HYDERABAD: The pandemic has allowed many to redecorate their homes and Instagram resellers specialising in pre-loved, rustic, vintage decor pieces are making a killing out of it. So are the pre-owned furniture stores in the city. The sale of pre-used furniture made up of Indian teak, which is illegal to procure today, is booming in the secondhand business market.
“The African teak is the most common teak available in the market now, but it is not as good as the Indian one. People who know it are our customers,” Hyder Ali, who runs a second- hand furniture store at Langer Houz in the city, says. Most of the wood collected in Hyder Ali’s store is over five decades old. Some of it, he says, is older than a century. “Rain or sun, storm or ice, it withstands it all.
Also, it is naturally termite-resistant ,” Al i says. “My father collected furniture from wooden houses that got demolished in Siddembazar, Hussaini Alam and other parts of the Old City in the last two-three decades. Now, we are segregating all the pieces, repairing, refurbishing and restoring so that these can find a new home,” he says. Also, some of these pieces are a rare and real gem.
According to the seller, there are still pieces of functional furniture which was built without a nail or screw in it, using precise wooden joinery techniques. Jaya Tulsi Ramashetty, a photographer and media and communication professional based out of Hyderabad, has recently started refurbishing and selling pre-used wooden furniture pieces. “Half a billion trees are cut every year and more than 20 per cent of these are used to make new furniture.
Brown and Teal (her brand) aims to encourage people to re-use furniture that is refurbished. A piece of furniture is as strong as a tree that’s alive if restored well. It is a brand where antique aesthetics, sustainability and contemporary style meets,” says Jaya, who is currently working on a teak cabinet. She likes working alone. “For me, restoration is like meditation.” Her idea was to find new homes for the pieces of furniture, to find a new love for these intricate and beautiful pieces.
For this, she recently started an Instagram page , brownandteal. “These are the pieces that have stood the test of time and are treasure troves of memories passed down from one generation to another. They are strong sturdy and have been restored to their previous glory,” Tulasi writes on her Instagram page. Imtiaz Ahmed, a resident of Tolichowki and who owns a hardware store, also loves antiques.
“The 50-year-old house built by my father has now been demolished, but I have kept all the pieces of furniture, including the doors and windows. I have decided to restore them and will be using these pieces in the new building,” he says.
Reviving hidden gems
The sale of pre-used furniture made up of Indian teak, which is illegal to procure today, is booming in the second-hand business market. Antique refurbishers like Hyder Ali and Jaya Tulsi Ramashetty have been collecting wooden furniture which are over decades old. Also, some of these pieces are pretty rare.
According to Hyder, there are still pieces of functional furniture which was built without a nail or screw in it, using precise wooden joinery techniques