of chair design. The PH Snake collection - the PH Snake Chair as well as the PH Snake Stool - is carefully manufactured in Switzerland. The PH Snake Chair is available with both painted wooden or leather seating: there is a PH Snake Chair to suit every interior design scheme. The PH Snake Chair is designed in 1932 and today each PH Snake Chair is individually numbered.
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The PH Snake Chair is a masterpiece of design by Poul Henningsen, designed in 1932. Even today the counterclockwise bent curved steel of the PH Snake Chair represents challenges to manufacture and the manufacturing process used by PH Furniture is a closely guarded secret. It is available finished in painted wood in a variety of colors and with visible steel tubes. The PH Snake Chair is also available in leather upholstery in two possible presentations: with the leather covering the steel tubes around the seat and chair back or with the steel tubes of the seat and chair back fully visible. There is a PH Snake Chair for any interior setting, either as a stand alone piece of art or as functional chair with great seating comfort.
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Freedom of movement: Poul Henningsen was probably one of the first designers to think about ergonomic seating. The PH Snake Chairs are flexible like a spiral: this seating moves with the energy of one’s body.
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Wild at Heart - the Poul Henningsen designed PH Snake Chair is a sleek, smooth chair design that is the embodiment of charisma
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PH Mirror
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PH Mirror with a view - elegant as the surroundings
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The PH Mirror - Visionary Design The earliest ‘mirrors’ known to be used were actually pools of water, though of course they were not the most reliable source of reflection. Early engineering overcame the problem of relying on a puddle or lake to look at oneself, as the very first mirrors constructed of glass with a metal backing can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks, all of whom fashioned their own versions of ‘looking glasses’. While its fundamental construction has not changed since ancient times, the modern mirror has come to be regarded as one of life’s essentials and for this reason has evolved in to something that is considered worthy of ‘good design’. Ever the ‘problem solver’, motivated to make furniture and items for the home that bettered what had gone before, Poul Henningsen created the mirror of future back in 1939 and this piece can be considered part of his ‘Bauhaus inspired furniture’ also from the same decade. PH considered there was the possibility of improving the traditional metal backed ‘looking glass’, and so created a mirror that provided backlit illumination and a sense of luxury, as well as being a practical essential intended for use every day. The lighting within the PH Mirror provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design is intended to sit in harmony with the widest variety of interiors and provides a reflection of superior clarity. The PH Mirror is available in three sizes and in a variety of colours and materials: regardless of whether a small unobtrusive mirror is required or something that creates a bold impact in an interior space, there is a PH Mirror that will complement the atmosphere of every setting. Functional, practical and beautiful, the PH Mirror embodies everything PH believed to be important about his creations for interiors: it is a harmony of geometric shape and fluid lines, illumination and vivid colour. The PH Mirror appears as contemporary in the 21st Century as it did when it was first created: it is simply visionary design.
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PH Mirror - the art of looking great has never looked so good. The PH Mirror is for the ultimate clarity of vision and is available in three sizes and a variety of finishes to suit every interior setting. PH’s Mirror is available with the exterior finished in five painted colours, the same heritage PH colours of red, green, white, yellow and black to co-ordinate with other PH lighting products manufactured by Louis Poulsen and items within the PH Furniture Collection. The interior of the painted PH Mirrors is white to make for a perfect illumination. As an alternative to the painted colours, the PH Mirror is also available in either polished or brushed solid brass, copper or aluminium finishes with an optional painted white interior. wPictured here is the PH Mirror with a white back cover and in a size of 500 mm diameter of the cover.
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The PH Mirror - an expression of vibrant design, elegantly illuminated
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The PH Mirror is functional in many ways, it can be used to illuminate large spaces such as entrance halls, stair cases and living spaces as well as being perfect for use as a bathroom or dressing table mirror.
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PH Mirror - function over form
The collection of PH Mirrors in different sizes and finishes provides an eye catching display. Pictured here, the PH Mirror in polished aluminum with a size 700mm diameter of the back cover, the PH Mirror in polished copper and a size 360mm diameter and finally at the bottom to the right a PH Mirror in polished brass of a size 500mm diameter of the back cover. All these types of the PH Mirror are also availiable with a brushed finish as well as with the option of having the inside of the cover painted in white if that is preferable for a perfect illumination.
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The PH Mirror was designed in 1939 - today a Danish design classic, crafted entirely in Denmark
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PH Lounge Collection
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PH Lounge - Being Human Poul Henningsen’s designs are as relevant today as they were in the first half of the 21st Century. Inspired by German Bauhaus design theories, PH became a pioneer of functionalism. Poul Henningsen believed in prioritizing “utility before beauty”. It could be said that PH had arrived at some of the many of the ideas that became features of ‘Deconstructivism’ a number of decades before the architectural concept became popular. ‘Deconstructivist’ architecture features designs that are free of straight lines, corners and symmetry – we see PH explored these concepts within a number of his furniture designs fifty years before the Deconstructivist movement gained its name. The PH Snake Chair and PH Snake Stools are perfect examples: these asymmetrical seating designs consist of one piece of curved steel, mirroring the fluid architectural forms that would be widely applauded decades after their inception. Similarly, PH Pope Chair and PH Lounge Chair feature curved legs that defy the convention that a chair should generally have four harsh straight lines for legs placed at approximately ninety degrees to the corner of the seat, while the PH Grand Piano is a symphony of curves, warm leather and transparency that allows us to see inside the very soul of the instrument; encouraging the audience to move closer and to embrace the music. PH seemed to understand deeply the very essence of ‘being human’: people are not simplistically angular and made of purely hard materials, so it makes sense that the environment in which we live should not be either. PH’s furniture is so very often constructed of the strongest of bones, fleshed with the most tactile and beautiful finishings of smooth wood and leather. PH’s designs are not only practical and functional, but also sensual. Poul Henningsen realised that it is the things that we look at and touch everyday that are fundamental to the quality of our existence due to the profound influence they have on our lives, even if it is only at a subconscious level.
Finding Balance with PH Design Classics. The PH Pope Chair and the PH Lounge Chair, complemented by the gentle lines of the PH Lounge Table in black oak finish. 105
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PH Lounge Chair
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PH Lounge Chair - For when the living is easy Poul Henningsen was well aware that the best ideas do not always happen at a desk and that allowing time for contemplation and creative thought in a situation that allowed the mind to flourish freely was as important as creating spaces conducive to the execution of ‘work’. While Poul Henningsen created the most beautiful of desks - the PH Office Desk - and work tables for the purpose of working, he realised the necessity of proper leisure time in order for work time to be effective: for that reason he created the PH Lounge Chair in 1932. Poul Henningsen’s ergonomic design puts you at ease in your body, providing time for your mind’s contemplation and rest. In line with PH’s commitment to Bauhaus design philosophies that strip all that is not necessary from the realisation of product, The PH Lounge Chair is visually uncluttered, made from the most minimal of bent chromed steel tubing and covered in the most luxurious leather or fabric. As with many of Poul Henningsen’s chair designs, the frame of the Lounge Chair is constructed from just one piece of steel, ensuring that it is lightweight and free of as many joints as possible.
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The fully leather upholstered cushion follows the back and provides superb support and excellent seating comfort in any position! The PH Lounge Chair is the perfect place to unwind after a long day and can be perfectly accessorised by a good book or good conversation. Recent scientific research echoes Poul Henningsen’s thoughts on the importance of rest. Studies have shown that the more effective we are at resting as humans, the more productive we are when working. Research has shown that ‘work’ and ‘rest’ are symbiotic processes working in unity with each other. By allowing ourselves to rest, we allow ourselves to appreciate the purpose of our work. We allow ourselves to regain lost energy, to restore ourselves physically and mentally. The PH Lounge Chair is just the perfect place to rest, regain lost energy and restore ourselves!
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A place for reflection and joy. The PH Lounge Chair provides discreet back support for many hours of comfortable relaxation.
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The Poul Henningsen designed PH Lounge Chair is a realisation of the fine art of “sitting comfortably�
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PH Lounge Table
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PH Lounge Table - A Display of Design Excellence The PH Lounge Table designed by Poul Henningsen is the perfect addition to any lounge space where a table is required to gather around or for display. Taller than a low coffee table, the PH Lounge Table lends itself to a wide variety of settings, since it is the correct height to complement taller lounge chairs, such as the Poul Henningsen designed PH Pope Chair and PH Arm Chair. More formal than a coffee table but smaller than a dining table, the PH Lounge Table is the perfect table on which to place one’s reading book, magazines, newspapers, PH Lamp and other accoutrements of leisure. The PH Lounge Table can also be used as an impromptu bistro table, perfect for meetings over drinks - this is a table that is the ultimate in versatility. The PH Lounge Table shares the same shaped legs as both the PH Pope Chair and PH Arm Chair, so the PH Lounge Table works in perfect union with these pieces to provide a matching set of Poul Henningsen designed furniture. The shape and placement of the legs allows for maximum useable space beneath the table for those sitting around it. The scythe shaped legs provide a deceptive level of stability - while they look unobtrusive and minimal, this is a table that can withstand the buffeting of day to day living. The beauty of the PH Lounge Table is that is looks simply wonderful placed ‘centrestage’ in the middle of an interiors setting or alternatively placed to the side of a room, where its quietly refined aesthetic blooms. Poul Henningsen was inspired to create functional furniture that is also visually stunning and the PH Lounge Table is a perfect example of this. The PH Lounge Table was inspired by nature - we can see the delicately shaped legs of this table are reminiscent of the roots of a tree and so when the shape is utilised in this way, we can observe that PH has designed a table that reminds us of the calming feeling of being somewhere beautiful outdoors. Just like nature itself, the PH Lounge Table also has resilience and strength. The use of natural materials such as oak for the finishing of the table top further strengthens the feeling of connectivity to the environment: the use of wood creates a surface that is unique in detail, tactile and warm. The PH Lounge Table is not just a table, but an example of design excellence that enhances contemporary living. The elegant chromed finish of the legs of the PH Lounge Table work with most interior settings while the table top can be supplied in a variety of wooden finishes. Designed in 1932.
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A multi-sensory experience: PH Furniture sparks the imagination and can be used to create combinations of furniture that result in interiors that are as unique as their owner: here the PH Dressing Table is placed with the PH Snake Stool, PH Lounge Chair, PH Lounge Table and the PH Pope Chair. 121
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The PH Lounge Table: when the concept of the table becomes a tableau that is fundamental to every day living.
