On the face of things, Joburg doesn’t come across as a nostalgia-loving city. Home decor tastes in South Africa’s hustle capital can skew over the top—many a glitzy pad boasts a cherry-red leather settee vast enough to support a rhino’s yoga routine.
Alongside the flashy aesthetic lurks a vibrant retro-loving subculture—aficionados of second-hand furniture. On any given weekend, they are prowling the pavements for mid-century Danish coffee tables, gold-curlicued French armoires, or sturdy Old Transvaal ‘riempie’ chairs. And it’s easy and fun to join them.
If you’re in the market for an unexpected oddity or stone-cold bargain, hit the budget-friendly vintage stores dotted along Rabie Street in Randburg, Melville’s Seventh Avenue and Long Road through Albertville and Greymont. If you’re after some expertly restored modernist classics, you’ll need to zigzag between Parkhurst’s Fourth Avenue, Rosebank’s Design Quarter and the 44 Stanley Avenue complex in Milpark.
Here’s our guide to Johannesburg's best second-hand furniture stores to help you furnish your home sustainably—whatever your style or budget.
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If you fancy landing a well-priced gem while backing a good cause, pop down to Hotel Hope Interiors in Melville. This charity store is run by Hotel Hope Ministries, a non-profit organisation that supports orphans, abandoned and vulnerable children.
As much of Hotel Hope’s stock is donated, the prices are generally lower than for-profit stores. Items available include furniture, silverware, artwork, glassware, porcelain, candlesticks, and occasionally antique cameras and musical instruments.
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The playful wildcard of the Greymont antique strip, Trouvé specialises in finding and restoring elaborately ornamental antique pieces, often wittily revived with bold repainting. Expect to see cabinets appliquéd with Tretchikoff prints or madcap Fornasetti-inspired pieces. The store also stocks the full Annie Sloane range of chalk paints, if you fancy reinventing a piece yourself.
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If you’re equipping a home study or startup office, Has Been is Gauteng’s biggest stockist of second-hand desks, chairs, cabinets, workstations and shelving bays. The store is a family-owned business with a proud record of service, carries a range of well-priced new office furniture, and delivers and installs across the province.
Stocking a broad range of “gently used” furniture, New To You caters to all the mainstream deal-hunters seeking neither battered relics nor high-style modernism. This is your go-to place if you need to equip a space with smart, functional, pass-for-new decor at a price point a notch or three below the new equivalents at Coricraft or its like. You may even be able to get your hands on a used Coricraft couch in excellent condition without breaking the bank.
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Kim Sacks is an institution in Joburg’s globally important African design and craft scene. The founder, a master potter herself, has built a rich network of contacts across the continent, sourcing a trove of new and old ceramics, basketry, textiles, beadwork and furniture. Don’t expect to find a cut-price masterpiece at Kim Sacks, though—the gallery is home to the best of the best. But even if you’re on a budget, you could find something small and exquisite that won’t bankrupt you.
Phone: 067 704 3926
Address: 153 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg
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A meticulous restorer of mid-century modern pieces, Timeless Furniture is an essential stop if you’ve always fancied a sleek Scandinavian sideboard, a pair of Lubis armchairs, or an elegant oval dining table. As demand remains strong for mid-century design but the local supply has waned a little over the years, you may need to keep returning to this and other specialist suppliers’ Instagram feeds to find the piece you’re dreaming of.
For Mad Men revivalists with a bit of financial elbow room, Re-Trend in Parkhurst has a discerning eye for the unspeakably cool when it comes to mid-century furniture. Fancy a Danish teak corner cabinet in the R20 000 range? Or a slender little amorphic maple coffee table for R5000? If the answer is “yes", this is your happy place.
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Clyde on 4th is the place to go if your keywords are “Georgian”, “Regency” or “French”—a comprehensive stockist of properly restored antique pieces. Carrying everything from Victorian marble-topped burr walnut chiffoniers to Chinese scholar’s screens, Clyde’s showroom is a paradise of glowing old wood and ornate handles.
Phone: 082 883 4933
Email: clyde4th@mweb.co.za
Address: 75 4th Avenue, Melville, Johannesburg
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