Hans Sandgren Jakobsen’s Agern Armchair

The design

Danish designer Hans Sandgren Jakobsen has designed the GM 3706 Agern Armchair for Naver Collection, an upholstered wooden chair that takes its starting point in the acorn. “Agern” is Danish for acorn, and the chair draws on the nut’s embracing shell and organic form. The chair is the result of a close collaboration between designer and master cabinetmaker, which made a generously proportioned design possible on a slender solid wood frame.

“For me, Agern is about creating a natural place for people to be,” says Hans Sandgren Jakobsen.

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The backrest and the seat

The large oval padded back and the oval seat form the DNA of the chair. The curved backrest follows the body without enclosing it, in what Sandgren Jakobsen describes as an open embrace. Its rounded ends double as armrests and allow the sitter to lean back and settle in several positions, which makes the chair suited to a long meal with friends. Seen from the front, back and side, the sculptural shell gives Agern a distinct character.

The seat is compact and softly domed, with a defined edge that keeps the expression visually light. “I wanted the seat to feel inviting at first glance – compact, soft and with an oval shape that naturally encourages the body to settle in,” the designer explains.

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Frame and construction

A detail that gives Agern its character is the way the wooden frame holds the large back, like two big thumbs gripping the padded shell. The upholstered upper section meets a solid wooden cross base, and the slightly angled legs keep a robust construction light in appearance. Sandgren Jakobsen has carried over a detail from his Ro table for Naver Collection: the table’s curved joint becomes an overlapping curve where the front and back legs meet. Naver Collection presents the chair as part of the RO series, where chair and table share the same sense of proportion, materials and visual calm.

“I have always been fascinated by the relationship between softness and precision, between the organic and the structural,” says Sandgren Jakobsen.

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Materials and dimensions

Agern measures 57 x 56 x 76 cm. It can be upholstered in Naver Collection’s own leather qualities – Naver Select, Semi-Aniline and Aniline – or in selected fabrics from Kvadrat, Gabriel and Nevotex. It is also available with white upholstery, so customers can supply their own fabric or leather.

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Hans Sandgren Jakobsen and Naver Collection

Agern adds to a growing body of work for Naver Collection. Earlier pieces include the Thor table, launched in 2021, and the AK 650-610 coffee table series, where a leather cord recessed in a wooden ring secures the glass top. His Turning Boxes chest of drawers is also part of the collection. Most recently, his chest of drawers Opblæst for Naver Collection was named Furniture of the Year at the BO BEDRE Design Awards 2026.

Born in 1963, Sandgren Jakobsen trained as a cabinetmaker before graduating from the Danish Design School in Copenhagen in 1990, and later worked in the studio of Nanna Ditzel. His practice spans furniture and objects such as the Gallery Stool for Fredericia and the X Chair.

Agern, in the words of Naver Collection, is not designed to dominate a room, but to become a natural part of it.

By Editorial Team, ScandinavianDesign.com

Images and content courtesy of Naver Collection & Hans Sandgren Jakobsen.