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.
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Ebony
2010s Spanish Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Nutwood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Pine, Ash, Birch
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Spruce
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
19th Century American Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bronze
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Walnut, Pine
Mid-19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bouclé, Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
1840s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Walnut, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany, Maple, Walnut
1990s American Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Wood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Ebony
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple, Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Satinwood
Mid-19th Century French Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Bouclé, Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Hardwood
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Walnut
1850s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Fir
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Maple
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Satinwood
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Hardwood
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry, Softwood
Late 20th Century American Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Cherry
1830s Czech Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Upholstery, Maple
Late 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Mirror, Walnut
20th Century English Biedermeier Furniture
Wood
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Spruce
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Cherry
Early 19th Century Baltic Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Ormolu
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Metal, Brass
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Wood, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Mahogany
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Softwood, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Spruce
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Biedermeier Furniture
Brass
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Spruce, Walnut
20th Century Biedermeier Furniture
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Cut Glass
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Birch
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Furniture
Walnut, Spruce