Design ideas for inventive ways to reuse and repair
Waste is one of the main threats that the design industry poses to sustainability. According to a survey produced by the climate action charity WRAP, as recently as 2017, there were 391,000 tonnes of home textile waste (i.e. carpets, curtains, and upholstery material) sent to landfill, which is joined there by huge amounts of building materials such as wood, plaster and metal. The best way to combat this – and to save a bit of money too – is to make the most of the materials we already have. An off-cut of curtain fabric can make a beautiful cushion, and you'd be surprised by how easy it is to spruce up tired looking floorboards with a bit of sanding and a coat of varnish. All that's needed is a bit of creativity, a touch of know-how, and a little inspiration. For the latter, we have turned to the inspirational and ingenious designers who are making the most of the abundance resources we already have.
Paul Whitbread1/9When Patrick Williams of Berdoulat moved into a Georgian building in Bath, this cabinet was in situ. However, 23 of the mahogany drawer fronts were missing. He was able to remill the timber from offcuts from a countertop and a battered table from his previous home, both mahogany, and turn it into new drawers. Since he liked the mix of tones and the fact that they told the story of the repair, he decided to leave the newly milled fronts unstained. berdoulat.co.uk
Pablo Zamora2/9Having discovered a fragment of a 17th-century Dutch tapestry in a French flea market, interior designers Iñigo Aragón and Pablo López Navarro of Casa Josephine wanted to display it in their own flat in a former convent in Madrid. By mounting it on a contrasting yellow background, they have highlighted its jagged edges. The undercounter curtain in the same colour helps to integrate the artwork visually into the room, while the fragment’s hues echo the textured ceramics on display. casajosephine.com
Mark Anthony Fox3/9In their beautifully restored late-19th-century house in Spitalfields, Will Fisher and Charlotte Freemantle of Jamb have mixed antique and reproduction pieces seamlessly. In the kitchen, pictured here, they have sourced old glazed wooden cabinets reclaimed from the British Museum to serve as additional storage. Because of their shallow depth and glass-fronted doors, these work well as a wall unit for displaying the couple’s collection of crockery. jamb.co.uk
©James Brittain4/9For this project in Devon, Jonathan Tuckey sourced terracotta tiles from a local reclamation yard. The quality was variable, so he had to come up with a creative layout and use substantial mortar joins to make a limited quantity of tiles work for the whole staircase. The pale mortar frames each tile nicely, creating a nougat effect. tuckeydesign.com
Theo Tennant5/9Reclamation specialist Retrouvius has created this jewel of a shower room using a salvaged material that is more usually associated with a functional purpose. A large copper water tank – the type that supplies water to tall buildings and which had acquired a verdigris finish on its exterior – was deconstructed into pieces of sheet metal. After cleaning the patinated copper, Retrouvius designer Maria Speake has used it to clad both the shower enclosure and the basin stand to glamorous effect. retrouvius.com
Dean Hearne6/9Decorated by Lucy Hammond Giles of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, this west London townhouse demonstrates that beautiful old textiles are worth holding on to. They can be applied to a larger panel to create a wall hanging, backed with plain fabric for a cushion cover or – as in this example – combined with another fabric to make new curtains. Here, an antique hand-embroidered panel has been joined to a length of terracotta striped fabric to provide the width that is needed for a door curtain. sibylcolefax.com
Boz Gagovski7/9In Lucy Mayers’ sitting room, the curtains in a plain red linen from Volga Fine Linens had suffered from some sun-fading on the leading edge. The Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler designer has used an antique Central Asian tent band, bought from textiles specialist Susan Deliss, as a trim to cover the faded area. The leading edge of a curtain is the part most likely to become faded, so covering or adding something to this area can be an effective way to avoid having to replace the curtain. volgalinen.com | susandeliss.com
Rachael Smith8/9For her own bathroom, Studio Duggan founder Tiffany Duggan has added a sheet of mirrored glass to an elegant zinc oeil-de-boeuf window frame that was rescued from a French chateau. This unusual mirror adds an element of theatre to an otherwise restrained scheme. Its curved lines also provide an interesting contrast to the two rectilinear Crittall doors that flank the basin. studioduggan.com
Lucas Allen9/9Christopher Howe has used both antique and reclaimed items for the renovation of a house in Bray. In this room, the walls are lined with a vintage stock linen and horsehair fabric. This would have been used for interlining in suits – for example, to help to stiffen collars. The narrow widths of fabric were stitched together and then applied to the walls using steel tacks. The robustness and subtle colour variations of the material make it a clever choice. howelondon.com