Cube Ghul

Decades prior to the mass popularity of neo-industrial cement floors and furniture taking shape, there was Willy Guhl. The Swiss creative is considered one of the first “industrial” designers in his home country. He pioneered a rugged, organic style of modern furniture and decor — stylish planters, shapely seating and lots more — that remains widely coveted by many today.

Guhl was born in 1915 in Stein am Rhein and worked as a carpenter before beginning studies at the Zurich School of Applied Arts (known today as the Zurich University of the Arts), where he would go on to teach for nearly 40 years.

While Guhl is well-known for his range of provocative garden elements as well as his patio and outdoor furniture, today’s legion of mid-century modern enthusiasts are likely familiar with the designer’s iconic Loop chair (introduced in 1954). For this sculptural seat and other furnishings, Guhl tended toward industrial materials, which he bent and shaped into organic forms for a striking juxtaposition. Much of his work is crafted from either concrete or Eternit, a mixture of cement and asbestos developed by the Belgian company Etex, which, in the 1950s, commissioned Guhl and his students at the School of Applied Arts to conceive planters in the material. The resulting vessels — some hourglass-shaped, some in the form of handkerchiefs, all suitable for indoors or exteriors — remain some of Guhl’s most collectible pieces.

Guhl’s affiliation with the Swiss “neo-functional” movement centered on the idea of simplifying design without sacrificing form. According to Guhl, his mission was “achieving the most with the minimum of effort.”

In addition to his work as a designer, Guhl left his mark on subsequent creatives through his 39-year tenure at his alma mater, where he was instructor to the likes of Robert Haussmann, Kurt Thut and Bruno Rey. Modern-day shoppers at IKEA owe Guhl a debt of gratitude too. He was an early advocate of flat-pack furniture, championing its ability to make good design more widely accessible.

At its core, though, Guhl’s work was inherently human-centric: “At the center of my efforts, I put people and their living requirements,” he once said. “My products must be useful to people.” Guhl died in 2004 at the age of 89.

Find a range of vintage Willy Guhl furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

Industrial floor lamps, bar stools, desks and other industrial-style furnishings have experienced a resurgence in popularity with the rise of interest in minimalist design.

It's a look that celebrates the past even as it suggests vigor, productivity and brawn. The newly chic industrial style of decor repurposes the simple, sturdy furniture of an earlier world of commerce — brushed-metal storage cabinets and display shelves, task lamps and pendant lights with enameled shades, work tables with worn wooden tops and cast-iron bases — and couples them with aesthetic touches emblematic of energy and optimism, from bright upholstery fabrics to flowers.

The rise in prominence of the industrial style has come hand-in-hand with the residential repurposing of former manufacturing and warehouse districts throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. In many loft apartments created in shuttered factories, the architectural envelope has been left intact.

Industrial-style interiors feature elements like raw brick walls, exposed steel beams and oak floors whose history is written in every pit and gouge. Iron and glass transom windows give definition and interest to small kitchen areas anchored by kitchen islands made of marble, steel and brass, while taxidermy or vintage neon signs serve as wall art in living rooms dotted with leather club chairs. Patina is the keynote to a decor in sync with such surroundings. 

On 1stDibs you will find industrial furniture designs that wear their age beautifully — and were built to last.

Why not give your precious collectibles the case pieces they deserve? Antique and vintage vitrines can be used to safely store and display your most treasured objects.

While they were initially used to display relics in churches or to preserve specimens for scientific observation, vitrines are best known for their place in retail spaces and museums. The name for these glass display cases comes from the Latin word “vitrum,” meaning glass, as well as the Old French word “vitre,” which also refers to glass. Instead of simply showcasing collector’s items on shelves, you can bestow extra importance on them by displaying them in a vitrine for passers-by to observe and admire.

Not all vitrines are created equal. Over time, furniture makers have explored different shapes and sizes for vitrines. A display case you’ll find in a retail store will likely look drastically different from what you’ll see in a museum or art gallery. A vitrine in a shop is likely there to best market specific wares to the general public, while in museums there is usually a range of different vitrines intended to house and protect single objects or to display a grouping of artifacts.

Most of us have an antique, new or vintage case piece in our home. Though the terms “case pieces” and “case goods” may cause even the most decor-obsessed to stumble, these furnishings have been a vital part of the home for centuries. Any furnishing that is unupholstered and has some semblance of a storage component — cabinets, dressers, buffets — may be properly termed a case piece.

Mirror-backed vitrines, which refer to cases that usually feature shelved and mirrored interiors, are a most appropriate home for your jewelry or decorative objects. Adding such items to a vitrine already suggests that there is an irreplaceable preciousness to the case’s contents, and the mirrors will emphasize as much as well as refract more light to render the display eye-catching.

On 1stDibs, find a wide variety of antique and vintage vitrines to protect and preserve your most prized items. The collection of mid-century modern vitrines and Art Deco vitrines is mostly inclusive of those built with a wooden frame, but there are many other types to choose from as well. It’s time to give your collectibles a good home!