Biedermeier Seating
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.
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Velvet, Walnut
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Mahogany, Velvet, Upholstery
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany, Maple
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Brass
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut, Fabric
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Silk, Wood
20th Century Biedermeier Seating
Metal
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Maple, Lacquer, Cherry, Satinwood
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood, Walnut, Fabric, Upholstery
20th Century Biedermeier Seating
Lacquer, Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Lacquer, Maple, Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Cherry, Burl
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery
1840s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Silk, Wood
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Beech, Walnut, Softwood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Wood
18th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Giltwood
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood
Early 19th Century Unknown Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cherry, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cherry, Walnut
1810s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Cherry, Paint
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Cherry
1830s European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1810s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Fruitwood
1820s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Paint, Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Velvet, Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
19th Century Russian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Birch
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch