Classic interior design styles and how to light them: the Bauhaus

Image top: Interior, top floor, Bauhaus University, Weimar. Creative commons.

The Bauhaus school believed that good design should be simple, functional, and available for everyone. Here’s a guide to possibly the most influential design movement of the last 100 years – and the contemporary lighting that it inspired…

Who was the most influential designer of the 20th century? You could make a strong case for one Walter Gropius. He was the founder of the Bauhaus, the pioneering school of art that opened in Weimar, Germany in 1919 –  just after the end of the First World War in 1911. 

The Bauhaus took a radical holistic approach and, by integrating fine arts, crafts and industrial production, it became the launch pad for modernist design—all this at a time of enormous socio-political upheaval and uncertainty.

Walter Gropius in 1919. Image: public domain

‘Art and Technology—a New Unity’

Walter Gropius had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve in Weimar, when he oversaw the merging of the city’s Academy of Arts and School of Arts and Crafts to form the Bauhaus (‘building house’) School. He wanted to unite art and craft to create functional and aesthetically pleasing objects for mass production. Good design, he believed, should be available for everyone. 

Simplicity and utility were key, which meant a turning away from the ornate approach of Art Nouveau. Students followed a hands-on, workshop-based curriculum, taught by leading artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Johannes Itten.

Bauhaus student accommodation, Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius. Image: creative commons

Inevitably, perhaps, this revolutionary approach to design was soon attracting political opposition and the school also faced financial difficulties. In 1925 it was forced to relocate to Dessau, and its new base – designed by Gropius – would come to be seen as a glass and steel modernist masterpiece. The school’s emphasis on industrial design and mass production increased and the curriculum broadened to include architecture, furniture, and graphic design. Its distinguished teachers included Marcel Breuer, László Moholy-Nagy and Hannes Meyer, with Meyer replacing Gropius as director in 1928.

In 1932, prompted by increased Nazi hostility, there was a final move – to Berlin – with a new director, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. But the modernist and left-leaning ideals of the Bauhaus made it a continuing target for Nazi Party leaders, who kept the school under constant scrutiny for its perceived associations with socialism and internationalism. The Bauhaus School was forced to close for good just a year after arriving in Berlin.

‘Form follows function’: key features of the Bauhaus approach

Gropius House living room. Image: creative commons

The underlying principle of Bauhaus's design philosophy was ‘form follows function’, with the design of every item or interior rooted firmly in its purpose. At the same time, the school adhered to the belief that art should be part of everyday life, which meant integrating art and design: every object was designed with artistic intent. 

Bauhaus principles were put into practice from the school’s earliest days and were on display with its first domestic house, Haus am Horn, in Weimar, designed by Georg Muche, and built for the Bauhaus Werkschau, an exhibition that ran from July to September 1923. The main features of all Bauhaus designs, which remain instantly recognisable a century later, were: Clean lines and geometric shapes – Simplicity was of the essence: straight lines and geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares, free of ornamentation, predominated.

Bauhaus coffee pot, designed by Otto Lindig, 1924. Image: creative commons

Industrial materials – The use of industrial materials such as steel, glass, concrete and chrome went hand in hand with the school’s emphasis on modernity and mass production. Neutral colours (with occasional accents) – White, black and grey were favoured for interiors and exteriors, with the occasional and sparing use of red, blue or yellow for accents.

Open plan spaces – Bauhaus interiors frequently had open layouts for a heightened sense of space and airiness. Fewer barriers between rooms promoted a feeling of flow.

Functional furniture – Each piece of Bauhaus furniture was streamlined—ergonomically designed to suit its function and for ease of mass production. But this was not at the expense of craftsmanship, which, together with precision, was always key. Its most famous pieces, such as Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair rapidly became and remain design classics.

Wassily Chair, also known as Model B3 chair designed by Marcel Breuer, 1925-26, the Bauhaus, Dessau. Image: creative commons

Minimalism rules – Bauhaus interiors were invariably devoid of any excessive decorative elements, with beauty being derived from the purity of forms, materials and utility.

