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.
Refinished B12 Side Table by Marcel Breuer, 1940s
Located in Żory, PL
This console table (mod. B12), was designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1930s. It features two shelfs supported by a chrome tubular steel frame. The wooden elements have been restored, ...
Steel
Bauhaus Tubular Steel Wood Console Table, Model B12 by Marcel Breuer for Thonet
By Thonet, Marcel Breuer
Located in Almelo, NL
Bauhaus Tubular Steel and Wood Console Table, Model B12 by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, Prague, 1930s 2 available – priced per table Dimensions: H 70 cm x W 70 cm x D 45 cm A timeless...
Steel
1930s Lacquered Bar Console Table in the Style of Marcel Breuer
Located in New York, NY
Original 1930s black lacquered table with tubular metal legs in the style of Marcel Breuer. Has a variety of uses, console, bar, small desk or vanity.
Aluminum
Slim Yellow Steel Console Table with Wood Table Top / Customizable
By &New
Located in Leicester, GB
The Giraffe console table is a modern statement piece. The powder-coated steel console table looks stunning is the hallway with a bunch of flowers or as a lamp table in any room. The...
Steel
Bauhaus tubular steel side table model B 12 by Marcel Breuer, 1930s
By Marcel Breuer, Slezak Company
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
An early example of the Bauhaus side table, Model B 12, originally designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928 and manufactured around 1930 under Thonet licence by Robert Slezák in former Czec...
Steel, Chrome
$1,491Sale Price|20% Off
Bauhaus Table with Bakelite Tabletop, from the 1930s, Czech Republic
Located in Vienna, Austria
Made in the 1930s, this table is composed of a steel tube base that has been chrome-plated, the top is made of wood with a bakelite laminate surface. The bakelite is in very good co...
Steel
DOOQ Natural Marble Off-white, Green, Black, Brass, Walnut Dolce Vita console
By DOOQ
Located in Lisbon, PT
Dolce Vita console transports you to a time of greatness and opulence which we can still find very much alive in Rome. Rich materials take the form ...
Marble, Brass
$20,104Sale Price / item|20% Off
21st Century Ahrt Console Table Wood Marble Brass Made in Portugal by Malabar
Located in RIO TINTO, PT
The Postmodernism movement is notoriously tricky to define. So the best way to describe this elusive art movement is that it’s a reaction against the utopian ideals of modernism. Over two decades, this bold movement established ideas about art and design, bringing a new self-awareness about style itself. Refusing to recognize the authority of any single style or definition of what art should be, Malabar creative minds designed the Ahrt Console. Malabar draws your attention to the mismatched colors, materials, such as wood, marble, and brass, and shapes of this unusual console...
Marble, Brass
Bauhaus Tubular Steel Console Table by Robert Slezák, 1930s
By Robert Slezák, Slezak Company
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
A distinctive example of Bauhaus design from the 1930s, this tubular steel console table was produced by Robert Slezák in former Czechoslov...
Steel, Chrome
$6,624Sale Price / item|20% Off
21st Century Proportion II Console Lacquered Wood Handmade in Portugal
Located in RIO TINTO, PT
The Proportion II Console was inspired by the extreme clarity and simplicity of the 20th-century architectural style created by Mies Van der Rohe...
Gold Leaf
$7,373Sale Price / item|20% Off
Nano Console, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Paris, IDF
Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud Empreinte Collection Steel base and wooden tray, glossy blue lacquered finish For their second collection, Raphaël L...
Steel
$11,189Sale Price / item|20% Off
Belize Console Bronze, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Paris, IDF
Belize console bronze, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud Empreinte Collection Verdigris bronze legs Bronze tray and crossbar.
Bronze
Marcel Breuer Attributed Bauhaus Nickel-Plated Steel & Walnut Side Table, 1920s
Located in Biebergemund, Hessen
Marcel Breuer attributed beautiful handcrafted Bauhaus console table, manufactured in the 1920s, Germany. The table is made of a nickel-plated steel tube and a walnut wood plate. The...
Steel
Contemporary Marco Guazzini Console Carrara Marble Wool Effect Blue White
Located in Milano, IT
The Fluent console. The table top is made in Marwoolus material with blue wool fibers and white Carrara marble powder base. The steel frame structure is blue powder coated. Mate...
Carrara Marble
Slim Burgundy Steel Console Table with Wood Table Top / Customizable
By &New
Located in Leicester, GB
The Giraffe console table is a modern statement piece. The powder-coated steel console table looks stunning is the hallway with a bunch of flowers or as a lamp table in any room. The beauty of the Giraffe console table is that it works both against period details and modern surroundings due to its compact proportions; made with an elegant steel frame and a wooden top. The geometric leg design...
Steel
$7,664 / item
James de Wulf Concrete Fibonacci Locking Console
Located in Paia, HI
Finding symmetry in organic landscapes is always a bit of wonder. The James de Wulf Concrete Fibonacci Locking Console sets symmetry and balance...
Concrete
Customizable Orange Steel Console Table / Wood, Marble and Stone Top Optional
By &New
Located in Leicester, GB
The Giraffe console table is a modern statement piece. The powder-coated steel console table looks stunning is the hallway with a bunch of flowers or as a lamp table in any room. The...
Steel
$10,944Sale Price / item|20% Off
21st Century La vie Console Lacquered Wood Brass Made in Portugal by Malabar
Located in RIO TINTO, PT
Art tends to evoke specific emotions when our gaze falls its way. Art is only there for us to look at and appreciate from a relative distance. Malabar designed a highly functional co...
Brass
Bauhaus Style Console Table Set with Glass Shelves on Tubular Metal Frame
Located in Cork, IE
Unpretentious, yet with elegant lines, this ensemble of two console tables caught our attention immediately. The design of the tubular frames is a definite nod to the principles of f...
Metal
$33,984Sale Price / item|20% Off
21st Century Wanderlust Console Polished Brass Marble Details by Malabar
Located in RIO TINTO, PT
Suppose design office, an interior architecture studio, located in Hiroshima, Japan, once created a project that brought wilderness into an urbanistic environment. By distributing a huge number of cardboard pipes from the ceiling, they provided a feeling of walking through an exotic forest or an impressive cavern, recreating an incredible experience in any city downtown. The wanderlust console, with black and gold marble, has a diversity of polished brass pipes...
Marble, Brass
$9,231Sale Price / item|20% Off
Belize Console, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud
Located in Paris, IDF
Belize console, Memphis, France, Le Berre Vevaud Empreinte Collection Steel legs, glossy aqua lacquered finish Steel crossbar White beauty marble tray...
Marble, Steel
Customizable Marcel Breuer S 285 Tubular Steel Desk
Located in New York, NY
RANGE S 285 1 large corpus, 1 small corpus with central lock It is as though Marcel Breuer had anticipated today’s home offices and mobile computers: The compa...
Steel
Danish Modern, Sculptural Oak Side / Console Table, 1940s
Located in Odense, DK
A beautiful vintage Danish table in stained beech from the 1950s. With a height comparable to a dining table, this versatile piece can function as a dining table, console table, or d...
Beech
1970 Table Console Waxed Black Lacquer "Palace Le Lotti"
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Console, Writing table of Louis XV inspiration in black waxed lacquer coming from "Palace le lotti" 77001 Paris, the stamp is inside the drawer, (see photo). This piece of furniture ...
Ash
$1,981 / set
H 24.02 in W 15.75 in D 15.75 in
Pair of Restored Bauhaus Bedside Tables, by R. Slezák, Chrome, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This pair of bedside tables from the early 20th century is an outstanding example of Bauhaus functionalist design. Manufactured in Czechoslovakia, they seamlessly combine elegant chr...
Steel, Chrome
$2,505 / set
H 27.56 in W 14.77 in D 13.78 in
Pair of Restored Bauhaus Bedside Tables, Chrome, Lacquered Wood, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This pair of nightstands is a fantastic and design-forward example of Czechoslovak interwar Functionalism from the 1930s. Although the exact manufacturer of these pieces remains unkn...
Steel, Chrome
$1,995
H 17.5 in W 28.5 in D 17 in
After Marcel Breuer, a Bauhaus Style Side Table and Magazine Holder
Located in North Miami, FL
A design after Marcel Breuer with mesh hanging hammock for magazines and chrome trim.
Chrome
$2,797 / set
H 23.63 in W 14.97 in D 15.95 in
Pair of Restored Bauhaus Bedside Tables, by M. Breuer for Thonet, Germany, 1920s
By Thonet, Marcel Breuer
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Model: MM3 This exceptional pair of nightstands (model MM3) is a masterpiece of modern architecture and design. Designed by one of the most prominent figures of the Bauhaus school, ...
Steel, Chrome
$2,098 / set
H 19.69 in W 16.93 in D 17.72 in
Pair of Restored Bauhaus Bedside Tables, Chrome, Lacquered Wood, Czech, 1930s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
This elegant pair of Bauhaus bedside tables comes from Czechoslovakia from the first half of the 20th century. They are made of tubular chrome steel and lacquered blockboard. The ta...
Steel, Chrome
$3,900 / item
H 29.53 in W 63 in D 11.82 in
Contemporary Console Table 'Tota' in Burnt Wood by CarmWorks, Customizable
By Camilo Andres Rodriguez Marquez
Located in Paris, IDF
Customizable console table TOTA by Camilo Andres Rodriguez Marquez (aka CarmWorks) Solid oak or cedar / Burnt wood or natural Standard ...
Oak, Cedar
Marcel Breuer Tubular-Steel B10 Table
Located in New York, NY
Marcel Breuer tubular-steel B10 table chrome-plated tubular frame table with a black smoked glass top. Some scratches to the glass.
Chrome
Bauhaus Side Table by Marcel Breuer, Czechoslovakia, 1930s
Located in Praha, CZ
This Bauhaus side table, attributed to Marcel Breuer and produced in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s, represents an iconic example of early modernist furniture design. The piece comb...
