February 18th, 2010
For the handy DIYer, Remake it Home provides projects and inspiration on reusing just about anything to make a new item for the house. (I received a free copy for review.)
Remake it Home: The Essential Guide to Resourceful Living by Henrietta Thompson includes 20 step-by-step projects revealing how to make things like a freezer from terra cotta pots or a layered cupcake stand from plates and cups.
At 272 pages, the emphasis isn’t really on the step-by-step projects. The book serves as more of a visual and inspirational showcase of products remade from items that have served their purpose — junk. The guide is supposed to get you motivated, and make you think of additional ways items may be reclaimed in your world. Or it could serve as a sort of shopping or interior design guide.
Examples of items featured in the book include the Coat Hanger Fruit Bowl by Amplifier, the Maarten de Ceulaer Iron Bookends, (pictured) or the Dominic Wilcox War Bowl (using toy plastic soldiers). Many of the items are available for sale by the designers. Featured designs cover anything you’d want for the home — furniture, appliances, accessories, lighting, tools and more.
If you’ve spent much time on blogs that focus on reuse projects (like my former blog Junk Creation), then you’ve likely seen a few of the designs before. Yet, you’ve probably not seen them all. Remake it Home lists for $29.95, but can be found online for about $20.
Is it worth it?
- Remake it Home is printed on 100% recycled stock, using only post-consumer waste.
- The book itself is stylishly presented with great pains taken to include a large variety of items made from “junk.” Several handy reuse tips are included, but if you’re looking for a book packed with instructions on reuse projects, this isn’t it.
- Remake it Home would make a nice gift for the green and imaginative DIYer, crafter or design student. For others, it may just be a source of curiosity or another coffee table book. While the book is certainly interesting and beautifully designed, calling it an “essential guide” is a bit of a stretch.
Have you read Remake it Home?
(Image Credit: (c) Remake it Home, by Henrietta Thompson, Universe, 2009)
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