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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Behind the Designer: Henning Kjærnulf</strong></h2>
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<p>Few designers managed to walk the line between tradition and modernity as masterfully as <strong>Henning Kjærnulf</strong>. Working primarily in mid-20th-century Denmark, Kjærnulf created furniture that stood apart from the stark minimalism of his contemporaries - embracing <strong>ornament, craftsmanship, and sculptural form</strong> without ever losing sight of function. His work feels grounded in history, yet surprisingly fresh - an elegant reminder that modernism can be expressive, not just reductive.</p>
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<p>Born in Denmark in 1928, Henning Kjærnulf came of age in the golden era of Danish design, but his creative instincts led him in a different direction than the more reserved aesthetics of Børge Mogensen or Arne Jacobsen. Trained as a cabinetmaker, Kjærnulf deeply understood material and joinery - but where others stripped design down, he leaned into the <strong>bold, the carved, and the richly detailed</strong>. His furniture carries echoes of Baroque and Renaissance forms, reinterpreted through a clean Danish lens.</p>
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<p>Perhaps his most iconic works are the <strong>razorblade dining chairs</strong> - named for their sharply carved backrests that resemble the edge of a blade. These chairs are both graphic and graceful, with a strong silhouette that feels almost architectural. Paired with solid oak or teak dining tables, they bring a level of texture and character rarely seen in the clean lines of mid-century Scandinavian design.</p>
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<p>But Kjærnulf was no mere revivalist. His ability to balance heavy forms with lightness - both visually and structurally - reveals a deep sensitivity to proportion and environment. His <strong>tables, cabinets, and high-back armchairs</strong> are robust, yet never bulky. His use of carving is always intentional, never excessive. And his pieces were often produced in richly grained Danish oak or pine, giving them a tactile presence that rewards close inspection.</p>
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<p>Kjærnulf’s work was manufactured by a range of Danish cabinetmakers throughout the 1960s and 70s, including Nyrup Møbelfabrik and EG Kvalitetsmøbler. While never a celebrity designer in his lifetime, his work has endured - and is now being rediscovered by collectors and designers looking for pieces with both historical gravitas and sculptural impact.</p>
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<p>Today, Kjærnulf’s furniture feels remarkably current. As interiors shift away from total minimalism and toward a <strong>warmer, more expressive material language</strong>, his carved wood pieces fit seamlessly into contemporary homes. They add character, depth, and a sense of story - a tactile link to both craft and culture.</p>
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<p>At <strong>Design Preowned</strong>, Henning Kjærnulf’s work is especially meaningful. His furniture exemplifies the kind of heirloom-quality design that benefits profoundly from restoration. Many of his pieces arrive at our workshop with decades of wear - aged oak softened by use, joints loosened with time, surfaces dulled by light. But under all of that is structure, intention, and soul. With care, we bring that soul forward again.</p>
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<p>Our restoration of Kjærnulf’s designs focuses on honoring his original craftsmanship: <strong>re-oiling the grain to bring back contrast, reinforcing joinery without altering the silhouette, and preserving carved details with minimal intervention</strong>. We aim not to erase time, but to refine it - allowing each piece to continue its life with renewed purpose.</p>
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<p>For Edward Gubi and the team at Design Preowned, Kjærnulf’s work serves as a powerful reminder that great design is not always the most famous - sometimes, it’s the most distinctive. In a world of flat-pack predictability, his chairs, tables, and cabinets bring back the feeling of human touch, of carved intention, of time made tangible.</p>
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<p>Henning Kjærnulf’s pieces are not just functional - they are expressive forms of <strong>applied sculpture</strong>, built for use but never at the expense of personality. They remind us that modernism didn’t have to be minimal - it could be <strong>majestic</strong> too.</p>
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<p>And at Design Preowned, we’re proud to carry that majesty forward - restoring it, recontextualizing it, and placing it back where it belongs: <strong>in real spaces, with real people, for generations to come</strong>.</p>
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