Andirons
1930s French Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Bronze, Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century British Arts and Crafts Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
1990s American Art Deco Andirons
Steel
1970s French Vintage Andirons
Stainless Steel, Iron
1950s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Andirons
Bronze, Iron
1980s French Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century American Empire Andirons
Brass
Early 20th Century French Gothic Revival Andirons
Wrought Iron
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Iron
Early 20th Century Rococo Andirons
Brass
Early 20th Century Rococo Andirons
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Metal, Brass, Iron
Late 20th Century English Georgian Andirons
Brass
Early 20th Century Arts and Crafts Andirons
Iron
1920s American Vintage Andirons
Iron
Early 20th Century French Victorian Andirons
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Iron
Early 20th Century Art Deco Andirons
Brass
Early 20th Century American George III Andirons
Brass, Iron
Early 20th Century Rustic Andirons
Iron
20th Century Unknown Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Brass
20th Century British Modern Andirons
Wrought Iron
Late 20th Century American Art Nouveau Andirons
Brass, Iron, Nickel
Early 20th Century Andirons
Iron
Early 20th Century English Neoclassical Andirons
Copper, Iron
Early 1900s Empire Antique Andirons
Bronze, Iron
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century Federal Andirons
Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Brass, Iron
Late 20th Century American Georgian Andirons
Brass, Iron
1920s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Andirons
Iron
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Brass, Iron
Early 20th Century North American Rococo Revival Andirons
Iron
Early 20th Century French Arts and Crafts Andirons
Brass, Metal
1950s American Vintage Andirons
Iron, Brass
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Steel, Iron
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque Andirons
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Georgian Andirons
Brass, Iron
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Revival Andirons
Brass, Iron
Early 20th Century French Napoleon III Andirons
Wrought Iron, Brass
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century French Andirons
Iron
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
20th Century Gothic Andirons
Iron, Brass
1930s American Adirondack Vintage Andirons
Iron
1920s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Chrome, Iron
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Iron
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Iron
1940s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1940s American Vintage Andirons
Brass, Iron
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Metal, Brass
1970s French Vintage Andirons
Steel
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Andirons
Steel, Wrought Iron
1930s American Modern Vintage Andirons
Bronze
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Steel, Chrome
Early 1900s English Arts and Crafts Antique Andirons
Brass, Copper
Early 20th Century American American Classical Andirons
Iron
1970s North American Vintage Andirons
Brass
Antique and Vintage Andirons
A set of antique or vintage andirons is a staple accessory, part of the fireplace tools you’ll want to collect for keeping a neat and elegant fireplace in your home.
Using andirons in a fireplace elevates the fire, ensuring more air can get to the logs thus keeping a fire burning longer. Andirons also encourage ventilation and may also prevent smoke from working its way into your living room or bedroom.
Think of these accessories as part of an upright metal support system to optimize your fire. Antique andirons are basically u-shaped brackets with a curved end that come in pairs and are largely quite simple in structure, but the design of this household necessity has improved over time. Outwardly decorative andirons have become available since their debut because one should never underestimate the style quotient of an attractive hearth.
Andirons, which earned the nickname “firedogs” given their similarity in form to a pair of upright canines, are believed to be the oldest fireplace furnishings. They have been used broadly since at least the late Iron Age. Before iron became the material of choice, stone andirons did a suitable job of balancing the logs in a fire and adding a sense of symmetry to the hearth. Fire baskets, like the combination of andirons and a grate, afforded an opportunity to layer logs in a fire rather than delicately stacking them on andirons.
Today, andirons can be found in bronze and brass, too, which contrast wonderfully with a mantel carved from dark marble, for example, and add dimension to what might otherwise be a subdued space. And while people aren’t cooking in the fireplace anymore, andirons’ spit hooks offered an opportunity to roast meat or rest the pokers that you typically would’ve kept fireside.
During the Renaissance, andirons became especially ornate and even figurative, taking on human forms as well as marine life such as dolphins. Art Deco–era andirons are particularly exquisite. While the accessories are frequently characterized by rich geometric angles and sculptural curves, attributes that we know of most Art Deco furniture, artisans of the period also looked to what was by then a long tradition of designing andirons in the shape of animals and reptiles.
Adding fashionable antique or vintage andirons will not only improve the quality of a fire but can also elevate your space as well as the fireside experience. Find modern andirons, Art Nouveau andirons and other varieties today on 1stDibs.