Adjustable Table by Poul Kjærholm and Nils Fagerholt for PP Mobler in Cork

Poul Kjærholm and Nils Fagerholt for PP Møbler, steel, cork, beech, Denmark, 1978.

This semi-circular table was designed by Poul Kjærholm for an interior commissioned by his close friend, the architect Nils Fagerholt, for the restaurant Kanalen, in Christianshavn, Copenhagen. It represents one of the final interior projects Kjærholm undertook during his lifetime.

Given the spatial constraints of the restaurant, Kjærholm developed a series of multifunctional furnishings. The steel frame was designed by Fagerholt, while the interchangeable tabletops were conceived by Kjærholm. He created two versions in varying sizes, both in cork and beech. The possibility of alternating between these tops lends the piece a high degree of adaptability, functioning either as a striking, expansive statement table with the larger surface, or as a more intimate table suited to smaller gatherings when fitted with the smaller top.


Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980) was a Danish architect and furniture designer whose approach was deeply rooted in craftsmanship. His work is often understood through two guiding principles: the sculptural and the architectural. Designing with a strong sense of intuition, Kjærholm’s pieces reveal affinities with ancient Egyptian and Greek forms, while also engaging with the legacy of twentieth-century modernism, including figures such as the Bauhaus designers, Gerrit Rietveld, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Characterized by restraint in material and construction, his designs achieve a remarkable richness of expression.