Biedermeier Style Furniture: Still Modern After 200 Years
Today I’m popping-in to share some furniture and design history with you, exploring one of my all time favorites, Biedermeier style furniture.
Over the years I’ve found that nearly all furniture of the 19th century is good in my book; from Regency style to French Empire, Neoclassical to Gustavian, I love it all. However, I’ll always remember the first time I saw slides of Biedermeier style furniture in my History of Interiors classes in college. There was just something so distinctly modern about the style, despite being nearly two centuries old. I also feel it’s one of the lesser known and under-appreciated styles of this period. So let’s dive in.
Design by Dana Waldron featuring a Biedermeier style daybed, Image via Elle Decor
What is Biedermeier Style Furniture?
Biedermeier style furniture originated in Germany and the Austrian dominions in the early to mid-1800s. Biedermeier furniture was both inspired by and in reaction against the French Empire and Neoclassical styles (which we’ll further discuss another time), and was one of the first furniture styles designed specifically for the middle class.
Design by Andre Mellone featuring Beidermeier dining chairs, Image via Architectural Digest
The name Biedermeier draws its origins from a satirical cartoon character in the German newspaper Munich Fliegende Blatter. The character, “Gottlieb Bedermeier” was a plain and humble man of comfortable middle class income, who was primarily interested in a comfortable home and lifestyle. In fact, the word Biedermeier itself is comprised of the German word bieder meaning simple, and Meier, a common German last name. By the end of the 19th century, the term “Biedermeier” had been retroactively applied to the furniture of this period, which embodied the same ideals of simplicity, practicality, and comfort.
Design by Phoebe Howard featuring a Beidermeier style chest, Image via Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
How to identify Biedermeier style furniture
Biedermeier style furniture was created in reaction against the French styles of this era. While French Empire style furniture was often constructed of dark exotic woods such as mahogany, and featured architectural motifs and applied gilt (ormolu) ornamentation, Biedermeier style furniture featured lighter wood tones such as native (and consequentially less expensive) fruitwoods, simple geometric forms, and an overall lack of gilt work or excessive ornamentation. Biedermeier style furniture put comfort and usability first, and ornamentation was expressed through black or gold painted details, with particular emphasis given to the beauty of the natural wood grain. Furthermore, Biedermeier furniture was generally made by anonymous middle class craftsmen as opposed to the fashionable and well-known artisans who were responsible for the furniture of previous periods.
Key characteristics to help you identify Biedermeier Style Furniture:
Lighter wood tones such as maple, birch, walnut, and elm, as well as the use of native fruitwoods
Simple, practical, elegant forms, often integrating geometric shapes
Emphasis on the grain of the wood
Restrained ornamentation, and little to no gilt work or ormolu
Contrasting black or gold painted details
Biedermeier bench
Biedermeier style bookcase
Rare Biedermeier style Swedish Mora Clock
Biedermeier Chaise Lounge
Incorporating Biedermeier Style Furniture into your Home Today
The beautiful thing about Biedermeier style furniture, is that it’s equally at home in a modern home, as it is in a traditional or blended design scheme. I’ve shared magazine images with you, so that you can envision how pieces of this era can seamlessly integrate into our homes today.
The clean lines and geometrically inspired forms of Biedermeier style pieces allow you to easily integrate a set of Biedermeier style dining chairs with a contemporary dining table for a fresh look. The emphasis on rich wood grains and beautiful wood burls, means that a Biedermeier style bench or secretary would also be perfectly at home in a traditional style interior. And I simply adore all of the Biedermeier style chests, especially those with contrasting black painted features, and I would love to see one of these as a statement-maker in an entryway (especially if it’s my entryway!).
Image via Architectural Digest featuring a Biedermeier style table
I hope that you enjoyed learning about Biedermeier style furniture as much as I enjoyed sharing with you. This post was in-part inspired by my own quest for a set of Biedermeier style chairs for my dining room. I’m still looking, but I’ll let you know if I’m successful.
Until next time!