Bodil Kjær – Danish mid-20th-century architect and professor – once designed an iconic, extensive range of furniture for both indoor and outdoor use. In 2019, this is coming back.
The clean and precise furniture series, aptly titled Indoor-Outdoor was developed in dialogue with the surrounding architecture of Denmark. The much loved and heralded collection of Bodil Kjær is back in 2019 thanks to Carl Hansen & Son.
Throughout her diverse career, Bodil Kjær has worked to create ultimate harmony between design and architecture. In 1959, this ambition resulted in the elegant indoor/outdoor furniture series characterised by highly functional and aesthetic qualities.
For Bodil Kjær, designing has always been about the dialogue between architecture and the belief that furniture should be balanced with its environment. In many cases, her designs are linked to specific projects, fulfilling a need for strong aesthetic and functional interplay between buildings, spaces, and interiors. This was the case with Indoor-Outdoor.
“Indoor-Outdoor was designed for modernist spaces and for weather conditions that are very similar to those in Denmark,” says Knud Erik Hansen, Carl Hansen & Son CEO “At the same time, the designs bring together the best of Scandinavian and international design traditions.
“The furniture has a clear identity, an evident simplicity, and is based on high-quality materials and superior craftsmanship. For all these reasons, it makes very good sense to add Bodil Kjær’s sophisticated furniture series to our collection.”
Comprising a lounge chair, small table, dining table and chair, a two-seater lounge sofa, a swing sofa, and a sunbed, the newly relaunched Indoor-Outdoor series is now available in a beautiful solid teak – a material that ages beautifully as time goes on, as well as being highly durable for outdoor use.
Radiating warmth and designer precision, the Indoor-Outdoor series has an elegantly clear form inspired by the cubist idiom. The lounge chair’s inclined, slatted seat and back are stretched between two squares formed by armrests, legs and runners that are mortised together – a detail requiring great skill and craftsmanship. The tables, lounge sofa, swing sofa and dining chair within the series feature the same geometric principle, and the sunbed has a continuous slatted seat and an adjustable back.
The newly relaunched collection is a brilliant reminder of the inspired designer Bodil Kjær is, and a wonderful opportunity for Australians so embrace some iconic Danish design.
The Indoor-Outdoor collection from Carl Hansen & Son is proudly distributed in Australia from Cult.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The new range features slabs with warm, earthy palettes that lend a sense of organic luxury to every space.
The undeniable thread connecting Herman Miller and Knoll’s design legacies across the decades now finds its profound physical embodiment at MillerKnoll’s new Design Yard Archives.
For Aidan Mawhinney, the secret ingredient to Living Edge’s success “comes down to people, product and place.” As the brand celebrates a significant 25-year milestone, it’s that commitment to authentic, sustainable design – and the people behind it all – that continues to anchor its legacy.
Arper expands its outdoor offer by re-engineering some of its most recognisable indoor pieces for life outside.
AHEC’s KEEP exhibition at Cult Sydney sees six Australian architects craft lasting furniture pieces, on view until 4th October.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Arper expands its outdoor offer by re-engineering some of its most recognisable indoor pieces for life outside.
Collingwood pulsed with energy at Saturday Indesign 2025, where talks, launches and activations spilled from showrooms into the streets.
Hogg & Lamb’s Albion Bathhouse has been awarded The Health & Wellbeing Space at the INDE.Awards 2025. The project reimagines the contemporary bathhouse as an immersive architectural journey – one that restores balance through atmosphere, materiality and mindful design.