Document And Entity Information Entity Address, Address Line One EntityIncorporationStateCountryCode EntityAddressCityOrTown EntityAddressStateOrProvince EntityAddressPostalZipCode CityAreaCode LocalPhoneNumber EntityTaxIdentificationNumber EntityFileNumber Entity Shell Company Document Transition Report Document Quarterly Report Entity Interactive Data Current Security Exchange Name Title of 12(b) Security Note To Financial Statement Details Textual Intangible assets Significant Accounting Policies Note 3 - Business Combinations Note 5 - Accounts Receivable Note 6 - Inventories Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Note 9 - Post Employment Benefit Obligations bset_CertificatesOfDepositTerms Certificates of Deposit Terms Represents the original terms of certificates of deposit. Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies Long-term liabilities Note 12 - Earnings Per Share Prepaid expenses and other current assets Note 13 - Segment Information Accounts receivable, net of reserve Note 15 - Changes to Stockholders' Equity Note 3 - Business Combinations - Acquisitions (Details) Note 3 - Business Combinations - Acquired Identifiable Intangible Assets (Details) bset_InterestRateOfCertificatesOfDeposit Interest Rate of Certificates of Deposit Represents the interest rate for certificates of deposit. Note 5 - Accounts Receivable - Accounts Receivable (Details) Inventory, net of reserve Note 5 - Accounts Receivable - Activity in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Details) us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent Total current liabilities Note 6 - Inventories - Inventories (Details) Note 6 - Inventories - Activity in Reserves for Excess Quantities and Obsolete Inventory by Segment (Details) Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Changes in Carrying Amount of Goodwill by Reportable Segment (Details) Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Amortization Expense With Intangible Assets (Details) Note 7 - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Estimated Future Amortization Expense for Intangible Assets (Details) Note 9 - Post Employment Benefit Obligations - Pension Liability (Details) Note 9 - Post Employment Benefit Obligations - Components of Net Periodic Pension Cost (Details) Note 9 - Post Employment Benefit Obligations - Deferred Compensation Liability (Details) Note 9 - Post Employment Benefit Obligations - Recognized Deferred Compensation Expense (Details) Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies - Future Minimum Lease Payments Under the Non-cancellable Operating Leases (Details) Note 12 - Earnings Per Share - Reconciliation of Basic and Diluted Loss Per Share (Details) Note 12 - Earnings Per Share - Antidilutive Securities (Details) Note 13 - Segment Information - Segment Information by Segment (Details) Amortization of pension costs, net of tax Note 13 - Segment Information - Wholesale Shipments by Type (Details) Note 15 - Changes to Stockholders' Equity - Changes Occurred in Stockholders' Equity (Details) Notes To Financial Statements Notes To Financial Statements [Abstract] Retail Stores [Member] Information pertaining to the retail stores. Schedule of Net Benefit Costs [Table Text Block] Distribution Centers [Member] Information pertaining to the distribution centers. bset_TaxCutsAndJobsActOf2017ProvisionalAdjustmentOfDeferredTaxAssetLiability Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Provisional Adjustment of Deferred Tax Asset Liability The provisional impact of the remeasurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities resulting from the federal tax rate reductions in the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act of 2017. Retirement Plan Name [Axis] us-gaap_GoodwillGross Goodwill us-gaap_GoodwillImpairedAccumulatedImpairmentLoss Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss Retirement Plan Name [Domain] Transportation Equipment Leases [Member] Information pertaining to transportation equipment leases. us-gaap_ContractWithCustomerLiabilityCurrent Customer deposits Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block] Schedule of Goodwill [Table Text Block] bset_LeaseGuaranteesTerm Lease Guarantees Term The term for the lease guarantees. Accrued compensation and benefits Lease Obligations of Licensee Operators [Member] The nature of a loss contingency and in this case it is lease obligations of a licensee operators. Pension Plan [Member] Accounts payable Loans, Notes, Trade and Other Receivables Disclosure [Text Block] Retirement Plan Type [Axis] Retirement Plan Type [Domain] Proceeds from sales of property and equipment Proceeds from Sale of Property, Plant, and Equipment, Total Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan [Member] Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed [Table Text Block] Other current liabilites and accrued expenses us-gaap_PolicyTextBlockAbstract Accounting Policies Finite-Lived and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination [Table Text Block] Trade Names [Member] Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Axis] Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets, Major Class Name [Domain] Capital expenditures us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment Purchases of property and equipment Current liabilities Identifiable Assets Total assets Technology-Based Intangible Assets [Member] Capital Expenditures bset_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueYearSix Thereafter Amount of required minimum rental payments for operating leases having an initial or remaining non-cancelable lease term in excess of one year due after the sixth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date. bset_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInSixYears Fiscal 2024 Amount of required minimum rental payments for operating leases having an initial or remaining non-cancelable lease term in excess of one year due in the sixth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date. Basic earnings (loss) per share, net income (loss) Customer Relationships [Member] Diluted earnings per share, net income (loss) Legal Matters and Contingencies [Text Block] Options and restricted shares us-gaap_CapitalizedContractCostNet Capitalized Contract Cost, Net, Total Finite-Lived Intangible Assets by Major Class [Axis] Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Major Class Name [Domain] us-gaap_ContractWithCustomerAssetNet Contract with Customer, Asset, after Allowance for Credit Loss, Total us-gaap_LossContingencyEstimateOfPossibleLoss Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss Net income (loss) for the period us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss Net income Net income us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization Intangibles subject to amortization, Accumulated Amortization us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsNet Total Intangibles subject to amortization, Intangible Assets, Net us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsGross Intangibles subject to amortization, Gross Carrying Amount Loss Contingency, Nature [Domain] Schedule of Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Table Text Block] Antidilutive Securities [Axis] Antidilutive Securities, Name [Domain] us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedTradeNames Trade names Loss Contingency Nature [Axis] Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block] Property and equipment, net Carrying amounts of goodwill us-gaap_Goodwill Goodwill Recognized Deferred Compensation Expense [Table Text Block] Tabular Disclosure of Deferred Compensation Expense recognized during the period. Long-term Debt, Type [Axis] Long-term Debt, Type [Domain] bset_AssetsNoncurrentExcludingPropertyPlantAndEquipment Total long-term assets The sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized excluding those classified as property, plant, and equipment. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events. Paid in Capital [Member] The capital paid in by investors during common and preferred stock issuances including the par value of the shares themselves. Investing activities: Schedule of Pension Liability [Table Text Block] Tabular disclosure of pension liability. Earnings Per Share [Text Block] Accounts payable and other liabilities Intersegment Eliminations [Member] Income tax expense bset_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationSharebasedCompensationExcessTaxBenefitAmount Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Share-based Compensation, Excess Tax Benefit, Amount Amount of difference between reported income tax expense (benefit) and expected income tax expense (benefit) computed by applying domestic federal statutory income tax rate to pretax income (loss) from continuing operation, attributable to excess tax benefit for share-based compensation cost. Acquisition of Lane Venture [Member] Represents the information pertaining to the purchase of certain assets and assumption of certain liabilities of Lane Venture from Heritage Home Group, LLC, in order to acquire Lane Venture. All Other Lease Payment [Member] Represents for all other lease payments. us-gaap_OperatingExpenses Operating Expenses, Total bset_OperatingLeaseLeaseAndRentalExpenseUnamortizedBalance Operating Lease, Lease and Rental Expense, Unamortized Balance Unamorized balance of rent expense incurred for leased assets, including but not limited to, furniture and equipment, that is not directly or indirectly associated with the manufacture, sale or creation of a product or product line. Cash and cash equivalents New store pre-opening costs Income taxes related to Retirement Plan Amendment Flag us-gaap_ComprehensiveIncomeNetOfTax Total comprehensive income New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block] us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfPropertyPlantEquipment Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Total Customer deposits us-gaap_SharesOutstanding Balance, shares (in shares) Balance, shares (in shares) us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInOtherOperatingAssets