Knoll : Bauhaus Color | Frame Finish Development

For Knoll’s Bauhaus Collection, I developed three new matte frame finishes—black, white, and red—introducing a new color expression across a group of designs historically defined by polished chrome.The colors nod to historical references within the Bauhaus and Knoll, but were developed as new tones rather than reproductions of archival finishes. Each was considered in relation to the geometry of the tubular steel frames, the upholstery and leather palette, and the way the pieces inhabit a contemporary interior. The matte surface fundamentally changes the character of the steel, absorbing rather than reflecting light and bringing greater emphasis to line, silhouette, and structure. Black and white create graphic but neutral expressions, while red introduces a precise moment of saturated color. Together, the finishes offer a contemporary interpretation of a familiar material language—informed by the history of the collection without being bound by it.