Hästens is known globally as one of the best makers of exquisite beds, but now the Swedish company has made its first foray into furniture, with a series of storage benches and nightstands by design duo Bernadotte & Kylberg. Produced in collaboration with furniture workshop Tre Sekel, the collection draws inspiration from Hästens’ distinctive white and blue chequered motif, rendered on the wooden furniture through hand-laid ash and walnut intarsia patterns.
Hästens furniture by Bernadotte & Kylberg
The ‘Appaloosa’ bench in ash wood
This is the Swedish duo’s second collaboration with Hästens, following a 2017 collection of two bed designs, dubbed ‘Appaloosa’ and ‘Marwari’, which abstracted the luxury bedmaker’s blue check through the lens of cubism. ‘Our departure point was what we most associate with Hästens: a total unwillingness to compromise when it comes to quality and detail,’ says designer Oscar Kylberg. ‘Design is so much more than colour and shape. It is also about sustainability – creating timeless products of high quality in a well thought-out way.’
Detail of the hand-laid walnut intarsia patterns on the ‘Marwari’ bench
Each piece follows Hästens’ own commitment to quality in design and manufacturing. The bench features a soft-closing lid concealing generous storage and a divided drawer that glides sideways for practical access. Slim and smart, the bedside table is a compact storage piece featuring a soft-closing door and a drawer. Each piece is available in ash (‘Appaloosa’) and walnut (‘Marwari’), and the collection’s distinctive motifs are enriched by a special attention to detail, such as drawers that are hand-fitted with visible dovetail joints and lined in leather.
‘Our relationship with Hästens is based on mutual respect and acceptance of each other's wishes and thoughts,’ adds Kylberg. ‘Creating the furniture allowed us the opportunity to work with the pattern we made for Hästens in a new way – it’s always exciting to get to work with new forms.’
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