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PH Pope Chair
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PH Pope Chair - The Religion of Good Seating Named after its resemblance to a traditional hat worn by the Pope, the PH Pope Chair is conducive to both sociable environments as well serving as a place to be alone with one’s thoughts. It is a perfect place to read, to think and to embrace the opportunity for contemplation. The PH Pope Chair was designed by Poul Henningsen in 1932 and represents an item of furniture that can become an essential part of the very fabric of daily life in the homes which it graces: transcending from the status of simply being a supportive chair to something that represents familiar comfort, the daily ritual of relaxation and a reassuring presence in an ever-changing world. The PH Pope Chair is manufactured using carefully selected materials that reflect Poul Henningsen’s original design, realised for the environments of the 21st Century. It is manufactured in Denmark and constructed of smooth chrome and without sharp angles or hard lines. The PH Pope Chair is available upholstered in warm fabric in the softest of greys or tactile leather in a selection of earthy shades reminiscent of those found in natural world itself. Embodying a spirit of growth, renewal, regeneration and evolution, the PH Pope Chair is a timeless design. The PH Pope Chair is suited for use within the home or in a number of professional environments: place it in the entrance hall of the office as a stylish way to welcome guests, in the waiting room or in a meeting room. The PH Pope Chair also rests easily in the bar or the hotel lobby. Whether the PH Pope Chair is used for serious business or as a place from which to simply watch television, the PH Pope Chair absolutely has your back.
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The PH Pope Chair from 1932 - eternally stylish. Pictured: the PH Pope Chair in the most exclusive un-dyed aniline leather, designed to patina with age, the PH Lounge Table with solid mahogany table top and the PH Mirror in a size 360 mm diameter of the back cover.
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The PH Pope Chair exudes style. The PH Pope Chair and the PH Lounge Table share the same scythe shaped legs resembling the roots of a tree.
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The spirit of the PH Pope Chair represents a superior level of comfort As with many of Poul Henningsen’s furniture and lighting designs, the PH Pope Chair features a shape that is inspired by nature. The legs of Poul Henningsen’s PH Pope Chair resemble the roots of a tree, anchoring it firmly the ground, giving a sense of strength that goes beyond the purely physical. The PH Pope Chair is supported so unobtrusively that the main body of the chair almost seems to be floating above the floor on which it is placed. Though the base of the PH Pope Chair is fine and delicate in appearance, it is just as stable as a traditional chair with four legs placed at the corners. The PH Pope Chair whispers its presence: quiet, strong and versatile, it is an statement piece that religiously provides a superior seating experience to the user in a multitude of different environments. The design of the PH Pope Chair prioritises the pleasure of sitting down as well as interiors style: this is a chair that provides discreet back support without giving the appearance of a traditional orthopaedic chair. The PH Pope Chair is proof that ergonomics and style can co-exist: it is both sleek and streamlined in appearance while remaining a chair of the highest practical function. Comfort blossoms in the PH Pope Chair: it is created to be in harmony with the human form, unobtrusively providing an opportunity for luxurious relaxation as well as presenting a visually stunning architectural appearance. The PH Pope Chair is carefully crafted in Denmark and each PH Pope Chair is individually numbered.
Pictured here is the PH Pope Chair upholstered with the most exclusive un-dyed aniline leather. 135
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PH Dining
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For Every Occasion: Poul Henningsen created a series of table designs to suit every home or work environment - pictured here are the six person PH Dining Table in Black Oak veneer, the PH Circle Table in natural oak with two extension leaves and the PH Axe Table in solid black oak. All three tables are available with solid wood, veneer, or laminate table tops. The wooden table tops can be produced in natural oak, black painted oak or mahogany.
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The PH Dining Tables - Feels Like Home Back in the 1930s Poul Henningsen designed two tables with limitless versatility in mind, that are triumphs of not only form, but also function. The form of the PH Circle Table was inspired by nature to be entirely practical as well as beautiful. Designed to be free of harsh angles, the smooth lines of the table top and design of the legs are reminders of the Scarab Beetle that may have inspired Poul Henningsen when creating this piece, while the use of oak to construct the legs mean that it is forever connected to nature. Constructed of warm and tactile natural or black oak, the table legs are positioned to be as unobtrusive as possible, no matter how many guests are seated. The table top can be finished in light or natural oak, black oak or laminated white, so there is a variation of the PH Circle Table for every interior setting, regardless of whether the interior style is minimal, maximal, monochrome or multi-coloured. The Circle Table is available in three sizes as well as with an optional extension leaf, so it is possible to create a table that is truly personalised to the setting. Poul Henningsen’s Dining Table shares similar features to the Circle Table: simplicity of design and the capability to transform in to a much larger table, thanks to the folding extension leaf that can be concealed within. The PH Dining Table is heavily influenced by the Bauhaus design philosophies Poul Henningsen found to be so inspiring: it is a table that features simple chromed legs that make it appear almost to be almost floating on air, it is a design that whispers quiet perfection and does not need to shout to be heard. The PH Axe Table, designed in 1954, with legs inspired by the strength and tactile form of the traditional axe handle is a versatile design piece, suitable as a dining table or a table for work or display. Whether in the most bijou of apartments or the largest of multi-tasking kitchens, Poul Henningsen’s tables fit perfectly and are capable of evolving as your needs do. From animated meal times to quiet dinners, craftwork, homework or an impromptu business meeting, these tables will accommodate everything and everyone with ease. Poul Henningsen’s visionary furniture designs have stood the test of time: the PH Circle, PH Dining and PH Axe tables are certain to become treasured pieces that will be appreciated daily. Before long, sitting at a Poul Henningsen designed table will simply ‘feel like home’.
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PH Dining Table
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The PH Dining Table - Simply Fine Dining Many of Poul Henningsen’s furniture designs are based on the concept of curved tubular steel: such iconic Poul Henningsen pieces include the PH Snake Chair and PH Snake Stool, the PH Desk, the PH Lounge Chair, the PH Chair and the PH Pope Chair. Complementary to these is the PH Dining Table, which also features chromed tubular steel legs to create a timeless design for a dining table that is both practical and elegant. Poul Henningsen favoured the idea that there should be clear delineation between what is being carried and what is carrying across all his furniture designs. As such, PH was committed to the creation of furniture with legs that are as minimal as possible and that they themselves are carefully crafted to be aesthetically pleasing. PH explored the idea of furniture that appeared almost to be ‘floating’ and where the legs of his furniture designs are visible, they should be an interesting feature in themselves. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Dining Table is no exception to this. The simple chromed steel legs are affixed at an angle to provide stability while also allowing guests sitting at the PH Dining Table optimal room for movement and to give maximum flexibility of seating arrangements. In line with the superior attention to the small design details that PH felt so important, the legs of the PH Dining Table do not simply meet the ground at the bottom: rather the curved sphere at the base of the legs means that there is minimal connectivity wth the floor. This further supports the visual illusion of a table that almost appears to float, creating a sense of lightness.
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The Poul Henningsen designed Dining Table and PH Chairs - placed together they are a recipe for many memorable good times
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PH Circle Table
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The PH Circle Table - For the Circle of Life Poul Henningsen believed firmly in the concept of design for utility first and foremost: everything should have a purpose. Beyond this basic philosophy of prioritising ‘function before form’, PH also dedicated his time to creating interiors and furniture that were not only practical, but also beautiful. The PH Circle Table is a perfect example of this. The attention to detail with which PH designed the PH Circle Table in 1937 can be seen in shaped of the table legs. The legs of the PH Table are refined and carefully angled to be not only strong and unobtrusive, but also simple and elegant. The shape of the table top is gently curved so that there is not a defined ‘head’ of the table, a reflection of Poul Henningsen’s democratic beliefs that he was designing furniture for the benefit of everyone to be seen and heard when gathered around it. In the 21st Century, PH Furniture’s Poul Henningsen designed Circle Table is available with a table top finished in Natural Oak, Black Oak or Royal White Laminate, while the table legs can be produced in Natural Oak or Black Oak. Available in three sizes and with an optional folding extension leaf, The PH Circle Table produced by PH Furniture is a most versatile design. The optional folding extension leaf can be left to hang vertically under the table when not in use or can be removed from the table completely. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Circle Table is created for the long term in mind – not just in terms of enduring service or as a piece of art to look at – but rather as an investment in enhancing the fabric of the every day: the PH Circle Table is created for the circle of life.
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Naturally Brilliant: The PH Circle Table, timeless design from 1937. The form of the PH Circle Table was inspired by nature to be entirely practical as well as beautiful. It is design that whispers quiet perfection and does not need to shout to be heard.
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PH Furniture placed together with the PH Grand Piano elevates everyday settings to extraordinary situations. Pictured: the PH Grand Piano with brass legs and lyra, copper frame and a leather rim in black aniline leather. Also pictured is the PH Circle Table with two extension leaves in natural oak veneer. The PH Circle Table with extension leaves is also available in black painted oak veneer or with a table top of white laminate. The PH Circle Table features solid wooden legs. The PH Circle Tables without extension leaves can be delivered in various sizes and with solid wood table tops as an alternative to a veneered finish. Here, the PH Circle Table is paired with PH Chairs upholstered in black aniline leather. 155
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PH Circle Table from 1937 – for the natural beauty of any interior setting, is available in three different sizes to accommodate four, six or more guests. Pictured: The PH Circle Table in natural oak veneer. The PH Circle Table top can be supplied in white laminate with table legs of solid natural oak, with a table top of painted black oak veneer with solid black oak table legs, or a table top of natural oak with solid natural oak table legs. Oak table tops without extension leaves and in different sizes can be supplied in solid wood as an alternative to a veneered finish.
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Democratic seating: it is striking that all PH Tables do not feature a clear “table head� and the table legs are positioned in a way to ensure that everyone seated at the table can be heard and viewed equally.
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PH Axe Table
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The PH Axe Table in black oak with the PH Table Lamp - relaxed elegance to enjoy every day
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The PH Axe Table - Design Beyond the Cutting Edge Design beyond the cutting edge: Poul Henningsen used the concept of the humble axe handle to create a table that is strong, beautiful and durable. While Denmark has a history of axe design (the Dane Axe was used throughout Europe as a knightly weapon from the 10th to the 16th centuries), PH’s inspiration for the PH Axe Table came after he visited Canada. Henningsen saw beyond the axe as simply a functional item for chopping wood (or in ancient times, battle and warcraft) and instead saw the potential for its reinvention in to an interesting and sturdy table, constructing early models in Hickory wood. The axe handle is synonymous with strength and simplicity: there is a sense of honesty to its tactile nature. For PH it was a logical progression to evolve the ancient axe design: to take the best of its attributes and translate them in to a table that is entirely relevant, practical and aesthetically beautiful for the 21st Century. With the PH Axe Table, Poul Henningsen created in 1954 a piece of furniture that would serve and protect as an comforting ally of exemplary function and beautiful form inside the modern home, corporate environment or public space designed for contemporary living. Ash and oak were the materials used most frequently throughout Europe for the manufacture of the hafts of axes in Europe in the Middle Ages, so by producing the PH Axe Table design with legs of natural oak, black oak and white ash, as well as walnut, homage is paid to the original object that inspired this innovative design. Through the display of the delicate grain of the wood on the table legs and their fluid organic form, there is a reminder of the strong connection to nature of this piece of furniture that gives the feeling of the most wholesome design integrity. The handle of an axe is designed to feel warm to the touch, conveying a feeling of power and control: PH’s Axe Table brings warmth and a sense symbolic strength to the interior environment in which it is placed.