The Bauhaus legacy

Dunkelblum House, Yael Street, Tel Aviv, 1935, designed by Bauhaus architect Oskar Kaufmann. Tel Aviv’s White City, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, has 4,000 Bauhaus or International style buildings, the largest number anywhere in the world. Image: creative commons

If the Nazi Party assumed that the closure of the Bauhaus School would put a stop to the spread of its philosophy and influence, it could not have been more wrong. Many of the school’s teachers emigrated, taking with them a commitment to the founding principles of Bauhaus design, principles that would be welcomed and applied around the world. 

Walter Gropius moved initially to England, where he and his wife lived at the Isokon Building in Hampstead, London, as did Marcel Breuer (a Blue Plaque records the time they spent there). The Chelsea house Gropius designed in 1936 for playwright, Benn Levy, and his actress wife, Constance Cummings, went on sale in 2013 for a cool £45 million…

Dressing room, Gropius family home, Lincoln, Middlesex County, MA, 1938, designed by Walter Gropius. Image: creative commons

And if you happen to be anywhere near Cannon Street in the City of London, stroll along to number 115, which still has – more or less – the Bauhaus shopfront that Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry designed for the Mortimer Gall Electrical Centre in 1935, after Gropius had moved to England. It has seen many different occupants since then, more recently a now defunct coffee and doughnut bar…but its glossy, eye-catching combination of black Vitrolite, glass bricks and metal remains unchanged and is a thing of wonder.

Shopfront, 115 Cannon Street, City of London, designed by Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry, 1936. Photo (2014): George Rex. Image: creative commons

By 1937, both Gropius and Breuer had settled in the USA, forming a professional partnership that would influence an entire generation of American architects. Mies van der Rohe also settled in the USA, enjoying a long and distinguished career.

Lighting: the Bauhaus way

Ceiling lamp HMB 29, designed by Marianne Brandt (1928/29), Bauhaus building, Dessau. Image: creative commons

Bauhaus lighting designs were, in every sense, groundbreaking: sleek and functional with industrial-style features such as pendants and task lamps made of metal, glass or other modern materials. The aim was for lighting to blend seamlessly into its setting, emphasising the unity between lighting design and the architectural environment, while being universal and adaptable.

Bauhaus lighting was designed to work equally effectively in home, workspace or public building. Bauhaus designers also explored experimental and innovative techniques, such as incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and always took account of the interplay of light and shadow. 

Bauhaus task lamps designed by Carl Jakob (left,1923-24) and Wilhem Wagenfeld (right, 1924). Image: creative commons

All of which is music to Pooky’s ears, of course, and while we aim to cater for all design tastes, we can happily point to some very special pieces that we think embody those classic Bauhaus principles.

Bauhaus-style table lamp

Trek table lamp in black

Pooky’s rechargeable Trek definitely nails it, with its black and brass base, topped with clear glass. And, if you want to follow the Bauhaus approach of combining a simple, functional design with an accent primary colour, how about our rechargeable firecracker red Scoon?

Scoon rechargeable table lamp in firecracker

Two desk or table lamps that equally reflect that Bauhaus ethos are Obama in antiqued brass and Porcini, a classic mushroom lamp, with a shallow antique brass shade atop a smooth black column and base.

Porcini table lamp

Bauhaus-style floor lamps

Hopper standing lamp in antiqued brass

Standing tall, our antique brass Hopper floor lamp has a distinctly modernist feel; combine it with a simple glass or metal shade to complete the Bauhaus look.

Pooky’s Pick reading lamp ticks plenty of Bauhaus boxes: streamlined design, adaptable—it’s more flexible than a fairground contortionist—and very much fit for purpose, whether you are puzzling, embroidering, knitting, sketching, or reading, of course…

Pick reading lamp in black and antiqued brass

Bauhaus-style pendant lights

Hazelette pendant in clear glass

The Hazelette in clear glass is small, neat, pleasing and practical; hang it in clusters or as a wall light. 

And here’s our very own tribute to that great Bauhaus designer Marianne Brandt, Pooky’s larger Espere, a perfectly simple, milky white, opaline glass dome, which casts a soft, muted light.

Larger Espere in opaline glass

If we have whetted your appetite for all things Bauhaus, we recommend Frances Ambler’s The Story of the Bauhaus, told through 100 people, designs, ideas and events that shaped this monumental movement.

At Pooky, we have a vast range of beautiful designer lights - with something certain to suit your taste and space. Browse them all here.

See also:

Classic interior design styles and how to light them – Mid-century modern

Great interior designers: Charles and Ray Eames