(Newswire.net — July 26, 2022) —
There is no denying that the current age we live in is rules by visual media, as every day our eyes and minds are targeted by an amount of visual input that was simply unthinkable just a couple of decades ago. Take a look at a crowd waiting for a public transport to arrive, standing in line somewhere and you will not fail to notice that the overwhelming majority are keeping their head down and just staring at a screen, their fingers scanning an endless feed of images from social media. These images, always perfect, create expectations and form tastes globally and instantaneously. There is a reason why Facebook is on the decline while Instagram keeps raising. We live in the ear of the image. This immense competition for our attention has made design more and more important, since to win a space a product, an object, does not just have to be of good quality. It must be attractive and contained in an equally attractive container. This approach to design is visible everywhere, from the shape of a toothbrush to a chopping board or a kitchen utensil. It is therefore not surprising that even humble interior decoration tools such as wallpapers have aligned themselves with this trend. Gone are the simple old motifs of yesteryear, wall decorations have become increasingly sophisticated, diversifying into a variety of styles to suit interiors of all kinds. Traditionally, wallpaper was laid on all four walls of a room. The concept was to create an almost invisible background, destined to disappear behind furniture and paintings. Nowadays, however, the approach has changed, and the preference is to highlight a single wall with designer wall decorations, which have motifs created with such care that they become a work of art to be exhibited and shown off.
This a led to a new trend, which is to stop considering wallpapers just a background that should be mostly invisible and to start using it as a work of art, replacing the classic image canvas. All modern stylistic and artistic movements have been represented on home tapestries, from Art Nouveau to Baroque, from Art Deco to Cubism. None of these movements is however more relevant to contemporary modern design than the Bauhaus school, the very source of contemporary modernism in interior design. Bauhaus was the beginning of the modern era when we talk about design. It was the very first movement to streamline design, making it fit for the industrial era. Its sleek approach to furniture made possible objects that still look futuristic today, over 100 years from when they were first conceived.
What exactly is the Bauhaus style and how did it get started?
The movement we commonly call “Bauhaus” was first started after World War I in Germany. It was a Berlin architect called Walter Gropius that created it. He had fought the Great War and saw its dramatic end as a turning point in European history. Having experienced first-hand the enormous changes it had brought; he was convinced that the traditional 19th century world was dead. In its place was a new era in which industrial improvements would allow people to live surrounded by new objects, simpler, more functional and freer of unnecessary frills. He set himself the goal of designing objects that could be produced industrially, so that they could bring beauty and quality into every home, not just those of wealthy families. In 1919 he founded the Bauhaus Weimar State College of Fine Arts in Weimar, a school with workshops for creative crafts, architecture and the arts. The approach of this school is experimental and multidisciplinary. Mathematics is seen as a basic element of artistic design, combining aesthetics with functionality and economy. However, this approach does not remain confined to the world of theory but creates several objects that have entered design history, some of which are still produced nowadays.
A Bauhaus wallpaper for your living room?
There is something about the Bauhaus design concept that makes it just different from all other styles of its time and a great solution for decorating your living room with Bauhaus wallpapers. It’s its timeless design, based on the principle ‘Form follows function’ that makes it so appealing. According to the Bauhaus philosophy, ornaments and frills no longer had any value, beauty had to be intrinsic to form. It is therefore not surprising that Bauhaus-style wallpapers are based precisely on simplicity and minimalist aesthetics, tending to favour graphic and geometric motifs. Their design is uncluttered and restrained, with structured patterns rich in contrast and striking colours reflecting the attention given to the colour theory developed in its heydays.
Bauhaus-style wallpapers are still incredibly popular today, thanks to their simple, functional and modern characteristics, which make them both eccentric and contemporary. Focusing on the essential, they provide interiors with a calm minimalism that allows us to escape the stresses of everyday life.