Other current assets Current Fiscal Year End Date us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Lease Arrangement, Type [Axis] Lease Arrangement, Type [Domain] Document Fiscal Period Focus Document Fiscal Year Focus Document Period End Date Entity Emerging Growth Company Document Type Entity Small Business us-gaap_DividendsCommonStockCash Cash dividends Document Information [Line Items] us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCollateralAmount Debt Instrument, Collateral Amount Document Information [Table] Entity Filer Category Entity Current Reporting Status us-gaap_BusinessCombinationAcquisitionRelatedCosts Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs bset_OperatingLeaseLeaseAndRentalExpenseUnamortizedBalanceNoncurrent Operating Lease, Lease and Rental Expense, Unamortized Balance, Noncurrent Amount of rent expense incurred for leased assets, including but not limited to, furniture and equipment, that is not directly or indirectly associated with the manufacture, sale or creation of a product or product line to be amortized after one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer. us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNet Accounts receivable, net us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInAccountsReceivable Accounts receivable Stock based compensation us-gaap_AdjustmentsToAdditionalPaidInCapitalSharebasedCompensationRequisiteServicePeriodRecognitionValue Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract] Entity Central Index Key Capitalized Contract Cost [Axis] Reclassification of certain tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive loss Represents the amount of reclassification during the period of certain tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings, per ASU 2018-02. Entity Registrant Name Capitalized Contract Cost [Domain] Entity [Domain] Legal Entity [Axis] us-gaap_AmortizationOfIntangibleAssets Intangible asset amortization expense Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares) us-gaap_StockRepurchasedAndRetiredDuringPeriodValue Purchase and retirement of common stock us-gaap_StockRepurchasedAndRetiredDuringPeriodShares Purchase and retirement of common stock, shares (in shares) us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanAmortizationOfPriorServiceCostCredit Amortization of prior service costs us-gaap_IncreaseDecreaseInInventories Inventories us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanAmortizationOfGainsLosses Amortization of loss Trading Symbol us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanNetPeriodicBenefitCost Net periodic pension cost us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanServiceCost Service cost us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanInterestCost Interest cost Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block] us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityRemainingBorrowingCapacity Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity us-gaap_GainLossOnDispositionOfAssets Gain on sale of property and equipment us-gaap_TableTextBlock Notes Tables us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity us-gaap_DefinedBenefitPlanAmortizationOfTransitionAssetObligation Amortization of transition obligation Line of Credit Facility, Lender [Domain] Issuance of common stock, shares (in shares) Lender Name [Axis] us-gaap_LiabilitiesAndStockholdersEquity Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity Early retirement program Early Retirement Program Expense Early retirement program Charges related to the early retirement package offered to certain eligible employees. Issuance of common stock Reclassification Representing Portion of Debt Payment Attributable to Discount Accretion Due to ASU 2016-15 [Member] Reclassification representing the portion of a debt payment attributable to discount accretion from cash flows from financing activities to cash flows from operating activities. Reclassification Of Investments in Company-owned Life Insurance Due to ASU 2016-15 [Member] Reclassification of investments in Company-owned life insurance from cash flows from operating activities to cash flows from investing activities. Retained earnings Accumulated other comprehensive loss Debt Disclosure [Text Block] Changes in operating assets and liabilities: us-gaap_DisclosureTextBlockAbstract Notes to Financial Statements us-gaap_OtherNoncashIncomeExpense Other, net Inventory Disclosure [Text Block] Schedule of Inventory, Current [Table Text Block] Goodwill and other intangible assets Total goodwill and other intangible assets bset_InvoicePaymentTerm Invoice Payment Term Period within which invoice is due. Unvested Shares [Member] Shares of stock that have not yet vested. Schedule of Deferred Compensation Liability [Table Text Block] The tabular disclosure of the deferred compensation liability. us-gaap_DeferredIncomeTaxExpenseBenefit Deferred income taxes Non-cash Change in Accounts Payable Related to Property, Plant, and Equipment [Member] Represents information pertaining to