Swedish Rustic Triangular Side Table in Pine, 1970s

A modernist pinewood table with a triangular tabletop resting on three rustic legs. Handcrafted in Sweden in the 1970s. The shape and, not least, the choice of material are typical of Swedish design from this period. Pine is a common tree in Sweden, found in forests all over the country. Modernist architects in the 1940s and ’50s often preferred more exclusive types of wood, creating chairs and tables crafted from rosewood, mahogany, and teak. But in reaction to this, some designers started using pinewood, a material traditionally used in peasant society for creating everything from furniture and tableware to houses. Axel-Einar Hjorth used pinewood for his “Sportstugemöbler” as early as the 1920s, and the material experienced a revival in the 1970s when rustic furniture started replacing the elegant and exclusive pieces produced in earlier decades.