Unlike most other Danish furniture designers of the 1950s, Kjaerholm used stainless steel and aluminium as the basis for his designs often combined with leather or wicker for chairs and glass or slate for tables. Inspired by the modernist work of le Corbusier and Breuer, Kjaerholm's designs are highly elegant with great attention to details.

His best work were made between the mid 1950s and late 1960s, yet the designs all have such integrity that they stand above any particular era. His most well known design is the PK22 easy chair which have been extensively used at the Copenhagen international airport Kastrup, a fitting place for an object which is truly international in its design. Poul Kjaerholm became a professor at the Royal Art academy in Copenhagen in 1976.