Arnold Bode had already worked as an interior architect and furniture designer in the 1930s. His dismissal as an art teacher and his exclusion from the art scene after 1933 forced him to work anonymously with his brothers, primarily with Paul Bode. Returning from the war and American captivity, he resumed this work again to earn a living and support his family. He built commercial trade fair and exhibition stands for large companies and designed furniture, posters, cardboard boxes, and wallpaper, patterns for linoleum coverings, decorative foils, and fabric prints for them.

He designed so-called plastics for the Göppinger Kaliko- und Kunstleder-Werke GmbH in Göppingen, Württemberg. These printed plastics were used both for interior design and as upholstery for furniture. He called his collection »abstracta 54« and extolled the possibility of adding rhythmic, colorful decorative accents to the room.