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In the 20th and 21st Century there has been a general move towards the appreciation of the raw unadorned beauty of industrial materials and spaces. The concept began in ernest when the architectural Modernist and Bauhaus movements pioneered building and interior designs that often featured the use of materials in their natural form and frequently did not attempt to conceal their function, even if they did not fulfil what had been the traditional requirements to be considered ‘attractive’. Poul Henningsen’s furniture designs are very much in synergy with this way of thinking: PH’s Axe Table does not refine the shape of the axe haft that inspire the legs, but rather makes it a feature of the design, representing the values of utilitarian function and the uncomplicated aesthetics that underpin it. The PH Axe Table is available with a PH 3 1/2 – 2 1/2 Table Lamp produced by Louis Poulsen exclusively manufactured for PH Furniture with the cable outlet at the bottom so that it can be integrated directly in to the PH Axe Table with the wiring concealed. The result is a Mid-Century table design created by Poul Henningsen in the first half of the 1950s and produced today by PH Furniture that is capable of enhancing a variety of interior settings: from contemporary buildings to the more traditional, in homes, hotels and corporate spaces. The PH Axe Table: an innovation in design that goes beyond the cutting edge.
The PH Axe Table with the PH Table Lamp: Poul Henningsen travelled to Canada in 1954 - upon his return he had brought home eight axe handles. PH was inspired to fix the axe handles to a laminated table top. By fashioning a hole in the table PH was able to secure a lamp, which in turn could support a display of food. The lamp for the PH Axe Table is today manufactured exclusively by Louis Poulsen for the PH Axe Table, complete with a cable that is concealed by one of the table legs. 165
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Poul Henningsen’s lighting, wooden table and chair designs in unity: the integrated PH Table Lamp ensures that all is illuminated without harsh glare or obtrusive cables.
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The PH Axe Table from 1954 – when nature is being brought to home. A perfect match between aesthetic design, use of materials and functionality for everyday use. Pictured: The PH Axe Table with a top plate in veneered black painted oak, eight black painted axe handles as legs in solid oak, a PH 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 Table Lamp in white and PH Chairs upholstered in aniline leather. The PH Axe Table can also be supplied with a table top in natural oak or in white laminate. The table tops are also available in solid wood. The PH Axe Table can be be supplied with an optional integrated PH 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 Table Lamp, manufactured exclusively for PH Furniture by Louis Poulsen, featuring a cable that can be concealed beneath the table top. The integrated PH 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 Table Lamp is available in four colours: the heritage PH colours of red, green, white and yellow to co-ordinate with PH Lamps. When ordered with the optional PH 3 1/3 - 2 1/2 Table Lamp, the PH Axe Table is supplied with a removable cover for the centre of the table for use should the lamp be removed.
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PH Table Lamp for PH Furniture Very early on in his career, before he had reached the age of 30, Poul Henningsen had designed a number of items of lighting that could be described as a ‘commercial’ successes. Having trained as an architect and begun to experiment with furniture design in his twenties, Poul Henningsen started collaborating with the lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen in the 1920s on what we today know as the iconic PH Lamp. Having become one of Denmark’s authorities on lighting theory, Poul Henningsen designed the PH Lamp, a lighting icon inspired by the way natural light falls through the foliage of a tree, providing illumination that is devoid of obtrusive glare. Poul Henningsen’s PH Lamp won a gold medal in 1925 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs & Industriels Modernes in Paris. Interestingly, Louis Poulsen, a business that had originally sold tools and electrical equipment still produces these and many other PH Lamps today: almost one hundred years later the PH Lamp is still enduringly popular and can be considered to be a contemporary design classic. The PH 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 Table Lamp is a design classic manufactured by Louis Poulsen. A speical version of the PH 3 1/1 - 2 1/2 Lamp is now being produced by Louis Poulsen exclusively for PH Furniture, created to be integrated in to the Axe Table with concealed wiring.
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PH Chair
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The PH Chair - Simplicity yet Seriously Good Seating The Poul Henningsen designed PH Chair is an example of Scandinavian design at its very best. With a framework constructed of just two tubes of curved steel, the PH Chair is minimal, durable and versatile. Perhaps initially inspired by the humble ‘bistro chair’, Poul Henningsen’s PH Chair advances on the concept of a traditional ‘bent wood’ chair by replacing the wooden frame with steel, thus making it considerably more durable and stable. The wooden or cane seat expected to be found on a ‘bistro chair’ also receives an upgrade at the deft hand of Henningsen. The PH Chair produced by PH Furniture has been realised to feature a comfortable padded seat finished in black, walnut, mocca or Indian red coloured leather or alternatively black or grey Hallingdal fabric. The PH Chair is not a design created to last just for a few seasons, but rather a design intended to be an investment piece that will last for generations. Poul Henningsen’s PH Chair is constructed of gentle lines which carefully support the back, encouraging those using the chair to sit in an upright position. Poul Henningsen considered very carefully the application for every piece of furniture he made. While Poul Henningsen’s PH Lounge Chair and PH Pope Chairs are designed for rest and recuperation, the PH Chair was created for situations that require its user to remain alert and attentive. Devoid of sharp edges, harsh angles and hard lines, the PH Chair exudes a sense of softness to its fluid yet strong design. The two simple metal tubes that make the frame of this chair touch only in one place, this is a feature that is only made possible due to the precision engineering that is fundamental to its manufacture. The outcome of this careful construction is a chair that is free of obtrusive joints that retains an open, airy design featuring exceptional qualities of stability and strength.
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The wonder of the PH Chair is that it conveys a sense of lightness and freedom thanks to its minimal nature, yet it is eminently sturdy and practical. The PH Chair is a chair that looks and feels luxurious yet is designed to be used as an every day essential piece of furniture inside the environment in which it is placed. This fundamental fusion of beauty and function lies at the very heart of Poul Henningsen’s design philosophy. In the contemporary home environment of the 21st Century, PH Furniture’s PH Chair is perfect for use in the dining room, kitchen or hallway. The PH Chair also has multiple applications in commercial and corporate situations: in the lobby, meeting room, canteen or hotel room. Poul Henningsen’s ambition was to evolve through design practical everyday objects and environments in order to enhance the quality of life of those who experienced the things he created. The PH Chair is a perfect example of Poul Henningsen succeeding with this noble ambition that underpinned his working life. Designed to be appreciated for its comfort and beauty in the present and its ability to deliver those things for many years in to the future: the PH Chair is not simply a chair, but also a design piece that transcends its practical functionality to become an enduring icon of Danish mid-century Modern furniture. The PH Chair is designed in 1932 and constructed of gentle lines which carefully support the back, encouraging those using the chair to sit in an upright position. In the contemporary home environment of the 21st Century, PH Furniture’s PH Chair is perfect for use in the dining room, kitchen or hallway. The PH Chair also has multiple applications in commercial and corporate situations: in the lobby, meeting room, canteen or hotel room. This fundamental fusion of beauty and function lies at the very heart of Poul Henningsen’s design philosophy.
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The Poul Henningsen designed PH Chair is an example of Scandinavian design at its very best with a framework constructed of just two tubes of curved steel
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The PH Chair delivers the opportunity to sit in different positions in accordance with our task at hand: whether sitting at a desk for work or enjoying a family meal at the dining table, the PH Chair enhances our ability to sit upright and attentively.
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The PH Chair - the essence of timeless design, a creation that brings a sense of positive energy to any environment
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PH Being
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PH Furniture - Pleasure In Every Moment The moments we spend in the private areas of our homes are where we have the opportunity to nurture ourselves and investing in good dressing room and bedroom furniture is not just one of life’s luxuries but an important act of self-care. Our environment has the power to impact our state of mind and a sense of beauty and order in the personal spaces inside our homes at each end of the day can impact upon our sense of self in the most positive way. Poul Henningsen’s PH Dressing Table designs, PH Grand Chest of Drawers, PH Small Drawer Chest and PH Stool evolve a bedroom from a functional place of sleep to a haven of luxury.
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PH Dressing Table
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The PH Dressing Table - a Place of Reflection
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The PH Dressing Table - An Object of Desire The PH Dressing Table was one of Poul Henningsen’s first creations, designed in 1919 at the very beginning of his career: he sought to reinvent this item of furniture to fit the practical yet refined world of interiors that was his vision. During the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, dressing tables often featured a heavy appearance with large cumbersome drawer compartments, short legs and heavy mirrors. As he would later do with the piano, during his design process PH chose to strip away all that was unnecessary about the dressing tables that had been previously created by cabinet-makers, who had tended to pride themselves on creations that were ornate and heavily embellished. Light of being, delicate in appearance, yet strong of construction, PH’s Dressing Table is simple and streamlined, featuring clean lines constructed in simple wood that appears almost to float on air rather than make its presence heavily felt. The result is a piece of furniture that fits as comfortably in contemporary interiors in the 21st Century as it did almost one hundred years ago when it was first designed. For the first time the PH Dressing Table is available to purchase constructed of the finest timbers using 21st Century manufacturing techniques, so it is a product of the finest quality that is sure to be adored for many years ahead.
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19th Century Dressing Tables would often double as ‘writing desks’ and it is said that Madame de Pompadour would even hold meetings at hers. The PH Dressing Table easily fulfils the same duel purpose: simply fold down the mirrored lid and it becomes a beautiful console table, pair it with the PH Stool for effortless interiors elegance. Historically, it appears that even if only on a subconscious level, there has been the human compulsion to perfect one’s physical appearance, hence the development of a piece of furniture to assist with with process. Now, in the 21st Century, as a piece of furniture to enhance the beauty of an interior, to store less-than-glamourous everyday objects or as a place to enjoy the luxury of quiet contemplation, the PH Dressing Table is not just about looking good: it is more than that, it is about being a timeless object of desire. Light of being, delicate in appearance and yet strong of construction, PH’s Dressing Table is simple and streamlined, featuring clean lines constructed in wood. The PH Dressing Table fits as comfortably in interiors in the 21st Century as it did one hundred years ago when it was first created.
