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 Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut, Velvet
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Nutwood
Mid-20th Century European Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Mahogany
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Rattan, Wood, Lacquer, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch, Walnut
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
1840s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer, Upholstery
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Nutwood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch, Fruitwood
1810s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany, Upholstery
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Wood, Cherry
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Maple
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Walnut, Lacquer, Wicker
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Beech
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Softwood
1960s American Vintage Biedermeier Seating
Leather, Cane, Amboyna
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Beech
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Leather, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Softwood, Fabric, Velvet
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Metal
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Velvet, Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Rattan, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Upholstery
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cherry, Lacquer
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Birch
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Mid-19th Century American Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Hardwood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Oak, Beech, Cherry, Lacquer
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Early 19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Spruce, Beech, Lacquer
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Birdseye Maple
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1840s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Cherry
1830s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Cherry
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Oak, Walnut, Spruce
1850s French Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Lacquer, Maple, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood, Walnut, Lacquer
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Birch
19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Wood
19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Yew
20th Century French Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany