Andirons
1980s American Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Steel, Wrought Iron
1980s French Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1990s American Art Deco Andirons
Steel
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1980s American Vintage Andirons
Steel
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Andirons
Metal
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Iron, Nickel
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Iron
1980s Vintage Andirons
Iron
1990s Andirons
Iron
1980s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Iron, Nickel
1980s Belgian Vintage Andirons
Bronze
1790s English Georgian Antique Andirons
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Andirons
Brass
20th Century American Hollywood Regency Andirons
Brass
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Iron
1950s American Vintage Andirons
Iron, Brass
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Chrome
20th Century American Art Deco Andirons
Nickel
1920s American Art Deco Vintage Andirons
Chrome, Iron
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
20th Century French Art Deco Andirons
Bronze, Wrought Iron
1920s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Andirons
Bronze, Wrought Iron
19th Century English Antique Andirons
Wrought Iron
1980s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Nickel
1980s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Bronze, Metal
1980s American Vintage Andirons
Brass, Iron
1990s North American Art Deco Andirons
Steel
1980s American Modern Vintage Andirons
Brass, Wrought Iron
1980s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Steel
1980s American Modern Vintage Andirons
Steel, Wrought Iron
1980s American Organic Modern Vintage Andirons
Wrought Iron
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Andirons
Metal
1990s Andirons
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Andirons
Bronze, Iron
1980s French Vintage Andirons
Bronze
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.