Brand Stories: Fredericia
I'm excited to share a little about Fredericia, one of the great brands we carry here at Ökenhem. Founded in 1911, Fredericia is a Danish furniture company with a collection that includes some of the most recognizable pieces in Scandinavian design. Its chairs, sofas, and tables span generations of designers, from Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner, and Nanna Ditzel to Space Copenhagen and Jasper Morrison.
From chair factory to Danish Modern icon
Fredericia began as Fredericia Stolefabrik, or Fredericia Chair Factory. Its early production focused on well-made furniture in traditional styles. A turning point came in 1955, when Andreas Graversen acquired the company and began the partnership with Børge Mogensen that would shape its direction for decades.
Mogensen brought a practical understanding of furniture and a precise eye for proportion. Together, he and Graversen developed pieces that helped define Danish Modern: comfortable, carefully constructed furniture with a clear purpose. Fredericia remains family-owned, produced in Denmark, and those early designs continue alongside work by later generations.
The designers and the pieces
Børge Mogensen's Spanish Chair, designed for Fredericia in 1958, is a good place to start. Its solid wood frame, wide arms, and saddle leather give it a substantial presence. I love to see people's reaction to this chair in our showroom. It's just beautiful. You can see how it works: leather stretched across the frame, secured with buckles, with straps that can be tightened as the leather stretches through use. Everything so well thought out.
The J39 chair is another well-known design. Mogensen designed it in 1947 for FDB, the Danish consumers' co-operative. It pairs a straightforward wooden frame with a woven paper cord seat and has been in continuous production for more than 75 years. Fredericia makes it today, and it is still used in homes, restaurants, and public institutions. Its slim proportions and useful simplicity explain much of that staying power.
Nanna Ditzel brought another sensibility to Fredericia. Her 1993 Trinidad chair was inspired by decorative fretwork she saw in the colonial architecture of Trinidad. The cutouts in its curved back let light pass through and cast patterned shadows. You can see that treatment in the Trinidad Chair.
More recent collaborations expand the collection further. Space Copenhagen's Swoon Dining Chair brings rounded upholstery and an enveloping shape to the table, while the studio's Spine Lounge Chair combines upholstered comfort with a more defined wooden structure.
Materials that are part of the design
In Fredericia's furniture, the grain of the wood, the weave of a seat, and the way an upholstered surface meets its frame all show in the finished piece. Materials help determine both its appearance and how it feels to use.
The Spanish Chair makes that especially clear. Its leather seat and back are replaceable, and the adjustable straps allow for changes as the material ages. These are practical details that support a long working life. Fredericia also publishes care guides covering wood, leather, upholstery, and paper cord.
Fredericia in the desert Southwest
I can easily picture a Spanish Chair in a desert home, with its oak frame and leather sitting comfortably against plaster, stone, or concrete. Those materials make sense together. But there are so many gems in the Fredericia collection that would work well here. I love that Fredericia has pieces that can live solidly in a textbook modern space, as well as items that cross over through various styles.
Why we carry it
When I was in college studying design, I had a textbook full of iconic chairs. Many of those chairs are produced by Fredericia. The Fredericia showroom in Copenhagen is a delight with a terrace patio that has a view of the city that is just beautiful. Being able to walk that showroom and see the pieces from my textbooks in real life is amazing. I'm so happy to bring them to this region. It's a pinch me moment to be able to share them with you. If you are choosing a dining table, chair, a lounge chair, or a sofa, bring your room's dimensions and a few photos to the showroom. We can look at wood finishes, leathers, and upholstery together, and order pieces we do not have on the floor.
Shop the full Fredericia collection