Fluid, sensual design: The PH Dressing Table designed in 1919 together with the PH Snake Chair with a fully leather upholstered finish. 191
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The PH Dressing Table: the first piece of furniture designed by Poul Henningsen in 1919. Eight thin legs carry the body, creating a clear distinction between what is carrying and being carried. Craftsmanship at the highest level.
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PH Grand Dressing Table
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The PH Grand Dressing Table - Everyday, Luxury Designed by Poul Henningsen in 1920, the PH Grand Dressing Table is the larger relative of the PH Dressing Table, sharing all of the beautiful design features of its smaller counterpart - with the added advantage of extra storage space. The PH Grand Dressing Table boasts five deep drawers, perfectly designed to hide all manner of personal effects, to ensure the bedroom or dressing room in which it is placed remains free of clutter. Function and flexibility are at the forefront of many of Poul Henningsen’s creations, since Poul Henningsen believed that the performance of a product was fundamental to great design. The PH Grand Dressing Table is the ultimate in flexible furniture: when not in use the mirror can be folded down so the PH Grand Dressing Table becomes an elegant, sleek console table that can be used for display or as a beautiful writing desk. Designed one hundred years ago and just as relevant to contemporary living in the 21st Century, the dressing table fulfils the timeless need for somewhere to sit and reflect, a personal space for calm and contemplation as well as a place to tend to one’s appearance. Although the 21st Century lifestyle may have evolved since the 1930s, the human need to spend time engaged in this daily ritual remains unchanged. Indeed, if the most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourselves, then time spent on oneself at a dressing table is not self-indulgent but a rather a vital necessity. Sometimes, the most significant ideas or thoughts that cross our minds do not do so in the office or at the desk, but rather in the situations when one is most in touch with our deepest inner self.
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Finished in natural oak, black oak or mahogany, the PH Grand Dressing Table fits harmoniously with other items from the PH Furniture range. The brass legs are the same shape as the PH Stool, these two items complementing each other perfectly. The PH Stool is finished in the softest of lamb nappa leather and provides the ultimate in comfortable seating at the PH Grand Dressing Table. The PH Stool - in addition to the PH Chest of Drawers and the PH Small Drawer Chest - can be supplied with brass legs or wooden legs, to create decorative cohesion within their setting. The delicate yet strong brass legs create the illusion of furniture that almost appears to float. The PH Grand Dressing Table is an investment in every day luxury that to its owners will quickly become regarded as an essential to good living.
The PH Grand Dressing Table in black painted oak with brass legs. The mirror is bevelled and can be closed to lay flush with the top of the dressing table. All five internal drawers are lined in white ash. 201
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The PH Grand Dressing Table was designed in 1920. Presented with solid brass legs that will patina beautifully and is available in natural oak, black painted oak or mahogany. It is a piece of furniture for use as a dressing table, a console table or even as a writing desk.
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The Difference Is In The Detail: comprised of the most detailed of woodcraft, the PH Grand Dressing Table is finished in leather with brass knobs.
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PH Grand Chest of Drawers
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The PH Grand Chest of Drawers - the Fine Art of Storage The Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Chest and its smaller counterpart, the PH Small Drawer Chest were designed in the 20th Century, but it transpires that they provide perfect solutions for a very 21st Century problem: that of storage. The PH Grand Chest of drawers is intelligently designed so that it may be positioned away from a wall, since it is finished on all four sides, rather than the usual three often expected of traditional chests. It is a design set free from the idea that storage furniture always needs to be restricted by placement at the edge of a room. PH realised that storage furniture need not be just about function, but it could also be beautiful and need not be hidden: the PH Grand Chest of drawers can be a centrepiece. These small details make Poul Henningsen a name that is synonymous with timeless design that goes beyond the functional to become appreciated as a work of art. PH’s attention to aesthetics as well as practical function mean that his furniture designs transcend utility to bring a sense of luxury to the everyday in the most diverse of interiors settings, from the traditional to the contemporary. The PH Grand Drawer Chest- in addition to the PH Chest of Drawers and the PH Stool - can be supplied with brass legs or wooden legs, to match the PH Dressing Table and PH Grand Dressing Table. It is designed in 1920 and is individually numbered.
The PH Grand Chest of Drawers in black painted oak with brass legs features four small knobs in brass inset flush with the front panel so they are unobtrusive. The inlay of the two drawers is made in white ash. 210
The PH Grand Chest of Drawers accompanied by a PH Mirror, the PH Pope Chair and the PH Lounge Table
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The PH Grand Chest of Drawers is available in natural oak, black oak and mahogany finishes with raw brass or wooden legs. Internal drawers on all models are finished inlaid with white ash. Supplied with brass closures.
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PH Small Drawer Chest
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The PH Small Drawer Chest - A Storage Gem The PH Grand Chest and PH Small Drawer Chest are designed to be viewed and admired from all angles. The PH Small Drawer Chest can be placed in the centre of room, since it is beautifully finished on all sides. The PH Small Drawer Chests do not just fulfil their functional need as receptacles for the holding of possessions, but are also created to be admired. The beauty of the PH Small Drawer Chest designed by Poul Henningsen can be found in the exquisite attention to detail in the design and finishing of this piece. PH adored powerful primary colours and used them frequently in his furniture designs: covered in the finest nappa lamb leather in rich red or elegant green, this piece of furniture becomes almost jewel-like. Like the PH Grand Chest of Drawers, the PH Small Drawer Chest can be also be finished in black oak, natural oak and mahogany. PH’s signature colours of red and green that he frequently chose for his furniture and lighting designs translate to the PH Small Drawer Chests: they can be supplied finished in red or green lambskin nappa leather to create bijou cabinets are literally jewel-like. These small but exquisitely formed cabinets are designed to be beautiful to touch as well as to look at, reminding us of emeralds and rubies.
The PH Small Drawer Chest crafted in mahogany and with red lambskin on the panels. Pictured is the model with wooden legs. The PH Small Drawer chest is also available with brass legs and with green leather. 218
To suit more muted interior decor colour schemes, the PH Small Drawer Chests can also be ordered finished in black oak or mahogany. The PH Grand Chest of Drawers are available in mahogany, black oak and natural oak. Both the PH Small Drawer Chests and PH Grand Chest of Drawers feature solid wood drawers of light ash. Both the PH Grand Chest and the PH Small Drawer Chest sit comfortably in many environments: as bedroom furniture or in living spaces. They are perfectly placed to safety stow things for now or for ‘later’: not just investments in storage, the PH Grand Chest and PH Small Drawer Chest are investments in a more beautiful future. The PH Small Drawer Chest - in addition to the PH Grand Chest of Drawers and the PH Stool - can be supplied with brass legs or wooden legs, to match the PH Dressing Table and PH Grand Dressing Table.
The PH Small Drawer Chest - versatile, compact storage. Pictured: PH Smaller Drawer Chest finished in mahogany with brass legs. Just seen: PH Pope Chair upholstered in un-dyed aniline leather, PH Lounge Table with mahogany table top and a PH Snake Stool with painted black wooden seat. 219
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PH Stool
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PH Stool - A Beautiful Complement The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or to stand alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is finished in the softest of lamb nappa leather and provides the ultimate in comfortable seating. The PH Stool is designed in 1920 and each PH Stool is individually numbered. The PH Stool shares the same shaped legs as the PH Grand Dressing Table, PH Grand Chest of Drawers and PH Small Drawer Chest: the PH Stool is the perfect addition to a room furnished with these pieces in order to create a cohesive collection of Poul Henningsen furniture. And it can always be a standalone piece of furniture of high functionality in the entrance hall, at the bed room or whereever there is a need for a stool. The PH Stool is available with brass or wooden legs and upholstered in the finest quality leather in a variety of colours. There is a PH Stool for every room and setting.
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The PH Stool - the perfect union of materials and a very functional sculpture in many settings. Inspired to design a full interior setting with PH furniture as a wedding gift for a young couple in 1920, the PH Stool was presented as part of this collection consisting of wooden furniture pieces with brass legs. Today, the PH Stool is available with either distinctively shaped wooden legs or thin solid brass legs designed to patina beautifully with age. The PH Stool is available upholstered with either green or red lambskin on the front panels. The upholstered leather seat comes in a variety of colours like the other chairs from the PH Furniture Collection. The wooden frame of the PH Stool is available in natural oak, black painted oak or mahogany.
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PH
Office
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PH Productivity If Poul Henningsen was dedicated to improving the home environment of every person in Denmark through his furniture and lighting designs, he was equally committed to doing the same for work spaces. In a world where humans generally spend an increasing amount of time working at desks and tables, PH’s furniture dedicated to ‘work’ and ‘study’ has never been more relevant. These furniture items include for example the PH Office Desk designed in 1935, the PH Cabinet from 1921 as well as the PH Arm Chair that was presented in 1932. Besides, a number of the other PH Furniture pieces can ideally be used in many work environments and reception settings. PH understood that our work environment could be elevated from simply functional with the most basic of desks and furnishings to something that was capable of being truly inspirational. Poul Henningsen’s PH Office Desk is probably the ‘flagship’ of the whole furniture collection and stands out as both a stunning design piece and a very functional desk, which fits perfectly in the home or the office, as a piece of furniture from which to undertake the task of running an empire or simply as a haven at which to read, study or take care of administrative tasks. The PH Office Desk has everything in addition to the unique design - space for display, room for storage and in keeping with Poul Henningsen’s design ethos, it is designed to look visually beautiful from all viewpoints. With PH Furniture, work spaces can become a pleasure to inhabit.
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PH Office Desk
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The PH Office Desk - A Statement of Intention Desks mean different things to different people. For some, they are symbolic: they mean a place to work without distraction. Desks can mean more than that, however, a place of safety, comfort and familiarity, a place to return to after experiences away in an uncertain world. There is a reason why museums celebrating the lives of famous people often display their subject’s workspace. As a viewing audience, we are fascinated by the desk spaces of celebrated individuals, as it gives us an insight in to the mind of their owner. This demonstrates just how significant workspaces are to the outcome of ideas and creativity. A desk is not just a place to complete mundane task but also a place to generate ideas. Albert Einstein famously owned a untidy desk, something he found fundamental to his thought processes. A desk is both a necessity and a luxury – an anchoring protector of ideas, physical and metaphorical. Whilst technological developments have allowed increasingly modern workspaces to become superficially mobile, such advances have not replaced the fundamental need to have a dedicated place to think, to write, to draw, to be creative, to study and to meet. For these reasons, there will always be the need for most of us to have some sort of ‘desk’ for these purposes and as such Poul Henningsen’s office desk design is just as relevant today as it was when it was created in the 1930s. Whether you keep your desk tidy or gloriously chaotic, the PH Office Desk will be your friend and confidante for life.
