Rainer Daumiller was born in 1939 in Oberlenningen, Germany. In the difficult post-war context, food was scarce and foraging for fruits and berries was a common practice. During this time, the young Daumiller developed a deep connection to nature — a bond that he would carry with him throughout his life and express fully through his work as a designer.
From an early age, while still in school, he began designing furniture — starting with a desk and a wardrobe — which he managed to have built by a local carpenter, carving the handle details himself. He went on to train as a cabinetmaker, and later studied at a Waldorf school, where he was introduced to the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. The guiding principle? Learning to listen to the wood, letting its story shape the form of each piece.
In 1959, he moved to Denmark and joined the Furniture Department of Copenhagen's Kunstværkerhåndskolen (School of Arts and Crafts), which would later become the Danish Design School. For his final project, he chose a material that was innovative for the time: acrylic.
He soon began designing his own furniture in solid pine (Scots pine), a local wood species often overlooked in favor of exotic woods such as teak or mahogany, which were highly fashionable at the time. This choice—driven by an early ecological awareness — reflected his desire to highlight the natural grain, texture, and color of the wood. The softness of pine also allowed him to carve bold, expressive forms.
His signature armchair caught the attention of Danish manufacturer Hirtshals Sawmill in 1977, during an exhibition at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. This encounter marked the beginning of a 25-year collaboration, during which his furniture was produced and distributed on a larger scale—tables, chairs, armchairs, beds, and nightstands.
Rainer Daumiller’s creations combine strength and simplicity of form, with an aesthetic that borders on sculpture. The sturdiness of his constructions allows the pieces to withstand the test of time: they are designed to endure both the demands of daily life and the most festive moments. The sculpted curves of the wood embrace the shape of the body, demonstrating his attention to comfort and ergonomics. Daumiller even designed a seat height slightly above the standard for his era, anticipating the gradual increase in average human height.
Rainer Daumiller’s style is quite distinctive, characterized by curved and cylindrical forms. The massive proportions of his pieces echo the brutalist aesthetic of the 1970s. Some of his innovative mechanisms showcase his inventiveness—such as the swiveling backrest that allows the user to adjust the angle for optimal comfort.
credit: bukowskis.com, scandinavia-design.fr