Happy Belated Birthday

Celebrate four decades of masterful Danish design at Copenhagen Contemporary Furnishings

Ever get that sinking feeling that you missed something important? Well, that was us this weekend as we drove past Copenhagen’s Scottsdale showroom and saw that a birthday celebration was in full swing. 

Yes, it’s been 40 years since Tony Christensen and Erik Hansen opened the first Copenhagen Imports furniture showroom in Phoenix. Back then, Modern home décor was considered too sleek, too cosmopolitan for our tiny little cow town. Sure, a sprinkling of local Modernists such as Ralph Haver and Alfred N. Beadle were doing their thing, while Goodmans had already introduced local office drones to a dapper fellow named Herman Miller. But if you wanted to decorate your home with anything other than adobe-style bric-a-brac or frilly, overstuffed furnishings, you had to drive over to LA.

Enter Copenhagen and its now-iconic lineup of clean-lined teak chairs and tables. Today, Copenhagen Contemporary Furnishings’ product lines reaches far beyond Denmark, to include names such as Seltz of France, Natuzzi of Italy, Elite Manufacturing of USA, Lafer of Brazil, Cellini of Indonesia, Slate Vision of South Africa and 6T9 Collection of Singapore. And for those of us with Champagne taste on a beer budget, Copenhagen also offers the stylish-yet-affordable Denmarket at all three Valley locations.