Vintage furniture holds an almost mythic appeal. There’s an intangible quality to period pieces you can’t find in a reproduction, whether it’s a connection to artisans and techniques of the past, the striking identifiable style of eras and movements like mid-century modern and Scandinavian, or just owning pieces bearing the marks of a life well-lived.
Australia is peppered with countless shops, stores and importers dedicated to finding, restoring and selling unique pieces of vintage furniture. But as anyone who’s ever lugged a sharehouse couch up the road, or misread the measurements on a snap Marketplace purchase might attest, purchasing a prize piece of furniture is only half the battle. You still have to get it home.
Fortunately, these days you don't need to look too far for a solution - perhaps not even beyond your own neighbourhood. With carsharing companies like Uber Carshare now providing access to hire vans, utes and vehicles built for transporting even the most dainty of rare Børge Mogensen nesting tables, you’re welcome to purchase freely no matter the location.
With that in mind, here’s where to look.
Modern Times, VIC
In 2010, Amy and Joel Malin took a leap of faith, importing a container of Dutch furniture and selling the pieces at pop-up stores. Despite starting with no business experience, the Malins have created one of Melbourne’s most iconic furniture stores in Modern Times, combining eclectic vintage pieces with contemporary Australian art.
Take a stroll around the Smith Street store and you’ll find carefully selected mid-century European daybeds, sofas and dining sets, imported mainly from Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands. In an off-site warehouse, restoration experts use techniques like Danish paper cord weaving, veneer restoration and re-upholstery to bring each piece into the 21st century. As Amy told Broadsheet in 2019 , their goal is to return each piece “to the designer’s original intention, without completely knocking off the patina of age.”
311 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Tangerine and Teal, NSW
Sisters Vanessa and Sacha Staniford grew up in New Zealand surrounded by the art of their screen printer father John. Despite eventually living in separate countries (Vanessa is in Auckland, Sacha in Sydney), the two channelled their ingrained creativity and founded separate vintage furniture stores called Tangerine and Teal on either side of the Tasman.
Sacha (who runs the Sydney location) openly admits copying her older sister’s foray into furniture restoration, though the two split their focus between Australian and New Zealand producers. In Sacha’s Brookvale store there’s a focus on mid-century Australian furniture from makers like Chiswell, Douglas Snelling, Parker and TH Brown, some of which is restored, some upcycled and some in original condition.
1/8 Orchard Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100
Found, NSW
Cabinetmaker Matt Hatcher established Found in 2006 with the understanding that ‘quality furniture will last more than one lifetime’ - a credo shared by vintage furniture lovers everywhere. These days, Matt and wife Kelly bring in new shipments from Europe (particularly Denmark) every two months, restoring everything in-house. At their Tweed Heads showroom, expect to see a huge variety of twentieth century furniture styles like fifties and sixties Scandinavian, art deco, vintage cane furniture and mid-century Australian. The store is open by appointment only, but how often do you get to browse in peace?
64 Machinery Dr, Tweed Heads NSW
Realm Vintage, SA
Paul and Ren Gerard started out restoring vintage furniture to decorate their own home, satisfying a personal love of modernist design and unique pieces. Now, the duo has turned their love of fifties, sixties and seventies furniture into Realm Vintage, a store which celebrates the clean lines, gentle curves and strong timbers of the mid-century style. Across three rooms in their Norwood store you’ll see some of the big names in Australian design like Fler, Moderntone, Grant Featherston and Danish Deluxe, plus some choice picks from Scandi, British and American makers. Besides the contoured chairs and teak sideboards, Realm is a good bet for vintage radiograms, those timber cabinets with in-built radios and record players.
160A Magill Road, Norwood SA 5067
Michael Allen Antiques, QLD
Most of us are at least teenagers by the time we’ve thought about our future career. Michael Allen, though, was just 11 when he started selling antiques, inspired by the trade of his father Bruce. The store peaks a little further into the past than the others on this list, specialising mainly in the Georgian (1714-1830), Victorian (1837-1901) and Edwardian (1901-1914) eras. Out of the 19th century wooden shops of East Brisbane, Michael Allen stocks antique furniture intended to be used rather than looked at, and you’re likely to find one-off pieces like ornate Georgian dining sets and French dressers with handles of gilt brass.
987 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169
Watch: Smith Street Bazaar on Curating Chaos and Filling Space
“The mission of Smith Street Bazaar – make design accessible to everyone,” says Eryca Green, co-owner of Smith Street Bazaar. We sit down with Green to go behind the scenes of running Smith Street Bazaar, and the consideration in curating the shop's window display.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Uber Carshare