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Built to higher standards - PH Furniture elevates interiors to a new level of comfort and aesthetics 235
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PH Office Desk - a “Place to call Home” Whether you prefer to have a desk that is a monument to tidiness and order or something that appears a little more ‘lived in’, the Poul Henningsen designed PH Office Desk is ideal. Featuring six swing drawers and one sliding console drawer, there is ample room for the storage of papers, folders and other the accoutrements of working life, so it is possible to work without the distraction of clutter. Like all of Poul Henningsen’s furniture designs, PH’s Office Desk is designed to be viewed from all angles. On the opposite side of the desk to the drawers there are four useful shelves, perfect for storage or display. Formal in appearance, yet welcoming, PH’s desk is highly suitable for use as a reception desk in commercial environments or in private homes: it is a symbol of style and a statement piece that encourages its user to inhabit the creative philosophies of the designer. Conforming to the Bauhaus design philosophies that inspired PH in the 1930s the PH Office Desk is not just elegant but also extremely functional. Beautifully crafted in appearance yet practical in design, symbolic of order and stability but also ideas and creativity, the PH Office Desk will inspire and motivate all those who sit at it. Wherever it is placed, the ‘PH’ in Poul Henningsen’s Office Desk does not just stand for ‘Poul Henningsen’, but also a ‘Place to call Home’. Featuring six swing drawers and one sliding console drawer, the PH Desk provides much space for storage. On the opposite side of the desk to the drawers there are four shelves, perfect for display. PH’s desk design is highly suitable for use as a reception desk in commercial environments or in private homes.
The PH Office Desk is available in a variety of finishes and it comes always with 6 swing drawers and a middle drawer. Pictured here is the “Black Model” with a steel frame of chromed aluminum, a top plate and cabinet parts in black high gloss finish and all drawers covered with the exclusive black lambskin. 238
The Art of Good Living PH Henningsen inspired home - this comfortable house in the heart of Copenhagen is styled with a number of PH Furniture pieces and illuminated with Poul Henningsen designed lighting. Pictured: PH Lounge Table in mahogany finish placed with the PH Pope Chair upholstered in black leather. Also seen: the PH Office Desk and PH Arm Chair upholstered in black leather.
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PH Cabinet
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The PH Cabinet - To Have and To Hold Poul Henningsen, in keeping with Scandinavian design traditions and the Bauhaus influences of the 1930s he would adopt, believed in uncomplicated environments. PH realised that for a home to be truly functional, there must be space for storage. Initially inspired by a commission to create furniture for the apartment of a newly married couple in 1920 and driven by a wider desire to improve the quality of daily life for everyone who owned his designs, PH devoted much thought to addressing the need for tidiness in his furniture creations. PH realised that for a life to be fully lived then possessions are not just a necessity but also a pleasure and a comfort. Whilst PH believed in streamlined interiors, he did not take minimalism to extremes, but rather balanced the concept against day-to-day practicality. Beautiful, strong and powerful of presence yet still light in appearance, the PH Cabinet is intended to be displayed as well as to display. As with PH’s Dressing Table and PH Office Desk designs, the interior of the PH Cabinet is as well constructed and beautifully finished as the outside. The importance of privacy was also considered: the PH Cabinet can be locked in the the same way as the top drawer of the PH Office Desk.
The PH Cabinet pictured with a finish of black painted oak. The PH Cabinet is also available in either natural oak or in the exclusive mahogany finish. 244
The PH Cabinet - A Storage Solution to Covet PH Furniture have realised Poul Henningsen’s twentieth century furniture designs with longevity in mind. Built by carefully selected European manufacturers using the highest quality timber and leather, this is furniture that it designed to last for many, many years. Poul Henningsen understood that inevitably a sense of subconscious intimacy builds between ourselves and the objects that we see and touch every day and this consideration is reflected in not just the superior function of his furniture designs, but also their finish. Given the importance of the relationship people have with their surroundings and the impact this has on their everyday enjoyment of their living spaces, PH sought to ensure that his furniture designs were made of the most luxurious and pleasurably tactile materials as well as being entirely practical. PH’s storage furniture is to have and to hold for now and for many generations ahead. The PH Cabinet is intended to be displayed as well as to display. The PH Cabinet has plentiful room for concealing items in the three compartments and the cover part of the cabinet can be left open in order to make a feature of the things inside. The compartments of the PH Cabinet can be locked. The PH Cabinet is designed in 1921 and each PH Cabinet is being individually numbered.
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Poul Henningsen designed PH Furniture is a cohesive, customisable collection of furniture pieces for luxurious 21st Century contemporary living.
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PH
Arm Chair
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The PH Arm Chair - Armed for Comfort Poul Henningsen was designing extensively in the time of the Bauhaus movement and some of the Bauhaus design principles can also be seen reflected in the many of PH’s creations. The PH Arm Chair features many of the hallmarks of Bauhaus design: it is the embodiment of an item of furniture created firstly for function but with consideration for the importance of form. The simple, linear construction of the Poul Henningsen’s PH Arm Chair, designed by Poul Henningsen in 1932, is a harmony of oblique curves and angular lines that fulfil their function, their combination in themselves is inherently beautiful without the need for superfluous ornamentation. Poul Henningsen’s collection of chair designs from 1932 share many of the same common features that can be regarded as PH’s distinctive signature style. Hallmarks of PH’s chair designs include unusual leg shape and construction, made with the intention of creating a strong base that minimally obstructs the leg room available to the person seated within the chair. For this reason, Poul Henningsen did not generally favour affixing the legs of his chair designs at the four corners of the seat; rather PH preferred to fix the legs under the seat in the centre or in the case of PH’s Snake Stool and the PH Snake Chair, dispense with the necessity for three or four legs entirely. The PH Arm Chair features the same style of legs as the PH Pope Chair. Reminiscent of the roots of a tree, the legs of the PH Arm Chair provide a stability and strength that is refined, unobtrusive and does not distract visually from the body of the chair that it is supporting. The PH Arm Chair appears almost to be floating above the floor, directing the attention to beautifully finished seat that blossoms above it. The base of PH Henningsen’s PH Arm Chair is a reflection of nature itself.
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The PH Arm Chair can be used in a diverse number of environments, both as residential furniture and in commercial situations. This is a chair that is deeply considered and ideal for deep consideration: a supportive vessel in which to comfortably envelope one’s body while thinking, reading, relaxing, when in conversation, when together or alone. It works in the corporate environment, hotel, the lounge, the meeting room, the home study and the hallway. The steel tube framework of each individually numbered PH Arm Chair produced by PH Furniture is precision engineered in Switzerland. The PH Arm Chair can be supplied finished in leather in mocca, black, walnut or indian red or Hallingdal fabric in black or light grey, so it can be realised to suit every interior design setting. Practical, beautiful, timeless and collectible, the PH Arm Chair is an example of the very best of 20th Century furniture design.
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The PH Office Desk and PH Arm Chair - a powerfully successful aesthetic combination
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The PH Arm Chair - invites you to be at ease
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PH Play
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Piano Forever - An Enduring Love Affair Poul Henningsen’s 1930 PH Grand Piano is one of Poul Henningsen’s most globally recognisable designs. Today, the PH Grand Piano is still considered to be as ground-breaking and unconventional as it was in the 1930s: examples of the PH Grand Piano can be found everywhere from an old model at the permanent exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen to exclusive hotels and private residences all over the world. The PH Grand Piano as well as Poul Henningsen’s other piano designs are in production under exclusive licence from the estate of Poul Henningsen. PH Pianos are proud to produce four Poul Henningsen Piano designs: the PH Grand Piano, the PH Bow Grand Piano, The PH Pianette and the PH Upright Piano. They are all unique art pieces and to be considered Danish design classics. There is a wealth of historical evidence that tells us that music has been part of our lives since primitive times. Music is generally a feature at every significant life event: births, marriages and deaths, there is a song for every occasion and a piece of music to accompany every moment in between. Music helps us to socialise, to be alone, to remember and to forget: at every turn music provides us with the soundtrack to our lives. The piano is the sonic chameleon of musical instruments. The ’pianoforte’ was invented over three hundred years ago by Italian Harpsichord maker Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori and since then the piano has evolved from these origins to become a precision engineered tuned percussion instrument that has shaped musical history. From Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic and Classical periods in music to Jazz and the most modern of contemporary clubland Dance music, the one soundscape that is a constant feature of is that of the piano. Poul Henningsen believed that the piano was not just the preserve of the Classical Concert Hall or the Conservatoire, but belonged equally in every setting from the Jazz club to the residential home. The British conductor, John Eliot Gardiner, asks his musicians to think about jazz when they play Bach. Poul Henningsen’s pianos are designed not only for performing Classical music, but rather they are also instruments for the most innovative and “avant-garde” of contemporary classical composers. Across the four Poul Henningsen piano designs, all of them being customisable, there is a PH Piano perfectly suited to every venue or interior setting.
Heavenly Design - the fluid lines of the PH Bow Grand Piano take the aesthetics of this piano to the next level. The brass legs complete the appearance of this carefully crafted fine musical instrument that plays on all senses in life. 262
PH Grand Piano
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The PH Grand Piano is Poul Henningsen’s signature creation, recognised globally as an icon of quintessential Danish design
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The PH Grand Piano - An Investment for the Future Ever the provocateur, in 1930 Poul Henningsen’s Bauhaus inspired design sensibilities lead him to radically redesign the concept of the the ‘traditional’ grand piano. PH saw no reason to hide the beating heart of this musical instrument inside a wooden box, choosing instead to reveal the very core of the instrument to its audience – where he had to cover it, he used the most minimal of transparent celluloid casing. The result was a piano that appeared lighter, less obtrusive and with more organic fluid lines than ever before. Today, the PH Grand Piano is produced to the same design specifications, hand built by Blüthner in Leipzig to ensure this musical instrument has the subtleties of tone and action synonymous with the finest modern pianos in the world today. The PH Grand Piano is not just for performance environments and concert halls. The smaller PH150 is built to the same specifications as the original PH186 PH Grand Piano but is sized for domestic settings. For those who stumbled beyond the basics of piano playing yet wish to enjoy the beauty of the instrument everyday then there is a solution that combines both time-honoured tradition with the best of modernity: a self-player and MIDI recording system fit for the 21st Century. With the QRS PNOMation and PNO Scan technology that can be supplied with the PH Grand Piano the development of a pianist can be tracked by recording the pianist’s piano playing using music industry standard notation software. The PNOMation Self-Player technology also means that the PH Grand Piano can also play by itself, providing perfect entertainment even in the absence of a pianist. The wide variety of music available in the self-playing PNOMation library can be controlled by any wi-fi enabled phone or tablet and is designed to be easily updated as technology evolves, ensuring that it really is future-proof.
