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.
21st Century and Contemporary German Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Wood
1820s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bouclé, Cherry
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1940s French Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Early 20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Silk, Maple
1840s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Stucco, Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Canvas, Wood
1860s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ebony, Maple, Walnut, Softwood
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
1890s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1880s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry
Mid-20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Canvas, Wood
Early 20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple, Walnut, Paint
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Velvet, Mahogany
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Marble
19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1810s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Mahogany
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1830s French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Paper
20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
1960s Austrian Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Pine
Late 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Elm, Cherry
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Silver
1990s American Biedermeier Furniture
Maple, Fabric
19th Century English Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Marble
20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Early 20th Century French Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Mahogany
20th Century Italian Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Iron
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple, Wood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1910s Unknown Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Wood
Late 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Canvas
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fruitwood, Giltwood, Lacquer, Paint
20th Century Dutch Biedermeier Furniture
Paint
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Marble