the non-cash change in accounts payable as it relates to property, plant, and equipment. us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseRemainderOfFiscalYear Remainder of fiscal 2019 us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualCompensationExpense Deferred compensation expense bset_RevenuePerformanceObligationtiming Revenue, Performance Obligation,Timing Timing for satisfying performance obligation in contract with customer, period between placement of orders and transfer of goods and services. us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearTwo Fiscal 2020 us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearThree Fiscal 2021 us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearFour Fiscal 2022 Furniture and Accessories [Member] Information pertaining to furniture and accessories. us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearFive Fiscal 2023 Cumulative effect of a change in accounting principal Represents impact of adoption of accounting standards update during the period. Liability for all deferred compensation arrangements us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualRecordedLiability Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Recorded Liability Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense [Table Text Block] bset_ContractWithCustomerTimingOfPayment Contract with Customer, Timing of Payment Period of time between transfer of our goods or services and the collection of consideration from the customer . Bassett Leather [Member] Products and services, Bassett leather. Sales, revenue, percent bset_RevenueFromContractWithCustomerPercentage Percentage of revenues from customer. Real Estate Notes Payable Operated in Retail Segment [Member] Information pertaining to the real estate notes payable operated in the retail segment. Accessories [Member] Products and services, accessories. Bassett Casegoods [Member] Products and services, Bassett Casegoods. Other us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent Bassett Custom Wood [Member] Products and services, Bassett Custom Wood. Useful Life (Year) us-gaap_DeferredCompensationArrangementWithIndividualContributionsByEmployer Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Contributions by Employer bset_EarlyRetirementProgramBenefitsPaymentPeriod Early Retirement Program, Benefits Payment Period Period from the final day of each individual’s active employment during which benefits are paid. Deferred Bonus and Profit Sharing Arrangements, Individual Contracts, Type of Deferred Compensation [Axis] us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseTermOfContract Lessee, Operating Lease, Term of Contract Deferred Bonus and Profit Sharing Arrangement, Individual Contract, Type of Deferred Compensation [Domain] us-gaap_LesseeOperatingLeaseRenewalTerm Lessee, Operating Lease, Renewal Term Other Significant Noncash Transaction [Axis] Other Significant Noncash Transaction, Name [Domain] Depreciation and amortization Depreciation and amortization us-gaap_AssetsCurrent Total current assets Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block] Post Employment Benefit Obligations [Member] Represents specific location on Balance sheet. Accrued Compensation and Benefits [Member] Represents specific location on Balance sheet. Common stock Juvenile Furniture Line of Business [Member] Represents juvenile furniture line of business. Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: Sales Commissions [Member] Represents sales commissions as capitalized contract assets. Statistical Measurement [Domain] Maximum [Member] Minimum [Member] Weighted Average [Member] Other current assets us-gaap_DeferredTaxAssetsNetNoncurrent Deferred income taxes Product and Service [Axis] Product and Service [Domain] Statistical Measurement [Axis] us-gaap_PrepaidRent Prepaid Rent us-gaap_InventoryLIFOReserve LIFO adjustment Inventories Inventory, net Bank Two [Member] Refers to information regarding the second of two banks that the entity usually uses for financing. Bank One [Member] Refers to information regarding the first of two banks that the entity usually uses for financing. us-gaap_InventoryWorkInProcess Work in process us-gaap_InventoryRawMaterialsAndSupplies Raw materials and supplies us-gaap_InventoryValuationReserves Reserve for excess and obsolete inventory Balance, beginning Balance, ending us-gaap_InventoryFinishedGoods Wholesale finished goods Selling, general and administrative expenses excluding new store pre-opening costs The aggregate total costs related to selling a firm's product and services, as well as all other general and administrative expenses. This excludes new store pre-opening costs. us-gaap_InventoryGross Total inventories on first-in, first-out method Operating activities: Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment [Table Text Block] Statement [Line Items] us-gaap_AccountsReceivableGrossCurrent Gross accounts receivable us-gaap_AllowanceForDoubtfulAccountsReceivableCurrent Allowance for doubtful accounts Balance, beginning Balance, ending