Biedermeier Furniture
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.
19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Furniture
Cane, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Metal
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Silk, Mahogany
1950s American Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Furniture
Metal
1960s Danish Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Lacquer
2010s North American Biedermeier Furniture
Wicker, Rattan
Mid-20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1910s Swedish Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Velvet, Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch