Description

This table SOLD for $1090 in July 2020 (during the 2nd Melbourne Lockdown) to a regular iNVISeDGE customer in Melbourne!

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The matching EIGHT hand-sculpted Blackbean chairs are listed SEPARATELY. OFFERS OVER $3700 for this full suite (the table & 8 matching chairs) will take precedence over any other offers. We’ve decided to put this suite under offer because the 8 matching chairs in Blackbean are extremely rare (and special) and we’re open to the possibility of splitting up the suite. SORRY SOLD! Full suite SOLD for significantly MORE than the reserve price.

This suite is being sold UNDER CONSIGNMENT from East BRISBANE. I personally inspected this suite and took these photos myself. Interstate freight to MELBOURNE was arranged through one of our preferred furniture carriers for $300 (just for the table).

Background Info and Provenance

Description written in 2020

A dining table lovingly HANDCRAFTED by DQF (Danish Quality Furniture) in Brisbane back in the early 1960’s. This suite is up there with the best furniture ever made in Australia. In my opinion, it easily exceeds the QUALITY of Parker Furniture. Crafted from Blackbean, this timber is recognised for its beautiful figuring and grain but its beauty is a small part of the appeal- it’s also incredibly strong and resilient. This makes it harder for craftsmen to shape but allows fine, slender frames to be crafted that structurally fare better over the years compared to timbers more commonly used in Australian mid-century furniture at the time.

I like this table MORE than the extension tables made at the same time. Yes, extension tables are obviously more practical but … are they really? If this table is the size that will fit in your space, I don’t think an extension table is going to help you much. This table can seat 8 (or squeeze in 10) unextended! This table was CUSTOM-MADE by DQF for the previous owner’s space back in the 1960’s and I understand why they had it specifically made. Virtually all tables from this era are extension tables- the benefits of the extension (if you have the space to accommodate it) come at the expense of looks. The whole point of Danish furniture is its understated elegance and refined beauty. This table pairs with Danish chairs a lot better than tables with an extension. The undercarriages of extension tables are “messy”. The extension pieces also become a different tone to the rest of the table over time (because they normally have to be put away under the table)- the whole look is compromised. The simplicity of this piece on the other hand screams at you. I love the more-pronounced curves particularly in the top and the figuring of the Blackbean timber in this one. There’s a lot of figuring in this timber but it’s still refined. The artisans carefully chose a timber that wasn’t too elaborate. They were careful to give the table an element of interest via the timber but they haven’t compromised on the elegant simplicity of the piece.

Looks aside, this table has everything else going for it. Durability tick gets an obvious tick. Even practicality gets a tick. This table is slightly wider than normal tables of the era. It’s only about 16 cm wider but this extra width means you can squeeze in 10 people around if you have to (you can squeeze 2 chairs in at each end if you’re having a family get-together or you’re happy to get a bit closer to your guests… Perhaps not during these strange times but this “Pandemic” won’t last forever!) Regular Parker extension tables only get in 10 when extended anyway.

DQF were renowned for producing the finest quality modern-style furniture made in Queensland. Not much of it has found its way outside Queensland because most is tightly held onto by its owners. (This is only the second time this suite has hit the secondary market since it was made. You’d be hard-pressed to find anything better in Australia (even in the Danish stores in Melbourne). I personally much prefer having Australian vintage furniture in my home- I am inspired by what Australians achieved at the time. We are not the “country bumpkins” often typecast by the rest of the world and work like this proves it. Australian furniture from all eras (particularly from the 1940’s to 80’s) is just as good as what was happening anywhere else in the world (just on a smaller scale because of our smaller population).

I want to add one more thing (please skip this paragraph if you’re getting bored, but I think it’s one of the most important paragraphs). DQF is the achievement of Erik and Inga Petersen, the parents of a Danish family who left Europe because of WWII. In 1958 the family bought a property in Bulimba and installed their Danish machinery and tools underneath their home. This is yet another business that started in someone’s garage. Word quickly got out that this business was creating the most beautiful Danish-style furniture Brisbane had ever seen so the family had to build a shed in their backyard to accommodate their fledgling business. (Bloody Council would never allow that these days!) Orders flooded in and the family built their first factory in Murrarie (in 1963). To me DQF furniture is more than just a piece of furniture- it’s a symbol that something can be created from supposedly nothing if we keep centred. This furniture was created by an immigrant family battling to carve out an existence in a foreign country but there is no feel of desperation in their work- their craft portrays the sheer opposite- a feeling of centredness and one-pointed focus.

This table ticks every box- most importantly the investment appeal box. This table will retain its value (at least) while you get to enjoy it in your home. (I can’t see it ever ending up as landfill- it’s already 50 years old and look at it!) Investing in vintage furniture is not only the smartest financial furniture investment you can make but the best investment for the future of our planet- valuing what we already have is our only way out of this mess. Plus, you’re supporting Australian industry- by valuing this table you might prompt someone local to make furniture in Australia again but you’re also supporting iNVISeDGE which is run completely by locals- we keep various small family-run Australian businesses prospering. It’s a win-win for everybody AND for our environment.

2007