Accounts receivable, net us-gaap_NumberOfReportableSegments Number of Reportable Segments Sales revenue: Wholesale Revenue by Major Product Category [Table Text Block] Tabular disclosure of wholesale revenue by major product category. Short-term investments Short-term Investments, Total AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member] Stockholders’ equity us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense Other loss, net Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block] Current assets Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block] us-gaap_CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalentsIncludingDisposalGroupAndDiscontinuedOperations Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period Cash and cash equivalents - end of period us-gaap_CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalentsPeriodIncreaseDecreaseIncludingExchangeRateEffect Change in cash and cash equivalents us-gaap_NetCashProvidedByUsedInFinancingActivities Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities, Total Net cash used in financing activities Income (loss) from Operations us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss Income from operations us-gaap_NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities, Total Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities Postemployment Benefits Disclosure [Text Block] Net cash used in investing activities Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities, Total us-gaap_OtherPostretirementDefinedBenefitPlanLiabilitiesCurrentAndNoncurrent Liability, Other Postretirement Defined Benefit Plan Cost of furniture and accessories sold Consolidation Items [Domain] us-gaap_InventoryWriteDown Inventory Write-down Other Operating Income and Expense [Text Block] us-gaap_ContractWithCustomerLiability Contract with Customer, Liability, Total Consolidation Items [Axis] bset_IntangibleAssetsGrossIncludingGoodwill Total goodwill and other intangible assets Amount before accumulated amortization of intangible assets. us-gaap_OtherPostretirementBenefitsPayableCurrentAndNoncurrent Liability, Other Retirement Benefits Combined pension liability us-gaap_PensionAndOtherPostretirementAndPostemploymentBenefitPlansLiabilitiesCurrentAndNoncurrent Logistical Services [Member] Information pertaining to the logistical services. bset_FinitelivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseAfterYearSix Thereafter Amount of amortization expense for assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life expected to be recognized after the sixth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date. bset_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmortizationExpenseYearSix Fiscal 2024 Amount of amortization expense for assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life expected to be recognized during the sixth fiscal year following the latest fiscal year. Excludes interim and annual periods when interim periods are reported on a rolling approach, from latest balance sheet date. Type of Adoption [Domain] us-gaap_PaymentsRelatedToTaxWithholdingForShareBasedCompensation Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards us-gaap_LettersOfCreditOutstandingAmount Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount Adjustments for New Accounting Pronouncements [Axis] us-gaap_PaymentsOfDividends Cash dividends Condensed Financial Statements [Text Block] us-gaap_PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock Repurchases of common stock Scenario [Domain] Forecast [Member] Retained Earnings [Member] Proceeds from the exercise of stock options Sales revenue us-gaap_RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax Sales revenues Other issuance of common stock Scenario [Axis] Common Stock [Member] Equity Components [Axis] Equity Component [Domain] us-gaap_LongTermDebt Long-term Debt, Total Other Current Liabilities [Member] Other Current Assets [Member] us-gaap_IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesExtraordinaryItemsNoncontrollingInterest Income before income taxes Deferred Compensation, Management Savings Plan [Member] Represents information about the Management Savings Plan. Transportation Equipment [Member] Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block] Pension Plans Defined Benefit and Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan [Member] Represents information about Pension Plans Defined Benefit and Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan. Balance Sheet Location [Axis] Balance Sheet Location [Domain] Options and restricted shares, net income per share (in dollars per share) Represents the effect of dilutive securities, stock options and restrictive stock units per share. Accounting Policies [Abstract] Deferred Compensation Plans [Member] Represents information about deferred compensation plans. Management Savings Plan [member] Represents the Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated Management Savings Plan, an unfunded, nonqualified deferred compensation plan maintained for the benefit of certain highly