Jens Risom Walnut and Chrome Writing Desk

A walnut and chrome writing desk by Jens Risom for Howe Furniture, his characteristic restraint rendered in warm wood and polished steel.

DESIGNER: Jens Risom

PERIOD: Mid-20th Century, c. 1970s

CATEGORY: Furniture

MATERIALS: Walnut, chrome-plated steel

DIMENSIONS: 60ʺW × 24ʺD × 29ʺH

CONTEXT: Jens Risom, born in Copenhagen in 1916, was among the first designers to introduce Scandinavian sensibility to the American market, training alongside Hans Wegner and Børge Mogensen before emigrating to New York in 1939. After his foundational collaboration with Knoll, Risom established his own firm in 1946, later expanding into contract and office furniture — the context in which this desk was produced for Howe Furniture. The design is characteristic of his mature work: a clean walnut top with a single flush drawer, on tubular chrome legs that clip the apron at each corner, keeping the form both structural and weightless.