Now Easter half-term is over (at the time of writing) perhaps you’re stuck for ideas to get your young people doing something worthwhile during Whitson or even over the long long summer holidays? Most people know that upcycling is a great way to give old furniture a new lease of life. It can also be a fun and rewarding activity for people of all ages. However, it’s not always easy to get young people involved or fired up to join in. Upcycling can be a perfect holiday project which will keep kids age 10 and over entertained for days plus they could end up with a newly refurbished bedroom that t ..read more

A recent family trip took us to the big smoke (London) for an evening of theatre, football and a stay in a tall thin townhouse in Camden. A labyrinth of bedrooms, stairs, nooks and crannies with something to find at every turn. The old vintage wardrobe in our bedroom at the top of the house has been upcycled in a very chippy fashion which sits well on the painted floorboards. Different rugs of all shapes, colours and yarns make the room cosy. A retro wooden starburst clock, reminiscent of the 1950s, hangs above the brass bedstead next to a hammered pewter dressing table with its petite gold ..read more

Last weekend saw over 100 furniture artists gather in Derbyshire for the second UK conference dedicated to furniture painters and to celebrate all things painty. This year we were indulged with topflight furniture painters, product innovators and awash with an abundance of colour and laughter. As with last year (the very first Painters Business Academy) it was an opportunity to meet like-minded people and wax lyrical about furniture upcycling. The aim of the weekend was to equip the attendees with tools, knowledge, confidence and motivation to enhance their creative and business knowledge. Onc ..read more

If you think of upcycled furniture as a colourful slick of paint with some new matching knobs, then you are a missing out on the burgeoning trend which comes with a big sustainability thumbs up. Bureaus Take an ancient, old fashioned, beaten up grimy bureau. Chances are it will look downtrodden in most homes. However, once upcycled, it can become a striking statement piece in any colour and any design to settle in any home. E Gomme Bureau in Duck Egg Blue with Calligraphy, flowers & bees transfer Perhaps that is not to your taste and prefer something a little understated, somber, more unis ..read more

On a recent reconnaissance to my local Recycling Centre, I chanced upon a console table buried under other unwanted household items. It was shapely and interesting but had clearly been in storage for some time. On close inspection of the drawer build, I was taken aback by the joints. No glue or tacks, but no dovetails either. It was like the drawers had been constructed using lengths of wooden doweling. I was mightily intrigued. I established the long elegant legs were attached via large bolts (later learnt these were machine cut on a hand-turned lathe) and larger wing-nuts, so could ..read more

Scrolling through glossy home magazines can evoke dreams of transforming your own castle into an equally welcoming and alluring showroom. Unfortunately, they frequently feel a little out of reach and altogether unlikely. However, with a dream in your heart and a little imagination in your head, it’s amazing what can be achieved with what you already have with occasional help from the flourishing secondhand market. Let’s start with your lounge. There are two things which are not so easy to change without cost and upheaval: the walls and the floor. Walls can be disguised with pictures, and large ..read more

There has never been a better time to introduce Gen Z to the upcycling life choice. They have the power to champion a sustainable lifestyle amongst their peers and elders (assuming us Generation X are elders??). But how to get them engaged? Zoomers, as they are known, born mid-1990s to 2012, are digital natives. They are the first generation born into the internet and portable technology and are the first to have climate change woven into their learning, be this at home or at school. But very few Zoomers even think to pick up a paint brush to give their bedroom a fresh, inexpensive and eco-fr ..read more

The 2022 Winter Olympics get underway on Friday 4th February in Beijing but they don’t have snow. They always knew they wouldn’t have snow but they still got the gig. Solution? 100% artificial snow. I do not ski. Cannot ski. I love the theme music to Ski Sunday and have enjoyed watching some Winter Olympics in the past. However, this year I will struggle to enjoy the scenery and the fanfare due to the flagrant disregard for common sense. The alpine ski events are being held in the middle of a nature reserve in Yanqing – an area larger than a thousand football pitches. To accommodate this, ove ..read more

A fun and a teensy bit historical review of an Aylesbury Waterside Theatre production of the musical based on Kate Pankhurst’s novel. My theatre buddy and I (daughter Phoebe, age 15) went to the theatre last week to see this uplifting musical performance. I found it inspiring and empowering and enlightening and frustrating – how recent it was where it was so tough for women to simply …..be. Before I continue and to clarify, one of the main post-show discussions Phoebe and I had was that the production did not slate men. It was not so overwhelmingly pro-women that it left mankind wanting. Th ..read more

Upcycled furniture is on a popularity roll. If you’re after an unusual statement piece with added ‘wow’ worthy of discussion, then upcycled will tick every box. However, a classic and conservative professionally upcycled item can bring understated refined elegance to your home. Most homes are not graced with bold, colourful artisan pieces of furniture and many homeowners would not want there to be. Upcycled furniture is not just bold and gold; it is also gentle, plain, conservative, simple, matching and blending. Think sideboard or living room storage. The options are endless ..read more