Home Interiors: Brown furniture returns to our living rooms

We celebrate the return of period brown furniture to our great indoors

A pedestal desk that may well have started its life as a chiffonier sideboard. Repurposing takes some careful planning to ensure the dimensions will make sense. It’s not savage to take something modest apart and press those stunning timbers back to work. File picture

Long rejected as dull but dependable, brown furniture has become the brooding hero of the auction room floor. With prices for quality, everyday timber furniture, even in MDF, good old ply and particle board at unprecedented heights, its star is on the ascent. 

Moving into 2024 we’re seeing an increased curiosity among homeowners and interior stylists about heritage pieces in trending “newstalgia”. One of the hottest trends on Pinterest this year, brown furniture is a mine of opportunity for every budget.