This is a continuation of the product spotlight series in which one member of the team covers a design of their choosing! We hope to break down design in a way that is digestible and focused and tell the story of just how your favorite lounge chair or table made its way from a designers sketch to our showroom. And if you’d ever like to see a particular product featured, please let us know. This week, one of our design sales associates, Taylor, is up to speak about a lovely Carl Hansen outdoor piece!

The BK11 Lounge Chair by Carl Hansen

The BK11 Lounge Chair is the perfect fit for a relaxing and functional outdoor space, and there's no better time to appreciate leisure than in the heat of summer. I wish I could spend the day taking in the rays while being supported by the clean lines of this solid teak frame. The BK 11 is an avid sunbather's dream chair, especially with the addition of the comfy cushion!

Wood fact: teak is an ideal material for outdoor furniture due to its natural properties to withstand warm environments and keeps its shape in comparison to other solid woods. The whole BK collection is even a part Carl Hansen's Quick Ship Program, which means it can get to you in time for some summer fun, or if you're lucky to have warm weather all-year-round!

The BK Collection was created by the great Danish designer Bodil Kjær in 1956 when she realized the lack of beautiful outdoor furniture. Using her background in interior architecture and design she created the stunning series we still can't get enough of. Kjær says of the collection, "I designed it because I wondered, why have two sets of furniture? Why not make it in a quality you can use indoors and out?"

Some of the early samples from the collection were tested by being left on a porch facing the Atlantic Ocean, exposed to wind, sun, salt, snow and fog! And early on, Head of Architecture at Harvard, Jose Luis Sert, designed the Sherman Student Union building at Boston University and specified the furniture for indoor as well as outdoor use.

Bodil Kjær traveled the world not only for inspiration in her work but to gain a fuller understanding of materials and techniques to take her designs to the next level. Sculptural or artistic creations were never her aim, but instead she employed functional, economic, and aesthetic solutions to design – that could only be accomplished by thinking about design democratically and confidently. Kjær says she's always on the side of the "user" and views furniture as elements of architecture.

“I’ve always known my own mind.” - Bodil Kjaer

If you're local, Kjær has been hired for many Massachusetts-based projects like an upholstery series designed for Boston’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Building and Harvard University, and commissions for MIT.

If you want to learn more about the BK Collection or have any questions, please feel free to reach out here. And if you haven't visited our new showroom, check out what's new and plan a trip!