R W Berry & Son

This is a place where you can grab a great bargain every now and then if you have an good eye for furniture that can be redeemed with a lick of varnish or even left as is against a backdrop of a stark, modern interior. I love the fact that the prices are realistic rather than extortionate as you may often find in ‘vintage’ furniture stores across Brighton. All you need to bring with you here is a little imagination and perhaps a dash of elbow grease.

Every home décor magazine from Elle Decoration to Living Etc seems to be running features on upcycling at the moment. For those not familiar with the term, it involves modernising and updating old furniture rather than buying new and using more of the planet’s resources.
A small secondhand furniture store in Seven Dials, R W Berry is perfect for established and wannabe upcyclers. Unlike a lot of the antique shops in the North Laines, the stock is reasonably priced and there’s an interesting mix of desks, dining tables, chairs, dressers, wardrobes, mirrors and clocks. Since most of the stock comes from house and office clearances, there’s also the odd filing cabinet, standard lamp and animal head amidst the ornaments and furniture.
All you need to start upcycling is cans of paint, varnish and your imagination!

I have a thing for skulls. Not real human skulls, but I tend to collect decorated skulls and skeletons from wherever I travel to. I once shleped home a foot tall hand painted wooden skeleton from Guatemala just because I had to have it in my collection of paper mache sugar skulls.
Yes, there is a review coming!
Walking through Seven Dials I noticed a mirrored mosaic skull hanging in the window of this second hand furniture and house clearance shop. When I went in to inquire about the price, the very lovely owner said to my surprise «£15». I immediately said «sold» and he offered to deliver it to my flat. AMAZING!
The point being that even though R. W Berry & Sons deal in house foreclosures and real crafted wooden furniture, you can stroll by and find the most amazing bits and bobs. Be sure to get your hands on it straight away, because most likely it won’t be there tomorrow.