Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
In 1880, polymath designer William Morris declared: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” His words encapsulated the Aesthetic Movement, which prized beauty above all and blurred the lines between fine art and the decorative arts, particularly through lavishly crafted furniture pieces.
The Aesthetic Movement, whose major proponents included author Oscar Wilde, flourished from the 1860s to the 1880s and was mostly popular in England and the United States. Design expositions like the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, as well as the publishing of how-to books for interior design, helped disseminate Aesthetic Movement bedroom furniture, serveware, coffee tables and other items, especially to the middle class.
The establishment of new art museums, art clubs and a rising passion for collecting at the time contributed to a growing appreciation for art. Morris’s founding of Morris & Co. in 1862 and the commercializing of this “cult of beauty” by the Liberty store in London, starting in the late 19th century, further disseminated the idea of a domestic space that was thoughtfully and floridly designed.
Leading Aesthetic Movement furniture designers included E.W. Godwin, who drew on Japanese influences and whose work reflected a wider enthusiasm for imported East Asian art. British designer Christopher Dresser created textiles, ceramics and more that were also inspired by Japanese decorative art but were representative of additional diverse design sources that ranged from Egypt to Mexico.
The Aesthetic Movement’s eclecticism resulted in dazzling interiors. Japanese fans were positioned on Renaissance-inspired cabinets with brass hardware, while mantels made of rich walnut or finely carved ebonized wood and adorned with painted Minton tiles mingled with cast-iron chairs against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. In 1881, in New York City, stenciled checkerboard motifs and painted floral murals could be found under an opalescent glass chandelier in a luxurious dressing room designed by German émigré cabinetmaker-decorator George Alfred Schastey. Amid the rise of the industrial age, the style’s promotion of art in everyday life would inform the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Aesthetic Movement seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture and antiques on 1stDibs.
Early 20th Century North American Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Cherry
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Bamboo, Lacquer
Early 1900s European Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birch, Birdseye Maple
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birch
19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Maple, Wood
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Maple
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Walnut
Early 20th Century Dutch Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Pine
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Walnut
1870s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Ash, Fruitwood
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Ormolu
19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Brass, Wrought Iron
1870s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Oak
1930s English Vintage Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Walnut
1820s American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Walnut
19th Century Austrian Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Bentwood
Late 19th Century German Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Marble, Brass
Late 19th Century American Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple, Maple
20th Century Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Birdseye Maple
1960s Vintage Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Walnut
2010s American Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Giltwood
1890s French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Maple, Pine
Late 20th Century Vietnamese Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Grasscloth, Bamboo
Late 20th Century Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Wicker, Rattan
Late 20th Century Italian Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Wood
1880s Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Pine
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Brass
Late 19th Century English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Marble, Metal
1890s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Bamboo, Wood
Early 20th Century European Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Marble, Ormolu
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Pine
1880s English Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Oak
Late 19th Century French Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century British Antique Aesthetic Movement Bedroom Furniture
Wood, Mahogany