Sunday, July 10, 2016

Let's Talk About The Bauhaus Style

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the Bauhaus Style? It was very significant in the 1920s, its influence is still felt today. Naturally it co-existed with other styles, like Art Deco. Many famous designers - Eileen Grey, Florence Knoll, Le Corbusier - can be linked to this style, and they were not only architects, they designed interiors and furniture. 
I admit that the first thing I can think of when speaking of Bauhaus is the architecture - the White City in Tel Aviv, buildings in Dessau, and there are (or, sadly, used to be) many outstanding examples in my country, Hungary. I wrote 'sadly', because some were destroyed and completely rebuilt. 
The second thing that comes to my mind, is Mies van der Rohe and my compatriot, Marcel Breuer. The first is known for the iconic Barcelona series, the second, Marcel Breuer is famous for the steel-framed Wassily chair. When the Nazis grew stronger in the 1930s, among other designers they fled to the United States. They worked there, and Bauhaus style in America became known as International Style, where everything became bigger and glossier. The International Style also has many variations. To me, Bauhaus, the 'original' one had a European scale.  
This minimalistic style had a heavy influence on modern architecture and interiors, no wonder it evolved to International Style. 
Interior Mood Board
Bauhaus interior design is not something I can easily put my finger on. When I google 'Bauhaus Home Interiors' I can hardly find any real stuff. When I look up my albums about 20s and 30s homes, I can see that the interiors were influenced by other styles as well. Yes, steel frame furniture were popular, bold colours were used, geometric forms were loved, simplicity was favoured, ornaments were left out. Yet it is not easy to find a really authentic Bauhaus interior. 
Having said that, Bauhaus can be fit into today's interiors as it set up rules still followed today. Simplicity, geometric forms and materials in their honest form are still loved. An original Bauhaus interior provides perfect backdrop for today's minimalistic, modern furniture.
However, there is one thing I saw in my books about 20s and 30s interior styles. It  did use modern techniques, like sliding walls, but if you check the Bauhaus floorplans, you can see that usually they are not up to today's requirements. However much it is well-proportioned, the kitchens are tiny, functions and furniture groupings are different. In many Hungarian villas there was still a room for a hired help who lived with the family and took care of the household. In contrast with the Mid-Century Modernism, where you can still see functioning retro homes with their open-plan groundplans, only elements of Bauhaus survived passing times. This of course, should not deter you from using Bauhaus furniture in your home - they look fantastic in many settings. 

1 comment:

  1. I try to create Something about bauhaus too, but there is so lil information

    ReplyDelete