Our Story
With the increasing global trend towards a more artisanal, hand crafted and natural lifestyle, it’s hardly surprising that we are thriving.
Our exquisitely handmade wooden custom-made furniture has found homes around the country – and the world – from residences in KZN to offices in Cape Town to homes in Komatipoort to game lodges in Zambia … and as far afield as Australia.
The reasons are obvious. Apart from each item being exquisitely and immaculately handcrafted, our ethos also appeals to most.
We waste no part of the timber we use, throw nothing away, and believe in telling the story of the tree through the wood. If there’s a knot or a variation in grain, we don’t cut it out. That flash of red in the grain, for instance, shows the tree might have been stressed by a big drought, or perhaps be a result of strong wind compression, and it’s part of the history of the tree. It adds to the appeal, it’s part of its story.
No two pieces can ever be identical.
We use the whole plank. We don’t crop or chop – and any off-cuts are turned into what we call our smalls: condiment holders, planters, bathmats, baguette/cheese/bread boards, biltong slicers, herb boxes, you name it!
We were founded a dozen years ago by local wood fanatic Ian Perry, who studied at the University of Stellenbosch boasts a BSC Forestry (Wood Science) cum laude and more recently became an award winning furniture designer through the DTI National Furniture Design Competition.
One of the key reasons for Homewood’s inception was his passion for nature and his discovery that 90% of a tree is often deemed as unusable wood in furniture production, due to natural imperfections in the grain or wood itself. Determined to celebrate the natural beauty of indigenous wood, he set out to create furniture that embraces these imperfections as unique pieces of art that carry a story.
The production of each piece of furniture highlights the unique look and feel of the wood, and includes modular construction, which avoids glue jointing and degradation. Homewood also avoids using stains or dyes.
The respect and love for the wood used in each piece of furniture is a value that is passed on to to our 80 staff, all employed from the Lidgetton area in the KZN Midlands, and customers.
What sets us apart is that each piece leaving a showroom is absolutely unique. Just as much passion and care goes into our small, one-of-a-kind items as that going into our large volumes of our bigger pieces.
The Lidgetton factory bristles with energy and zest, the staff working flat out to fill orders and create the next beautiful design.
Our designs are very contemporary, which adds to the appeal as well, and the fact that we can produce almost anything you want, as a one of a kind, is a major draw-card.
Let’s work with your idea, visualize it in design and create your perfect space!
