I read somewhere recently that Biedermeier furniture is making a comeback. Well, I have the opinion that something that classic is never out of style, so how can it make a comeback? In any case, I thought it would be interesting to write a little about the Biedermeier style which I absolutely adore for its simple elegance and its ability to work well with other styles including today’s contemporary looks.

Biedermeier refers to works of art, literature, music, and design in the years from 1815 – 1848. Biedermeier furniture was produced in Austria and Germany and was a result of the reaction against the fussy ornamentation of the Romantic Era. It was a simplified version of the French Empire style mixed with German painted peasant work. It was comfortable, homey, simple in design, used local woods, and was fitting for the people in a time of little wealth following the Napoleonic Wars.

I did get the following information from my old design history textbook (of course I still have it, I’m a history fanatic!) and thought it was rather funny: “The name Biedermeier was borrowed from an imaginary character originating in cartoons published in a humorous magazine. The character was represented as a rather stout country gentleman called “Papa Biedermeier”, who was well satisfied with himself and was opinionated about certain subjects concerning which he had little knowledge, among them the fine and industrial arts.”