Adolf Meyer On Sale

The Bauhaus was a progressive German art and design school founded by the architect Walter Gropius that operated from 1919 to 1933. Authentic Bauhaus furniture — sofas, dining chairs, tables and more — and the school’s followers married industrial and natural materials in simple, geometric forms. The goal of the Bauhaus was to erase the distinction between art and craft while embracing the use of new technologies and materials.

ORIGINS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN

• Art and design school established in Germany in 1919
• Promotion of a union of art, craft and technology
• Design intended for mass production
• School’s workshops focused on cabinetry, metalworking, typography, textiles and more
• Informed by De Stijl, Constructivism, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, and modernism; influenced mid-century modernism, Scandinavian modernism

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN

• Emphasis on craft
• Simplicity, order, clarity and a prioritization of functionalism
• Incorporation of geometric shapes
• Minimalist and refined, little to no ornamentation
• Use of industrial materials such as tubular chrome, steel and plastic as well as leather, cane and molded plywood in furniture and other products

BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• László Moholy-Nagy
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
• Anni Albers
• Josef Hoffmann
• Marcel Breuer
• Marianne Brandt

AUTHENTIC BAUHAUS FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The name Bauhaus is derived from the German verb bauen, “to build.” Under the school’s innovative curriculum, students were taught the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, as well as practical skills like carpentry and metalworking. 

The school moved from Weimar in 1925 to the city of Dessau, where it enjoyed its heyday under Gropius, then Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The period from 1932 to 1933 when it operated in Berlin under Mies was its final chapter. Despite its brief existence, the Bauhaus has had an enduring impact on art and design in the United States and elsewhere, and is regarded by many as the 20th century’s chief crucible of modernism. 

The faculty roster at the Bauhaus reads like a who’s who of modernist creative genius — it included such artists as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy along with architects and designers like Mies and Marcel Breuer, who became known for his muscular brutalist-style concrete buildings in the postwar years. In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus carpentry workshop, Breuer gave form to his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, side tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s Cesca chair was the first-ever tubular steel frame chair with a caned seat to be mass produced, while the inspiration for his legendary Wassily chair, a timeless design and part of the collection crafted to furnish the Dessau school, was the bike he rode around campus.

Bauhaus design style reflects the tenets by which these creators worked: simplicity, clarity and function. They disdained superfluous ornament in favor of precise construction. Seating pieces such as side chairs, armchairs or club chairs for example, were made with tubular metal or molded plywood frames, and upholstery was made from leather or cane. Above all, designs in the Bauhaus style offer aesthetic flexibility. They can be the elements of a wholly spare, minimalist space, the quiet foundation of an environment in which color and pattern come from one’s own collection of art and artifacts.

Today, from textiles to typefaces, architecture, furniture and decorative objects for the home, Bauhaus creations continue to have an outsize influence on modern design.

Find a collection of authentic Bauhaus furniture on 1stDibs.

Antique and vintage flush mount lighting fixtures can help you create inviting, ambient lighting in your space, and who doesn’t want that?

While electric light bulbs were a huge improvement over gas and oil lamps for lighting our homes, we still had much work to do in order to arrive at the broad range of table lamps, pendants, sconces and other fixtures that are available today.

Lighting technology and design improved substantially over time. Engaging engineers, scientists, architects and designers alike, the field of lighting became a major proving ground for state-of-the-art materials like plastics, inventive new mechanisms and emotionally resonant styles that included the ethereal (Isamu Noguchi’s Akari light sculpture), the whimsical (Gino Sarfatti’s 2109 ceiling light and Sputnik chandelier) and the eclectically postmodern (the Toio floor lamp crafted by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni). Eventually, flush mount light fixtures became a practical option for home lighting.

Flush mount lighting fixtures are among the most convenient ways to light a small room with a low ceiling. These structures sit directly against the ceiling’s surface and cast light downward, illuminating a large area and defining the room. Semi-flush mount lighting fixtures hang several inches from the ceiling. They also produce ambient light but can be a little more decorative and lean toward the style of chandeliers.

Flush mount lighting is versatile. Larger fixtures distribute more ambient light across the center of the room, while smaller flush mount fixtures are best for accent or task lighting. The main drawback of flush mount fixtures is that they don’t make a strong statement. You can remedy this by strategically arranging decorative accents that flourish in soft lighting.

Lighting is an essential part of any interior design project. Often, having the right light fixture is key to creating an attractive, radiant room. Ample lighting paired with enticing design creates an elevated, inviting atmosphere, helping to set the desired mood. Selecting the right lighting for your home, however, isn’t merely about creating an especially bright bedroom or a moody dining room. There are many different kinds of fixtures and illumination to consider, with flush mount lighting fixtures among them.

Make a statement with a<a href=/furniture/lighting/flush-mount-ceiling-lights/material/metal/ target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> metal flush mount lighting fixture — a copper or chrome fixture can prove dazzling in your living room. Art Deco flush mount lighting fixtures, with their geometrical shapes and unique detailing in crystal, glass and brass, will go toward creating a cohesive look amid your collection of authentic Art Deco era posters and other wall decor.

Hollywood Regency fixtures — defined by a flamboyant design style for which we credit decorator Dorothy Draper — can introduce glamour and glitz to your living room with their mirrored finishes and complex floral motifs.

Explore a collection of antique and vintage flush mount lighting fixtures on 1stDibs to see what style best suits your space.