compensated or management level employees. Dividends per share (in dollars per share) Additions to allowance, net Repayments of notes payable Subsegments [Axis] Subsegments [Domain] Segments [Axis] Name of Property [Axis] Segments [Domain] Name of Property [Domain] Options and restricted shares, weighted average shares (in shares) Company-owned Retail Stores [Member] Retail stores that are owned by the company. bset_PaymentTermsForWholesaleCustomers Payment Terms For Wholesale Customers The payment terms for wholesale customers. Anti-dilutive securities (in shares) Diluted earnings per share, weighted average shares (in shares) Statement [Table] Statement of Financial Position [Abstract] Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share) Basic earnings (loss) per share, weighted average shares (in shares) us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDue Total future minimum lease payments us-gaap_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateContinuingOperations Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Percent, Total Business Acquisition [Axis] us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInFourYears Fiscal 2022 Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share) Business Acquisition, Acquiree [Domain] us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInFiveYears Fiscal 2023 Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract] us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInTwoYears Fiscal 2020 us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsDueInThreeYears Fiscal 2021 us-gaap_OperatingLeasesFutureMinimumPaymentsRemainderOfFiscalYear Remainder of fiscal 2019 Income Statement [Abstract] us-gaap_OtherComprehensiveIncomeLossNetOfTaxPortionAttributableToParent Other comprehensive income, net of tax Schedule Of Accounts Receivable [Table Text Block] The tabular disclosure of the accounts receivable. bset_InventoryRetailMerchandise Retail merchandise The amount of inventory pertaining to retail merchandise. Activity In Reserves For Excess Quantities And Obsolete Inventory By Segment [Table Text Block] The tabular disclosure of the activity in reserves for the excess quantities and obsolete inventory categorized by segment. Wholesale Segment [Member] The name of the segment, in this case it is the wholesale segment. Retail Segment [Member] The name of the segment, in this case it is the retail segment. Financing Receivable, Current, Allowance for Credit Loss [Table Text Block] bset_InventoryWriteoffs Write-offs Charges to the reserve to reflect the disposal of inventory previously reserved. Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block] Description of New Accounting Pronouncements Not yet Adopted [Text Block] bset_DefinedBenefitPlanFixedFutureBenefitAwardIndividualParticipants Defined Benefit Plan, Fixed Future Benefit Award, Individual Participants The fixed future benefit awarded to each individual participant of the unfunded defined benefit plan. Schedule of Intangible Assets and Goodwill [Table Text Block] Land and Building occupied by Spring, Texas Retail Store [Member] Represents the information pertaining to the land and building occupied by Spring, Texas retail store. Finite-lived Intangible Assets Amortization Expense [Table Text Block] Zenith Freight Lines [Member] The name of the affiliate involved in the investment. us-gaap_LiabilitiesNoncurrent Total long-term liabilities us-gaap_PaymentsForProceedsFromOtherInvestingActivities Other Financing activities: us-gaap_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationAtFederalStatutoryIncomeTaxRate Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent Other long-term liabilities Amortization associated with Retirement Plan Post employment benefit obligations us-gaap_ProceedsFromLifeInsurancePolicies Proceeds from Life Insurance Policy us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet Net identifiable assets acquired Other comprehensive income: us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredGoodwillAndLiabilitiesAssumedNet Total net assets acquired us-gaap_StockholdersEquity Total stockholders' equity Balance Balance us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedLiabilities Total liabilities assumed us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesNetOfCashAcquired Cash paid for business acquisition Unfunded Deferred Compensation Plan [Member] The description of a deferred compensation plan. Class of Stock [Axis] Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block] us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross Schedule of Stockholders Equity [Table Text Block] us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedCurrentLiabilitiesOther Other accrued liabilities us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedAssets Total identifiable assets acquired us-gaap_BusinessCombinationRecognizedIdentifiableAssetsAcquiredAndLiabilitiesAssumedCurrentLiabilitiesAccountsPayable Accounts payable Operating Segments [Member] Upholstery [Member] The type of product or service that is provided.