Villa & Hut

Villa and Hut is a pretty big project, watch the video on their website and you will see people struggling through fields in Java with tables and chairs, boats flying around with their logo on and trucks stacked with furniture ready to make their journey halfway across the world. Much effort has gone into getting this stuff, and if this is the kind of thing you go for — bamboo beds, colonialist benches, trunks and bookcases, gigantic wardrobes, chairs shaped like hands etc — In Villa and Hut you could kit out a mansion with it. Personally it’s not my style, but I can see why it’s a popular place in Brighton, much of this stuff would be fitting in Brighton properties, even when juxtaposed with the Georgian architecture. Just don’t forget that you are not in Bali and the office job still beckons in the morning when you roll out of your bamboo bed onto your straw mat at 7am.

I was on a mission to buy a new bedside cabinet. The one I have currently has a broken shelf that doesn’t slide out properly, and after a failed attempt to repair, I thought I would just buy a new one.
They have such a great variety here, and as far as bedside cabinets go, the prices range anywhere from £40 to £100. Needless to say, I settled on the £40.
You’ll find great wooden furniture (dining room tables, chairs, book cases, shelves, coffee tables) all of high quality, and with a majority of the items being very affordable. If I could afford something here, then anyone can.

The sign at the entrance of Villa & Hut claims «Lowest prices in UK on hand carved wooden furniture.» I haven’t done the research to vouch for that, but the prices are definitely reasonable. The wooden items on display range from large pieces of furniture, like dining room tables, to smaller knick knacks and statues.
Stock is imported — mostly from Indonesia, it seems — and also includes other types of home décor, like placemats and paintings along with several sizes of djembe drums and other music makers. The largest drum is only £45.
Also worth noting: Christmas ornaments are really cheap: 50p — £1 for tree decorations.

I have been wandering the streets of the North Lanes a good few years now and the wooden hands outside Villa and Hut have become somewhat of an institution in their own right to me! They seem so friendly, all soft and carved from beautiful wood, offering a perch for weary legs. Of course, they are also a bit random (are they comfy? Do people actually have them in their homes? Questions I would ask if giant hands could speak!).
Villa and Hut is a really lovely furniture shop on a corner of Sydney St. They make and sell ethical and sustainable furniture made from wood, which is often reclaimed. Whether you’re after a chest of drawers, a shelving unit or a chair, there’s lots of beautiful pieces to choose from. Some of the rattan items look a little cheap to me, but in general, most of the furniture and other home wares seem to be of good quality. I am a particular fan of the teak garden furniture– lots of clean lines and chunky wood– right up my alley! If you’re after conservatory furniture they also have lots of interesting chairs, which remind me a bit of what the Pier used to sell.

Ever wanted to sit on a chair that resembles a giant hand?
Or perch on a stool that’s carved into two feet?
If the answer is yes, Villa & Hut is going to be the shop you’ve been looking for.
Launched a decade ago in Melbourne, it’s an environmentally friendly store that specialises in hand-​crafted, wooden furniture including bamboo beds, rattan armchairs, mahogany bookshelves and teak coffee tables. All the wood is recycled or reclaimed from timber plantations in Java and there’s also a selection of ceramics and stoneware imported from Indonesia.