The PH Grand Piano is Poul Henningsen’s signature creation, recognised globally as an icon of quintessential Danish design. 266
The metal components of the PH Grand Piano, including the legs, lyra, iron frame, lid and music stand can be supplied in a variety of finishes, while the upholstered banding around the body of the piano is also entirely customisable. In an age where there is an increasing trend towards the automation and computerisation of many aspects of daily life, there are some things however that will remain irreplaceably ‘human’. The desire to beat time on a percussion instrument, to find beauty in simple melodies and more intricate harmonies have become fundamental parts of who we are as people. Of course, as one of the most sophisticated tuned percussion instruments to be invented, the future of the piano is assured. Musical fashions may come and go, but the human love affair with the mechanical instrument that is the piano will likely continue – the PH Grand Piano really is forever.
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The PH Grand Piano is an eye catcher that symbolises solid values - of great design, perfectly executed craftmanship, materials used, functionalism and longevity
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The PH Grand Piano with a titanium colored metal frame, black leather rim and legs in polished aluminum - a very contemporary look, yet understated clean design, focused on clarity and purity music. It still belongs to the future and is an investment that yields joy on daily basis.
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The PH Grand Piano features a distinctive butterfly wing shaped lid. This - like many of PH’s other furniture and piano designs - appears to be in synergy with the natural world.
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The PH Grand Piano in a copper finish - warm, rich and refined. The futuristic PH Grand Piano fits in to any interior setting regardless of historical period.
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Credentials By Bruno d’Espiney, Concert pianist: ‘The PH Grand Piano is the first successful fusion between the high-end visual art and the high-end musical instrument crafted by the most esteemed German piano company, Blüthner, on behalf of PH Pianos. It is the perfect match between a Danish design icon in world class, extremely elegant and timeless and German quality at the highest possible standards. Therefore, the sound quality is as outstanding as the design and reflects all the musical qualities of any Blüthner piano, which is forever my favorite piano to play. The PH Grand Piano is a masterpiece that plays on all senses in life!’
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PH Bow Grand Piano
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The PH Bow Grand Piano - Making Waves Fluid curves redefine the concept of Piano Design
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The PH Grand Piano design is constructed around a lid of four organic flowing ‘waves’ of timber. The lid is reminiscent of the architecture of the Opera House in Sydney, which was designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon. Utzon himself brought with him his own PH Grand Piano (the ‘glass piano’) to Sydney in 1959 when he was working on the Opera House. Pictured here: The PH Bow Grand Piano with a chestnut veneer in high gloss finish. The PH Bow Grand Piano can be ordered with all types of wooden veneer. 283
The PH Bow Grand Piano - Making Waves The Poul Henningsen designed PH Bow Piano is a radical departure from the expectation of how a wooden-cased piano should be presented. It was Poul Henningsen’s innate belief that when designing a piece of furniture form should always follow function and that the practical performance of his creation was of paramount importance. PH also believed that it was possible to redesign many everyday objects and pieces of furniture in such away that not only would they function better but they would also be more aesthetically pleasing. The PH Bow Piano is no exception to this philosophy. The PH Bow Piano eschews the ‘traditional’ piano design that simply boxes the soundboard, action and strings of the piano inside a harshly angled wooden case. PH’s design for a wooden piano case is visually softer, constructed around a lid of four organic flowing ‘waves’ of timber. The piano is supported by three wooden legs that we would now consider to be of classical ‘Mid-Century’ style, angled to be less obtrusive than traditional piano legs that are positioned at a right angle to the body of the instrument. The form of the PH Bow Piano is one of gentle curves and subtle geometry. This fluidity of design creates a sense of intimacy with the piano itself: intimidating sharp lines are broken, creating an instrument that is inviting to touch, to play, to listen to. If the curves of the lid represent the waves of the ocean, then the area around it becomes the beach, a place to appreciate the sonic ebb and flow of piano music, itself so often described as sounding like the flow of water. The deconstructed lines of the PH Bow Piano mirror the iconic PH Lamp, which also features four curved components to make the shade, allowing light to delicately flow through from its core. Poul Henningsen’s signature unique architectural design aesthetic that is fundamental to the PH Lamp is replicated within the construction of the PH Bow Piano. The PH Lamp is designed to create perfect ambient illumination free of shadows and glare, the PH Bow Piano uses this concept to allow sound waves to be evenly distributed from the piano in the same way.
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We see echoes of Poul Henningsen’s aesthetic in later much-celebrated architecture in buildings such as the Sydney Opera House, where Danish architect Jørn Utzon (himself the owner of a Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano) made the association between water, the coast and music, creating a building from geometric concrete shells in the 1950s. Later, Norman Foster would build the Armadillo Building in Scotland, which was inspired by the shape of interlocking ship hulls in the 1990s. The PH Bow Grand Piano is in synergy with ‘deconstructivist’ architectural modernity that is so very relevant today and by designing a piano in this style in the 1920s, we see that Henningsen’s ideas were ahead of their time. The PH Bow Grand Piano is sized to fit comfortably in many home environments as well as public spaces and performance venues. The PH Bow Grand Piano is infinitely customisable and presented in a combination of pale and dark veneer, the PH Bow Grand Piano enhances many diverse interior environments whether they are traditional, mid-century or contemporary in style. The versatility of the PH Bow Grand Piano reflects Poul Henningsen’s values that well-designed, inspiring and beautiful things should be available to everyone.
The PH Bow Grand Piano crafted in a bird’s-eye maple veneer and with handmade “socks” in raw brass on the legs that are carefully cut and shaped as the legs on the PH Circle Table. The PH Bow Grand Piano is the pure essence of inspiring, sensual piano design for music with or without words. 285
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Each piano designed by Poul Henningsen is a piece of art: provoking meaningful, fulfilling and gratifying emotions.
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The PH Pianette - Futuristic Piano Design PH Pianos have launched a new version of the PH Pianette, combining first-class contemporary digital technology with Poul Henningsen’s original 1935 upright piano design. While many contemporary digital pianos have their design roots in the mostly purely functional world of the ‘electronic keyboard’, the PH Digital Pianette is also a stunningly beautiful piece of design to be visually admired. The PH Pianette’s electronical components are concealed within the casing of the piano so the sleek lines of the steel and leather construction remain unbroken. Devoid of visually obtrusive electronics, the PH Pianette is controlled by a smartphone or computer and has no visible control panel. Sleek and minimal, the PH Pianette with digital technology is perfect for those wishing to benefit from the advantages of a digital piano while enjoying the appearance of Poul Henningsen’s signature piano design. Like the other PH Pianos, the PH Pianette represents the fusion of a high-end musical instrument and a piece of art in a format that is suited to even the smallest of rooms. The PH Pianette enhances homes or venues with the unmistakable look of a Poul Henningsen piano without the need to accommodate a full grand piano. Standing at just over 90cm tall and with a width of 140cm, the PH Pianette is small enough to be unobtrusive yet capable of providing a superior performance sonically that makes it suitable for the serious musician or performer for home or studio use. Superb performance capabilities aside, there is another advantage to the digital piano: sometimes when working on new music or when in shared accommodation it is useful to be able to use headphones to practice in private without disturbing those around us: the PH Pianette with digital technology can of course facilitate this. The colour of the leather banding on the PH Pianette can be customised to suit a particular interior setting and each PH Pianette musical instrument is supplied individually numbered. The PH Pianette combines the finest modern audio clarity with vintage early to mid-century style: the PH Pianette is simply one of the most visually attractive and sonically high performing digital pianos and sound systems available on the market today.
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Poul Henningsen design classics create an atmosphere that is about art, entertainment and music. The wide range of Poul Henningsen’s designs in a variety of materials brought together to create art pieces. Displayed here are the PH Stool with wooden legs, the PH Grand Dressing Table with brass legs, the PH Snake Stool and the PH Pianette.
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A pure beauty: the PH Pianettte designed by Poul Henningsen in 1935 is simple and futuristic. Early 20th Century models were crafted with acoustic spinet action, which is today no longer in production, therefore today the timeless and futuristic cabinet design is paired with the latest digital technology.
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PH Upright Piano
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The PH Upright Piano - PH Piano Design For Smaller Spaces Designed in 1939, Poul Henningsen’s PH Upright Piano has the same design hallmarks of its larger counterpart, the PH Grand Piano. Fundamental to the shape of PH’s Upright Piano is a minimal body that is sleek, fluidly shaped and devoid of the hard angles expected of a standard equivalent ‘upright piano’. Today, PH Pianos produce a contemporary version of Poul Henningsen’s PH Upright Piano, perfect for smaller spaces where it is not possible to accommodate a full sized PH Grand Piano or the PH Bow Grand Piano. Each individually numbered PH Upright Piano is produced under exclusive licence from the estate of the late Poul Henningsen and today is built from the same key materials as the PH Grand Piano: stainless steel, wood and the most tactile of leather. The leather banding on the PH Upright Piano is completely customisable, so it is possible to commission a musical instrument that is unique to suit a particular decorative setting. The acoustic sound quality produced by the PH Upright Piano is first-class: it is also a fine musical instrument as well as a beautiful piece of sculpture for the home or venue, eminently capable of enthralling a large audience of people as well as just the pianist alone. The PH Upright Piano is an investment in entertainment pleasure for both now and the future. It is capable to be used as a work tool for the serious musician, as a performance tool for even the most seasoned of performers and as a piece of art for those for whom the look and feel of their home or venue really matters. Designed in the 1930s and as relevant today as almost one hundred years ago, the PH Upright Piano is a classic art-case piano design at its very best.
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The PH Upright Piano - sonic excellence and exceptional style for smaller spaces. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Upright Piano from 1939 is a carefully crafted fine musical instrument with a versatile case. The wooden veneer, leather rim and steel parts can be customised to suit specific interiors settings, just like the other unique pianos designed by Poul Henningsen in the 1930’s.
