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.
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry, Walnut
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Fir
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass, Iron
1820s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Walnut, Ebony
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry, Spruce
1820s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mirror, Spruce, Nutwood
20th Century Unknown Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Fabric, Upholstery, Burl
1910s English Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Porcelain
Early 19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bronze
19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bronze
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
1850s Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Velvet, Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Fruitwood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Glass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Pearwood
Mid-19th Century American Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Late 20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Porcelain
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Danish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Fabric
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ebony, Walnut
19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century German Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Textile
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Upholstery
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch, Elm
1950s Austrian Vintage Biedermeier Furniture
Metal, Gold Plate, Gold Leaf
Late 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Linen, Upholstery, Walnut
Late 20th Century European Biedermeier Furniture
Paint
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Maple
1850s Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mirror, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Mahogany
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Rattan, Wood, Lacquer, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch