Antiques and Second-hand Furniture | Original Cottage Furniture

Introduction to Cottage Furniture in SA

Ridges Antiques has been in business for over 16 years - with Amelia Scott and her husband at the fore.

We do restorations on-site using an experienced team of 4 staff members - all work is done professionally and with original materials. Ridges is one of the few antique restoration companies that does restorations for the private sector.

Original Cottage Furniture is a term used for antique and second-hand furniture that originates from 1890 to 1940. Today there is also a wide variety of reproductions available of this cottage furniture. The furniture is usually made from solid timber such as oak, beach, Oregon pine, teak, mahogany and yellow wood and is usually very sturdy and practical. These pieces are highly sought after and are reasonably priced.

Although large quantities of original cottage furniture was imported from countries such as Britain, Europe and America, larger pieces were manufactured in South Africa. These locally manufactured pieces were made from imported, high quality timber. Of the locally manufactured cottage furniture, the most well known furniture originated in the Cape. Initially all furniture was handmade. From 1860s the furniture was also machine made which threatened the craft of hand made furniture. The mass production of machine made furniture resulted in reasonably priced furniture that more people could afford. Therefore the popularity of the cottage furniture increased dramatically in South Africa.

After the Anglo-Boer War, the demand for original cottage furniture increased and two Cape Town manufacturers became well known for their furniture. They were D. Isaacs and Company (established in 1874) and the Bell, Web and Bell Company (trademark “Belweb”). Large quantities of cottage furniture was imported from countries such as Austria and America.

After a peak in mass-produced cottage furniture between 1920 and 1940, the period 1940 to 1960 was characterized by the introduction of new materials. Materials such as chipboard, metals, melamine, acrylic, fibreglass and polystyrene were introduced which ended the dominance of wood in the furniture market. This negatively impacted the original cottage furniture industry.

The years that followed saw a decline in the wood furniture market. That is until the redevelopment of old, high-density suburbs in Johannesburg such as Melville and Westdene. There was an immediate demand for quality original cottage furniture. Old stock in second-hand shops was in demand again and the restoration industry of these pieces revived. Cottage furniture is not in the same class as antique furniture and therefore does not need the same attention and care during the restoration process. It is often preferred by the buyer that the restored pieces be “rough handled” to a certain extent. Machine tools are often used in the restoration of cottage furniture, while this is a no-go in antique furniture where everything should be done by hand.

When buying original cottage furniture, always weigh the cost of the un-restored item with its restoration against the cost of a restored item. Many people have taken up the hobby of restoring these pieces themselves. While certain tasks can be easily done by most, certain tasks should be left to the restorers. We recommend that you find a reliable dealer in original cottage furniture that can advise and help you with restoration tasks.