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PH Grand Piano at the Prestigious Hotel As a supplier of customised fine musical instruments, PH Pianos are always delighted to visit clients following the delivery of their PH Grand Piano, as part of the exemplary levels of service provided to PH Grand Piano owners all over the world. PH Pianos Chief Executive Søren Vincents Svendsen was delighted to visit the Hotel Ambassadori in Tbilisi to meet the hotel owners and management team, along with the PH Grand Piano that is now proudly displayed inside the lobby. The Hotel Ambassadori in Tbilisi is a luxury hotel that promises its guests the best in hospitality, fine dining and cultural experience. The Hotel Ambassadori is one of Tbilisi’s most exclusive hotels, with the ability to offer something to delight every guest: from the finest culinary creations of Japanese, Arabic, European and Asian cuisine, to a spa and casino. Guests can expect so much more than just an extremely comfortable room or suite for the night: regardless of whether staying as part of a business trip or for leisure, they can be certain to leave the Hotel Ambassadori not just well-rested and rejuvenated, but also inspired. Great care has been taken to create an interior and atmosphere at the Hotel Ambassadori that is unique, intriguing and almost-magical. At the centre of the hotel now stands the Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano, a sleek jewel that is as beautiful to look at as it is to listen to. The interior of the Hotel Ambassadori is the perfect fusion of the futuristic and the traditional and the PH Grand Piano is the very embodiment of the well-considered design. The ambience of this hotel perfectly articulates the historical heritage of Georgian Tbilisi and seamlessly converges it with the most contemporary facilities to be found in the finest hotels of the world in the 21st Century, just as the PH Grand Piano is a 1930s Danish design classic that also belongs to the future. The PH Grand Piano is a symbol of the Hotel Ambassadori’s carefully curated modernity. At the Hotel Ambassadori, the PH Grand Piano is fitted with a self-player system, so even when a pianist is not present, the PH Grand Piano serenades the hotel guests from midday until the evening. The PH Grand Piano is an investment in art, design, music and entertainment not just to be enjoyed for the present, but also generations ahead. Each unique PH Grand Piano is manufactured by Blüthner in Leipzig, using the finest materials and the engineering expertise of this esteemed German piano builder. The PH Grand piano is an investment that can be enjoyed in the present yet it is also a tangible asset that will hold value today, tomorrow and for years to come. The PH Grand Piano, a design icon from Denmark first presented in Copenhagen in 1931 is presently finding a place all over the world in the most exclusive hotels, public spaces and private homes - and is now proudly owned by the Hotel Ambassadori in Tbilisi.
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Founder & CEO Søren V. Svendsen visiting the Hotel Ambassadori in Tblisi, Georgia. The PH Grand Piano is with a leather rim in mocca colour. It looks stunning at the reception area and creates a very special atmosphere and ambience.
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Private Residence in California - Built for the PH Grand Piano Nestled deep in the hills near San Diego, sits a privately owned house, recently constructed as a family home in the 21st Century, reminiscent of Alvar Aalto’s 1930s masterpiece of architectural design, Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Finland. Inside of Aalto’s original Villa Mairea there is a space known as the ‘Piano Room’ where Alvar Aalto’s wife Aino Maria Marsio-Aalto (herself an architect and designer) is said to have enjoyed playing the piano in the home of Aalto’s friends and clients Harry and Maire Gullicksen for whom Villa Mairea was created. The piano inside of Villa Mairea is an old Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano produced in 1930s Denmark. PH Pianos were delighted to produce and deliver a new PH Grand Piano that is as close as possible to the PH Grand Piano from the 1930s at Villa Mairea. A similar old model of the PH Grand Piano is also part of the permanent exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark, which is located a short walk from the Home of PH Furniture & Pianos in the heart of Copenhagen. The original Villa Mairea was designed to inspire a variety of delicate sensory experiences - a harmony of gentle curves and tactile materials that create a feeling of lightness flowing throughout the house - and the PH Grand Piano is a perfect reflection of this design ethos. The delicate lid of the PH Grand Piano reminds us of that most ephemeral of creatures - the butterfly, while the refined curve of the piano legs create an illusion that the body of the instrument itself almost appears to float on air. Alvar Aalto’s Villa Mairea was built primarily as a Summer house, designed to be connected closely to nature and the materials used to realise the design are wood, stone and in some areas the steel columns that support the house are finished in wood or bound with rattan. The PH Grand Piano is constructed of celluloid and leather as well as the traditionally expected wood and iron - these softer, more natural materials are used by Poul Henningsen in his piano design in a similar way to Aalto’s wooden strips and rattan are utilised architecturally: to create a structure that sits effortlessly inside an environment that is a reflection of the outdoors. The newly constructed home in San Diego reminds us of Alvar Aalto’s original and now iconic architectural design. The word ‘Aalto’ itself means ‘wave’ in Finnish and so it is a wonderful poetry that this newly created home is now situated in an environment close to the ocean and known for its natural outdoor beauty and that the heart of Poul Henningsen’s piano design continues to beat inside.
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The new PH Grand Piano at a Private Residence in California. Photographer: Yoshihiro Makino.
The old PH Grand Piano together with a PH Snake Stool. Part of the permanent exhibition at the Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen.
An old model of the PH Grand Piano at Alvar Aalto House, Finland.
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Piano Heaven - Art and Music in one Studio David Syre is the creator of artworks that have been exhibited in Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, New York, Nice and Hamburg. In addition to being a prolific artist, who has created a large body of work in the last decade working from his 100 year old farm north of Seattle in the state of Washington, David Syre also finds a connection with music. A few years ago David visited the PH Pianos flagship showroom on Bredgade in Copenhagen, where he discovered the Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano. Immediately smitten, David became the owner of a custom built PH Grand Piano which has since been placed in his Washington studio. David has described how his PH Grand Piano has added to the “Personality” of his farm and considers it simply to be “Piano Heaven.” The PH Grand Piano perfectly complements the philosophy within the artist’s studio – for it is a musical instrument that is also a sculptural work of art and a design piece. A piano that is of such non-conformist, unconventional design and can be presented in bright colours fits perfectly in a working environment that seeks to create progressive art. David Syre’s art encompasses a variety of media; sculpture, acrylic paintings, drawings, and installations, much of which is large-scale. Hallmarks of Syre’s work are bright, vivid colours and an abstract impressionism that includes bold lines, fluid forms, symbols and numbers; Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Salvador Dali are cited as his influences. Key emotions behind Syre’s art include peace, hope, love, and compassion. David Syre’s art has also been exhibited at the Copenhagen Design House and placed together with Poul Henningsen designed pianos in Copenhagen. Syre’s other projects include his “Peace Trail” project, a 150 mile land art trail with stopping points every few miles, enabling travelers to cross the island of Tierra del Fuego at the southern end of South America linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across Argentina and Chile. This pioneering trail – as well has his heartwarming art that connects with the very human soul itself – is David Syre’s legacy to the world.
David Syre sitting in front of his PH Grand Piano at his studio north of Seattle. 313
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Credentials By Ms Roslyn Frantz, Concert pianist: ‘I am a Piano Soloist, Accompanist, Teacher and Music Director, and have travelled many years performing in the United States with my husband and conductor, Gregory Millar. We spent time with the NY Philharmonic and other major city orchestras, but I had never had the pleasure of seeing or hearing these exotic instruments. Playing the PH Grand Piano when visiting the Syre family was a totally unexpected gift and a memorable event in my life. This PH Grand Piano is so sensitive to the touch that I could seemingly play so much more quickly, it had perfect key response and beautiful voicing as well, which is remarkable considering this particular PH Grand piano had never been played before. I knew nothing of these designs, and will treasure this occasion forever.’
David Syre and Søren V. Svendsen at Copenhagen Design House.
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The Music Producer and the PH Grand Piano When Besmir Ismaili recently purchased a house north of Copenhagen for his parents, sister and brothers, it represented a symbol of his achievement as a Music Producer. Besmir’s love and talent for music is a family trait, since his Father is a successful Albanian folk musician who moved with his family to Denmark during the 1990s. Besmir wanted to buy a gift to be appreciated for his Father: his choice was the Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano, which sits in pride of place in the modernist family home, itself a futuristic display of minimalism created from structural glass. PH Pianos were delighted to create a customised PH Grand Piano dedicated to Besmir’s Father that would fit perfectly in the new family home. As a music producer today, Besmir makes music in the Hip Hop genre which is very different from the Albian folk music that he grew up with. What is interesting is that the piano is the foundation of so many diverse genres of music. As one of the most versatile instruments of tuned percussion, it is the piano is the ultimate tool on which to compose melody, harmony and rhythm: regardless of whether those components are ultimately presented in electronic form on a Hip Hop recording or as a live recording on a traditional folk or instrumental album, the fundamentals of creating music remain the same, very often with piano at the core. In Ismaili household, the design icon that is both a symbol of music and a symbol of Denmark - the PH Grand Piano - is enjoyed by everyone and is at the very heart of the family’s beautiful home and creative life. The PH Grand Piano has once again become an investment that yields daily joy and beauty.
Besmir Ismaili and Søren V. Svendsen next to Besmir’s PH Grand Piano. 317
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The PH Bow Grand Piano at the Living Room of the Boutique Hotel The Sanders Hotel in Copenhagen prides itself on not just the smartest of interiors and the most refined service - but also on providing a hotel environment that evokes an intimate and familiar sense of being ‘home from home’. Traditional comforts paired with the best of contemporary service simply never goes out of style. The Sanders Hotel is positioned to be a modern classic that is not just a hotel that is part of a journey but instead represents a memorable destination. Guests are invited to enjoy the best of informal fine dining, the most entertaining of bars and a rooftop conservatory that brings a sense of the ‘outdoors’ inside, however inclement the weather. Every room in the Sanders Hotel is decorated to be individual, emphasising its boutique feel. Decorated with carefully curated artwork and a short walk away from the Royal Danish Theatre and the parts of Copenhagen steeped in rich history, this is a hotel that feeds the senses with art, architecture and culture. The lobby at the Sanders Hotel is referred to as the ‘Living Room’, a phrase that itself conjures imagery of a cosy, welcoming and relaxing home and this is where you will find the Poul Henningsen designed PH Bow Grand Piano. The PH Bow Grand Piano was first created in the 1937 and is now carefully produced to Poul Henningsen’s original specification. The PH Bow Grand Piano is constructed of fluid curves and lines synonymous with classic Mid-Century design: it is a piano that appears sensual, approachable and tactile. The organic form of the PH Bow Grand Piano with its warm, wooden veneers and its even distribution of sound does not dominate the environment in which it sits, but rather quietly invites its audience to gather and relax around it. The PH Bow Grand Piano gently soundtracks the Sanders Hotel, creating a warm and welcoming ambience, the type that is ‘of the moment’: the magic of a live musical performance is in its transience, every moment appears to suspend time. The Sanders Hotel in Copenhagen understands that the experience of every guest will be unique, but nevertheless strives for one thing - and that is that they are all timelessly special and memorable: the PH Bow Grand Piano helps them to achieve that very thing.
