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.
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood
1940s Spanish Vintage Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
20th Century German Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Beech, Maple
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
20th Century European Biedermeier Seating
Concrete
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Beech
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Beech, Walnut, Softwood
19th Century Italian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Wood, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Wicker, Walnut
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Linen, Upholstery, Walnut
Mid-20th Century French Biedermeier Seating
Hardwood
19th Century Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Fruitwood, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Walnut, Spruce, Beech, Lacquer
1860s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1820s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer, Spruce
1830s Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Ash
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Bouclé, Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Walnut
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
1830s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Ash
Mid-19th Century American Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Hardwood
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Velvet, Walnut
1820s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Cherry, Lacquer
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
20th Century European Biedermeier Seating
Wood
1960s American Vintage Biedermeier Seating
Leather, Cane, Amboyna
20th Century Austrian Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Fruitwood
1830s Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Natural Fiber, Cherry
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Walnut
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Suede, Beech, Oak, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cherry
1820s German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
1830s Czech Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Oak, Beech, Cherry, Lacquer
Early 19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Fabric
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Walnut
19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Mahogany
20th Century Swedish Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Biedermeier Seating
Birch
Mid-19th Century German Antique Biedermeier Seating
Fruitwood
1980s American Vintage Biedermeier Seating
Wood
20th Century North American Biedermeier Seating
Fabric, Upholstery, Fruitwood
1980s Vintage Biedermeier Seating
Cherry, Walnut
Early 19th Century European Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Birch
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Biedermeier Seating
Upholstery, Cane, Wood





