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
CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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.
PH Stool, Brass Legs, Natural Oak Veneer, Extreme Walnut Leather Seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Leather, Oak
Ph Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Extreme Mocca, Leather Upholstery, Visible Tubes
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Snake Stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
Early Model 65 Chair by Alvar Aalto, ,
By Alvar Aalto
Located in Buffalo, NY
Model 65 encapsulates designer Alvar Aalto’s approach to systematic, rational design within the context of Finnish minimalism; showcasing clean lines and his favoured use of birchwood.The bolts, showcased along the back legs, imbued the chair with Aalto’s signature industrial design sensibility.This is a wonderful early example,, The color ,,finish and patina is outstanding.. Chair seat has been reupholstered in a classic Marimekko fabric
Fabric, Birch
Restored Bauhaus Stool, by Mücke-Melder, Beech, Chrome, Polished, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This minimalist stool is a superb example of Bauhaus functionalist design, dating back to 1930s Czechoslovakia. It was manufactured by the renowned Mücke Melder factory, a specialist...
Steel, Chrome
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Natural Un-Dyed, Full Leather Upholstery
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
Restored Bauhaus Stool, by Mücke-Melder, Beech, Chrome, Polished, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This iconic stool is a prime example of the functionalist Bauhaus design in 1930s Czechoslovakia. The famous Mücke-Melder factory in Fryštát manufactured this piece. This company bel...
Steel, Chrome
Ph Stool, Wood Legs, Black Oak Veneer, Extreme Black Leather Seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Leather, Oak
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Black Painted Satin Matt, Wood Seat, Visible Tubes
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available with wood seating in five colorw...
Chrome
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Extreme Indianred, Full Leather Upholstery
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
PH Stool, Brass Legs, Natural Oak Veneer, Extreme Black Leather Seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH dressing table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH stool is available in mahogany, blac...
Leather, Oak
PH Stool, wood legs, natural oak veneer, extreme black leather seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Leather, Oak
Ph Stool, Brass Legs, Black Oak Veneer, Extreme Black Leather Seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Leather, Oak
Small Round Bauhaus Chrome Stool by Robert Sezák, Original Leather, 1940s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Small round Bauhaus chrome stool. Maker: Robert Slezák.
Chrome
Restored Bauhaus Stool, by Robert Slezák, Chrome-Plated Steel, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Designed by renowned Czech designer Robert Slezak. It has been reupholstered by our professional refurbishing team in Czechia. Please contact us to find out the details of its reup...
Steel, Chrome
Chrome and Fabric Bauhaus Stool, circa 1930s
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Compact but heavy Bauhaus stool raised on four chromed metal legs. The legs are octagonal and joined by an X-shape stretcher. Round seat upholstered in vibrant Art Deco fabric.
Chrome
Restored Bauhaus Stool, by Mücke-Melder, Chrome-Plated Steel, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This Bauhaus-style stool dates back to the 1930s and was produced in Czechoslovakia by the renowned company Mücke-Melder. The frame, made from chrome-plated tubular steel, has underg...
Steel, Chrome
$9,256Sale Price / item|20% Off
Barth Stool Emperador Marble, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Paris, IDF
Barth stool Emperador marble, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud Empreinte Collection Brown Emperador solid marble, softened finish For their second col...
Marble
Restored Bauhaus Stool, by Robert Slezák, Chrome, Rattan, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This Bauhaus-style ottoman originates from Bohemia and was manufactured in the 1930s by the Slezák company. It features a round seat made of a beech frame, and cane weaving. The ott...
Steel, Chrome
Restored Bauhaus Black Stool, Beech, Chrome-Plated Steel, Czechia, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Restored Bauhaus black stool. Source: Czechia (Czehoslovakia) Period: 1930-1939 Material: Beech, Chrome-Plated Steel Our professional refurbishing team in Czechia has fully r...
Metal, Steel, Chrome
Modernist Tubular Stool, Ivory Leather, Chrome-Plated Steel, Slezák, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Modernist Bauhaus - Art Deco chrome tabouret. Completely restored, new upholstery and leather. Maker: Slezák Company Source Czechia Period: 1930-1939.
Chrome
Modernist Tubular Stool, Orange Leather, Chrome-Plated Steel, Slezák, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Modernist Bauhaus - Art Deco chrome tabouret. Completely restored, new upholstery and leather.
Chrome
PH Stool, Brass Legs, Black Oak Veneer, Extreme Walnut Leather Seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH dressing table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Leather, Oak
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Extreme Black, Leather Upholstery, Visible Tubes
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Green Painted Satin Matt, Wood Seat, Visible Tubes
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available with wood seating in five colorw...
Chrome
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Extreme Mocca, Full Leather Upholstery
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Snake Stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
PH Stool, wood legs, natural oak veneer, extreme walnut leather seat
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Stool is perfectly proportioned to match the PH Dressing Table or stand-alone as a functional sculpture. The PH Stool is available in mahogany, bla...
Oak, Leather
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Red Painted Satin Matt, Wood Seat, Visible Tubes
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available with wood seating in five colorw...
Chrome
PH Snake Stool, Chrome, Leather Extreme Black, Full Leather Upholstery
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH snake stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
PH Snake Stool, chrome, leather extreme walnut, full leather upholstery
Located in Copenhagen, DK
The PH Snake Stool is completely true to the original design and the use of chromed steel tubes, however updated for the 21st century to be available wi...
Chrome
Contemporary Marco Guazzini Stool Carrara Marble Wool Effect Blue White
Located in Milano, IT
The fluent stool is part of the C furniture collection and is characterized by the C-shape. The table top is made in Marwoolus material with blue wool fibers and white Carrara marbl...
Steel