The PH Bow Grand Piano at the exclusive Boutique Hotel Sanders in the heart of Copenhagen and located just behind the Royal Theatre. This beautiful model of the PH Bow Grand Piano is made with the exclusive wooden veneer of Burl Oak. 321
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The PH Grand Piano and the Composer As a contemporary classical composer making solo piano music, of course I have had the opportunity to play on many different pianos over many years. The first time I encountered the Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano it was completely unexpected. I visited a Blüthner showroom to find a piano for a music video I was making. I needed to source a piano that would look great in the video and captivate the imagination of my audience. Among the sea of beautifully crafted pianos in the Blüthner shop there was one piano that immediately caught my attention: a piano unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was, of course, the PH Grand Piano. As a writer and performer of solo piano music, the piano itself is the only tool I use in recording and performance to tell a story and convey all of the required emotional nuances. The piano that I play is more than just an instrument: I use the piano how an opera singer uses their voice. The piano becomes an extension of my body: together, the piano and I are ‘as one’. So for me, selecting a piano is to choose a vital part of my artistic identity. Looking back, I think I was drawn to the PH Grand Piano because its appearance and design in many ways reflects who I feel I am as an artist . I am not a rigid in my artistic ideas or performance. When I am making new music, often I look at the way ‘things have always been done’ and then I purposely do something very different, as for me it’s a good method of finding the starting point of the journey towards positive creative innovation. There is still so much wonderful progressive music yet to be created using just the simple eighty-eight keyed piano. The fluid lines and open construction of the PH Grand Piano are in synergy with the type of piano music I create and my artistic processes: it is a piano design that is freely different. I have spent many hours playing the PH Grand Piano in a number of performance environments and the PH Grand Piano differs from more traditionally designed grand pianos. The real joy of using the PH Grand Piano in a performance setting is that its very design assists with breaking down the barrier between the ‘pianist’ and the ‘audience’.
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Alice Thompson and three different pianos designed by Poul Henningsen.
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When I play the PH Grand Piano I am sitting behind a piano that is aesthetically minimal beyond the essentials of keyboard, action, strings and soundboard, so its physical presence is subtle, as well as of refined and exquisite beauty. Through the transparent lid of the PH Piano I have full visibility of the audience while playing the instrument – I am able to make eye contact with the people anywhere around the piano and my listeners can also see me without restriction, wherever they are seated. I find that with the PH Grand Piano I am able to create a sense of intimacy and ‘togetherness’ between myself and my audience incredibly easily. I believe that one of the most wonderful things about being an artist and a musician is having the opportunity to connect with people through music and to create a musical ‘experience’ that brings something life-enhancing to my listeners: the design of the PH Grand Piano definitely facilitates this. For me, everything in relation to the production of my art is driven by emotion. My piano recordings and performance are about a reflection of experiences, thoughts and feelings and of making something beautiful from them that has the capacity to move listeners emotionally in some way: to achieve this effectively requires a piano that performs with precision. The PH Grand Piano has a wonderfully responsive action that makes it possible to deliver a really measured, sensitive performance that means I am completely in control of how the piano is going to sound. The piano as an instrument has been on of the great loves of my life since I was a small child and I now consider it to be an indelible, fundamental component of my identity…there is a relationship with the piano that continues to inspire me as I evolve as an artist: the piano is my true muse. I have always felt that art, entertainment and music are part of ‘the good stuff of life’ and for me, my ability to entertain is inextricably intertwined with the musical instrument I play. To be a composer and musician professionally and to soundtrack the lives of my listeners is a privilege and responsibility: I want to give my audience the most wonderful musical experience I am capable of delivering and an instrument of the quality of the PH Grand Piano is fundamental to achieving this. Through the open, minimal design and superior engineering of the PH Grand Piano it is possible to create a vivid experience of piano music that is of sonic and visual excellence.
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When Poul Henningsen designed the PH Grand Piano in the 1930s he observed that traditional pianos appeared to be played ‘inside their packaging’, since the soundboard and strings of pianos had come to be encased inside a ‘wooden box’ that was not removed when the piano was played. PH was keen to ‘unbox’ the piano and reveal the core of the instrument inside. The result is a piano that allows its audience to be even closer to hearing the piano’s voice directly from the soundboard, while visually appreciating the mechanism of the instrument itself – there is literally more to see and experience. There is something about Poul Henningsen’s piano designs that draw people in, setting people free to play music and experience music in a very liberated, unconstrained way. The design philosophy of PH Pianos facilitate the production of music that can be enjoyed by many and as a result, this also encourages music itself to evolve. At least some of what is considered musically ‘new’, ‘nouveau’ and ‘experimental’ in the present will doubtless stand the test of time to become what will be thought of as the ‘classics’ of the future. Poul Henningsen’s customisable piano designs look decoratively at ease in so many diverse situations and I think this may ultimately assist more people to discover and experience piano music in smaller and more unconventional venues and homes, as well as traditional performance settings. I compose and play music through instinct: through experimenting with rhythms, melodies and harmonies. For me, the drive to create something sonically beautiful using the piano comes from within – in that sense, music to me is innate. The PH designed Grand Piano is completely in synergy with this way of thinking, as the design has stripped away all of the ‘furniture’ aspect of the piano, leaving only what is necessary: bringing both the composer, pianist and listener ever closer to the core of the instrument. The PH Piano is egalitarian in design: representing inspiration, freedom and progression in music. Poul Henningsen believed that well designed things should be enjoyed by Everyone: the PH Grand Piano is the ultimate expression of this.
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My PH Chair When is a chair ‘not just a chair’? A chair becomes less of an inanimate piece of furniture and begins to feel like an essential ‘part of the family’ when it enters our homes and becomes an unspoken part of every day life. If our homes are our ‘castles’, then the furniture that we see, touch and smell everyday slowly becomes a collection of familiar and comforting defences against the pressures of the outside world. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Chair arrived in my home about a one year ago, a gift from the dearest of friends. Unsure where to position it at first, eventually the PH Chair was found a place next to my desk. I had not particularly expected to actually sit in this chair a great deal and I perceived it as more of a ‘decorative item’, but very quickly my attitude towards it changed. The PH Chair - carefully crafted and exquisitely finished - has its roots in the 1930s and the era of the Bauhaus movement. While its form is something wonderful to behold, the possibility for it to perform as a useful and functional everyday object is something I have since eminently discovered, as would be expected from a piece of furniture from this period in design history. Sometimes I use my PH Chair as a desk chair, sometimes as a dining chair and sometimes it represents a place to simply sit and to think. Architects and Archaeologists ‘read’ the history of a building by examining construction techniques used and structural qualities, noting and observing changes that have happened over time. It is definitely possible to read about my life through the furniture I have in my home in just the same way. When I bought a sofa for my first home at the age of twenty-one, I honestly had never expected that I would still own it many years later - the future was a phase in time that I could not imagine - and yet it is so. I have every reason to believe that in the decades ahead I will regard my PH Chair in the just the same way.
Alice Thompson standing behind her PH Chair. Photographer: Alice Thompson 329
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Already the leather of my PH Chair has begun to acquire a gentle and charming patina of ‘age’. As I have gained new lines on my face in the last year, my PH Chair has acquired beautiful creases of character. Now I feel that I could definitely pick my PH Chair out of a crowd of them. Already I feel a bond with this piece of furniture, it has lived with me through a significant chapter of my life. This chair no longer represents something transient - I expect to find myself interacting with this chair on a daily basis when we are both even older and our respective bodies are even more ‘lived in’ than they already are. Of course the furniture that we grow and ‘grow up’ with becomes an important part of the narrative of our lives, so choosing carefully the furniture that becomes part of our homes (and with longevity in mind) is so very important. Plato’s ‘Theory of Forms’ argued that physical objects cannot be ‘ideal forms’ as there cannot be a perfect representation of ‘form’ in the real world, but in the context of my contemporary life the PH Chair definitely comes close to what may be considered to be a ‘perfectly formed chair’. My PH Chair will join the collective of such meaningful furnishings and objects which represent the very framework of my own unique and very real world. It is my observation that whether in our most desperate of times, in our moments of glory or just during the ups-and-downs of the plain old ‘everyday’, the people and things we as humans often grasp for and subconsciously value the most are the people and things who are simply always there for us. Whatever my mood, whatever the situation, I have come to think of my PH Chair as a ‘something’ that will always be there: I do not think that I will ever let it go.
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The PH Grand Piano at The Scandinavian Located twenty-five minutes north of Copenhagen, The Scandinavian provides world class golf facilities across thirty-six holes designed by Bruce Charlton, lead designer at Robert Trent Jones Architects. Set in two hundred hectares of forest, The Scandinavian is a tranquil oasis of calm. The club is home to a clubhouse, restaurant and guest house in addition to the exceptional landscape and golf courses. Henning Larsen Architects envisioned the award-winning design for the clubhouse at The Scandinavian. The clubhouse offers stunning views over both golf courses and houses an extensive collection of contemporary art, including works by Ai Weiwei, Yoshitomo Nara, Ugo Rondinone, Franz West and Sterling Ruby. The clubhouse at The Scandinavian is also home to another piece of fine art: a Poul Henningsen designed PH Grand Piano. The PH Grand Piano is simply the perfect musical instrument to complement the carefully curated setting inside this unique venue. The PH Grand Piano delivers far more than piano music of the purest sonic clarity: the sculptural form of the PH Grand Piano is a reflection of both the clean lines and the striking geometric angles of the building in which it is located. The PH Grand Piano’s translucent lid and minimal structure ensures that the piano enhances the spectacular views from the building rather than obscuring them, while the tactile materials used to construct the PH Grand Piano are in synergy with those that are part of the wider interiors scheme. As one of Europe’s finest luxury golf clubs, The Scandinavian extends a sense of warm hospitality to its members and their guests and the presence of the PH Grand Piano proudly sets the tone.
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A Piece of Art in the Heart of Hong Kong Following the visit of a family from Hong Kong to the Home of PH Pianos in the centre of Copenhagen during the Winter holiday season, PH Pianos were delighted to deliver a customised PH Grand Piano to the private residence of the family in Hong Kong. Supplied complete with a self player system, the family’s new PH Grand Piano can be used to entertain guests to the exclusive home overlooking the Hong Kong skyline, as well as for the pleasure of its new owners’ piano playing. The Danish design icon, the PH Grand Piano looks stunning in such an exquisite setting!
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PH Furniture & Pianos The Revival of Poul Henningsen Design Classics Copyright © 2020 by ToneArt Editor: Søren Vincents Svendsen Authors: Søren Vincents Svendsen, Alice Thompson Art Direction, Layout and Picture Editing: Tom Nybroe, Lars Nybroe Photography: Reinis Hofmanis, Tom Nybroe, Ben Benoliel, Laura Vintere Set Design: Feja.lv ISBN 978-87-971958-0-2 First published in 2020 by ToneArt Printed and bound in Latvia by Livonia Print All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ToneArt A/S info@phpianos.com www.phpianos.com ToneArt Interior ApS info@phfurniture.com www.phfurniture.com Bredgade 6, 1260 Copenhagen K, Denmark +45 3333 0633
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ISBN 978-87-971958-0-2
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