Makhanda couple giving old furniture new life

Makhanda couple Jessica Maritz, 32, and Joshua Burnett Thorburn, 26, are reviving forgotten furniture into trendy statement pieces.

The pair launched an online shop, Homey — Vintage Furniture Specialists at the start of this year, but made it official via social media last week.

Their house is a living showroom of freshly upholstered chairs, shining wooden tables, geometric lampshades and many of their hottest items — restored Persian rugs.

Thorburn said: “We both grew up with parents who kept old furniture, but it all started when we bought our own home and realised the potential for restoring items.

“We also saw how expensive new furniture was and how bad the quality is, unless it’s premium expensive stuff from the larney shops.”

It’s important to remember that the term ‘antique’ refers to furniture that’s more than 100 years old, so we aren’t in the antique game but the restoration game

The focus of the boutique is vintage furniture from the mid-century, sourced through hours of scouring Facebook marketplace, walking through warehouses or attending local auctions.

He said: “It’s all clean lines and angles from around the 1970s. We won’t really buy bulk or claw-and-ball foot furniture. It’s important to remember that the term ‘antique’ refers to furniture that’s more than 100 years old, so we aren’t in the antique game but the restoration game.”

Maritz handles the online sourcing and purchasing, Thorburn does the administration and content management. They co-ordinate all design elements needed for restoration but leave the reupholstering to the professionals.

Maritz said: “I’ve spent days hunting for furniture on multiple platforms, sifting through really good stuff if you can get it. I dedicate a few hours of my day to just finding gems.

“I love mid-century furniture and this is in a way, being able to hold on to something nostalgic from an era I really enjoy. I’ve always loved Persian [carpets], I love how a rug can make you feel at home and it can elevate a space.”

“The carpets do well because not a lot of people are reselling them. The Persians are Jess’s baby. I would say they are her favourite,” Thorburn said.

He said: “People are mostly selling what they don’t want or like any more or what they think is damaged, and we see its potential. We take it to Father & Son Upholsters who are highly skilled and do amazing work.”

Thorburn explained their business concept as a ‘living showroom’: “We are trying to find nice premises for Jess to run as a full-time shop, but for now it’s all at home.

“We spend a lot of time photographing, staging, moving around the space,” he said.

“Working together has been challenging, but we keep it fun, it’s brought us closer together.

“A beautiful thing about this process is that we’ve helped supplement expenses in the home in a collective manner and with collective effort.”

“As an online platform, Facebook marketplace has been a real help to us. Though we have been scammed once or twice trying to buy stock, like making a payment for a rug that doesn’t exist.”

Thorburn advised buyers and sellers to ensure validity before making any payment.

“Go to a profile and see how many other listings they have. People with substantial sales on Marketplace have good ratings. A big red flag is when a profile was started in 2024, most people have had Facebook since before then, a new profile is always suspicious.”

Scammers also steal images off the internet to pose as their own.

“If you suspect a fraudulent image, you can do a Google image search. Often it’s from an advert from a furniture store in America.”

The couple offer shipping nationwide and have delivered to Cape Town, Gqeberha, East London, Port Alfred and Kenton.