Steel, Chrome
$3,555
H 29.93 in W 47.25 in D 31.5 in
Restored Bauhaus Foling Table, by J. Halabala, UP Zavody, Oak, Czech, 1930s
By Up Závody, Jindřich Halabala
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Adjustable width: 120 cm - 170 cm (47 in - 67 in) This early 20th-century dining table sits at the intersection of Art Deco and Bauhaus styles, giving it a truly distinctive charact...
Steel, Chrome
1930s Marcel Breuer Bauhaus Table, Model B12, Czechoslovakia
Located in Praha, CZ
- In good original condition. - Made in Czechoslovakia. - The wood has been cleaned and subsequently treated with revitalizing oil. - Visible signs of use (scratches, scuffs, etc.). ...
Chrome
Sold
H 21.66 in W 29.53 in D 14.97 in
Marcel Breuer B12 table, under Thonet license by “Wschód”, Zadziele, Poland
Located in EVERDINGEN, NL
The iconic B12 console or side table, made from tubular steel and veneered wood, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928. This model is no longer in production. The distinctive feature of ...
Steel
Sold
H 27.96 in W 27.56 in D 19.3 in
1930s Marcel Breuer Bauhaus Tubular Console Table, Model B12, Czechoslovakia
Located in Praha, CZ
- Wooden parts has been refurbished - Chrome layer in good original condition with minor signs of use
Chrome
Bauhaus console table B 12 by Marcel Breuer
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
A rare and iconic 1930s B12 console or side table, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928. Made from tubular steel and wood, the B12's distinctive feature is its asymmetrical design, with...
Steel, Chrome
Sold
H 23.63 in W 30.71 in D 15.75 in
Bauhaus console table Model B12 by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, 1930s
By Thonet, Marcel Breuer
Located in EVERDINGEN, NL
A rare and iconic 1930s B12 console or side table, made from tubular steel and wood, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1928. This model is no longer in production. The distinctive feature of the B12 is the fact that the lower shelf is longer than the upper shelf. According to Breuer, these revolutionary tubular frame and wood pieces were the key to make a room look more modern. He used to say that this type of furniture looks almost ''sketched'' into a room and doesn't block the view nor hinder movement. And how right he was. A lot of his designs are still loved and fit in stylish contemporary interiors with a minimalist touch. Amongst those is the B12. To own a Marcel Breuer table is especially desirable for Bauhaus enthusiasts and interior designers. It makes one feel connected to the bold and groundbreaking ideas that emerged from the Bauhaus movement. Marcel Breuer's vision still inspires to embrace the spirit of modernism and the harmonious blend of art and function. Breuer was also greatly influenced by the Dutch De Stijl group (Gerrit Rietveld. Mondriaan etc) Marcel Lajos Breuer (21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-German modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. Marcel Breuer trained at the Bauhaus, a radical arts and crafts school that Walter Gropius had founded in Weimar just after the First World War. Gropius soon recognized his talent and placed him at the head of the Bauhaus workshop. From 1925, Breuer started expanding his skills from woodworking to combining wood with tubular steel. His inspiration for using the new material is said to have been bicycle handlebars. In a short period of time, Breuer designed a whole collection of furniture, furnished the new Bauhaus building and Walter Gropius’ Master Houses. He established a business named Standard-Möbel in Berlin which dealt with the production and distribution of tubular steel furniture. The B12 design is documented in: Thonet tubular steel furniture catalogue, 1930/31; M. Droste, M. Ludewig, Marcel Breuer, Bauhaus Archives...
Steel
Refinished B12 Side Table by Marcel Breuer, 1940s
Located in Żory, PL
This console table (mod. B12), was designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1930s. It features two shelfs supported by a chrome tubular steel frame. The wooden elements have been restored, ...
Steel
Bauhaus Oak Console
Located in Westwood, NJ
A modern Bauhaus oak console, with a natural oak finish, the bold classic modern design has a thick top and bold legs with an H stretcher. Dimen...
Wood
19th Century Chinese Bamboo-Carved Console Table
Located in Bradenton, FL
Chinese Chippendale style console with a black lacquer top over a tortoise shell decorated bamboo frame having Chippendale designs. A wonderful and rare striking piece of functional ...
Bamboo
Bauhaus Tubular Steel Console Table by Robert Slezák
By Slezak Company, Robert Slezák
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Manufactured by Slezák company in former Czechoslovakia during 1930's. In good original condition with some traces of wear on the lacquere. Chrome very well preserved with only minor...
Steel
19th Century Chinese Bamboo-Carved Console Table
Located in Bradenton, FL
Chinese Chippendale style console with a black lacquer top over a tortoise shell decorated bamboo frame having Chippendale designs. A wonderful and rare striking piece of functional ...
Bamboo
Marcel Breuer for Thonet Model B12 Bauhaus Console Table, 1930s
By Thonet, Marcel Breuer
Located in Prague, New Town
Elegant Bauhaus chrome-plated tubular steel and wood console table model B12 designed by Marcel Breuer for Thonet in Germany, 1930s. This...
Chrome, Steel
B12 Console Table by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, 1930s
Located in Żory, PL
This console table (mod. B12), was designed by Marcel Breuer for Thonet in the 1930s. It features two shelves supported by a chrome tubular steel frame. The table has been completely...
Steel