Biedermeier Armchairs
The authentic Biedermeier furniture on 1stDibs is representative of the first modern European decorative style not dictated by the tastes of the aristocracy. Following the Napoleonic wars, a growing, wealthy urban middle class in the German-speaking states of Central Europe began to demand rights and privileges once granted only to nobles. To avoid trouble, the upwardly striving confined their political discussions to one another’s homes. And so the salon was born.
Cabinetmakers in cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Mainz began to offer goods that reflected the tastes and needs of the new class. The makers of Biedermeier chairs, tables and other furniture used little or no gilding, silver hardware or other lavish ornament. Ebonized trims are common on Biedermeier cabinetry, and neoclassical elements — lyre-shaped chair splats, carved scrollwork, table supports shaped like Greek columns. But the strongest aesthetic statement came from the wood — richly-grained, honey-colored, often book-matched veneers of walnut and fruitwood.
There are two iconic Biedermeier furniture forms, both made to outfit rooms designed for conversation. One is the sofa, deeply upholstered with a strong, architectural wooden frame. The second is the circular pedestal table, which stood at the center of the room, offering a surface on which to place coffee and cake services; or to roll out a map, or sketch out ideas on paper.
“Biedermeier” was originally a derogatory term — it derives from the pen names of two German magazine writers who mocked bourgeois manners. Looking at the elegant and refined antique, new and vintage Biedermeier furniture offered on 1stDibs, that is now an amusing irony.
Mid-19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Ash
Early 20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Armchairs
Beech
Early 20th Century European Biedermeier Armchairs
Leather, Beech
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Birch
Late 20th Century Biedermeier Armchairs
Leather, Mahogany
20th Century Biedermeier Armchairs
Metal
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
1870s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Birch
1890s Norwegian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
1830s Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Velvet, Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Birch
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Cane, Wood
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Maple
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century German Biedermeier Armchairs
Birch, Textile
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Armchairs
Birch, Upholstery
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
1850s Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s French Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Bouclé, Cherry
19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Velvet, Birch
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Ebony, Fir
Mid-20th Century Hungarian Biedermeier Armchairs
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Oak, Beech, Cherry, Lacquer
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Cotton, Upholstery, Mahogany
Early 1900s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Birch
Early 20th Century German Biedermeier Armchairs
Silk, Maple
Late 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cane, Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Walnut
1840s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Yew
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Cherry
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Bouclé, Beech
Early 1900s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Velvet, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Leather, Cherry
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Mahogany, Upholstery
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut, Paint
Early 19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Spruce, Beech, Lacquer
1970s American Vintage Biedermeier Armchairs
Cotton, Wood
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Wood, Maple, Lacquer, Cherry, Satinwood
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Wood
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery, Birch
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Armchairs
Fabric, Birch, Upholstery, Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Armchairs
Mahogany