It's been a while.

Hi guys,

Sorry there haven't been any posts for a few weeks, I guess that's what a full time job, 2 college courses and a holiday do to you.
That said, the holiday was a treat for my 30th Birthday and it was so worth it. We headed to Barcelona where in all honesty I was not really sure what to expect but what we found was incredible.
Barcelona has massively embraced the recycling culture and the re-purposing of products.
Almost every place we ate was bathed in character and design.
They are certainly not short of creativity in Barcelona.
I could go on and on about the lighting, the reclaimed timber, materials etc etc but it is probably better so show you some pictures and to advise you to go there as nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes.

 

 

 

Floating book shelf

Being a big fan of stealthy designs whereby you get to see the end result without seeing all the other stuff like brackets, cables, wires and supports etc I decided to try something I've been wanting to do for ages, a floating book shelf.
I have seen some of these around and they look great. The idea is simple enough, use a book as a shelf but so you can't see any shelf brackets. Magic!

The first step was to get hold of a decent book and really you want to use a hardback book to keep some of the structure.

 

Next was to work out where to place the brackets and then cut the pages of the book to fit them in.

     

Once positioned I then had to cut some notches for the brackets in the cover of the book and then screw
it all together. If you use something like plasterboard screws which I did then they will bite in quite nicely and also don't need any drilling into the book for a pilot hole.

Once brackets are attached to the book it's a case of mounting it to the wall. Ideally you will want to mount to something fairly solid. Unfortunately I had to secure mine to an old wood latt and plaster wall which is not ideal but you can get around it by using more screws to spread the load.

This is my first attempt at this and I think I will refine it abit as I would like the brackets to be abit smaller but the basics are there so unless you have a fear of drilling holes then have a go at it and see what you can come up with.

Catch you soon. Rob

Festival of Thrift

Finally this weekend is the weekend I have been waiting for for months. The festival of thrift is days away. As the nights start to close in and the dust is blown off the heating thermostat it is that inevitable sign of autumn and winter being now upon us. Despite the chill in the air the festival of thrift is hotting up with more and more workshops being added weekly and some fantastic people taking part.
To add to my excitement I recieved an e-mail from the event team confirming my taking part in the blogger event where I will be interviewing the masterminds behind the uk's first festival of thrift.
Watch this space for the interview with Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway of Hemingway designs, John Orchard from Marchday and Events organiser Stella Hall.
Take care and see you soon.

Cafe Hero

Following on from my last post about pallet wood feature walls I happened upon a fantastic place where pallet wood was in abundance along with plenty of other inspirational and creative design works.

The place I found is a new cafe and restaurant in Hull, England and I have attached some pictures for you. I particularly like the bar area that has its frontage made up of a great selection of doors and drawer fronts of all shapes and sizes complete with the handles still attached.
I would be interested if anyone else has come across any places like this.

The use of reclaimed materials and eclectic decorative features and furniture have been blended together really well and this just the sort of room I wish I had designed. Topped off with a wickedly decent cup of tea and jazz music playing quietly in the background was fantastic.

Bye for now.

Reclaimed timber feature wall.

I am really interested in all the uses people find for reclaimed wood as there is so much of it around and it can be found in so many places such as skips, by the side of the road, industrial estates etc. One thing I particularly like is where it is used as a feature wall. The textures, colours and all the subtle differences in the pieces make for a fantastic feature. This is something we hope to do in our utility room so I will update with pictures when we have done it.

Re-cycled bottle soap dispensers

Hello, Just been thinking about ways that I could re-use some nice spirit bottles as I love the variety of shapes, finishes and labels that you get with them. In the past I have mostly used them for vases but recently when in one of those moments of boredom I decided to see if the plastic top off my soap dispenser would fit on a bottle, which it did. This prompted me to further prod the idea and thought about using the bottle as a soap dispenser.
I had to cut up the plastic tube from a trigger type bottle to make the tube long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle and it worked a treat. See what you think as I have gone abit further and made one for the washing up liquid and the washing machine liquid is next.

How to make a pallet star.

Currently there is this huge trend in recycling pallets. As with anything the overall look and finish of a product is only as beautiful as those who find it so and it comes down to a matter of personal taste. Personally I consider there to be a real charm and warmth in re-cycled wood as more often than not you get to see the life of the piece including some unique battle scars which can often become a feature to promote. That said please have a look at my pallet star that I made yesterday after spending the bank holiday Monday sifting through broken pallets and crates. Please read my step by step guide below to make your own!

   

Step one was to locate pallets you can usually find them discarded around industrial areas and by simply asking some companies will let you take them for free. I would advise if going to collect some pallets be mindful that they can be quite big and heavy so taking a hammer, handsaw and a crowbar if you have one would be an idea. I only have a relatively small car and had to break a few of the pallets up to get them in.

Secondly and watching for any rusty screws or nails you will need to check the pieces over to make sure they are ok and that they are suitable to use. To make the star you won't want wood with big cracks and splits in them.

Thirdly you will need to lay the wood down and find an arrangement that you like. Once you have this you can then draw your star onto the wood. I would advise drawing your star onto some card beforehand so you can trace round it for ease.

Next comes the cutting. If you happen to have a chop saw or a bench mounted saw that will save you time but don't worry if not as the cuts you will need to make are quite straight forward and at the end of the day if you go wrong at least you didn't pay for the timber! Cut each of your sections of pallet wood and then lay them out and check you are still happy with your design. Then lightly sand the wood.

Finally you need to attach all your sections together either using wooden batons or metal brackets to make your star whole and then its ready! One thing I have not mentioned in this post is the finish of your piece. I personally have opted for a natural finish where I have only added a coat of treatment against things like rot and woodworm just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for checking this out, I hope it inspires you to make something of your own.

Thrift happens.

In keeping with the theme of my blog and also in keeping with the festival summer we have been enjoying it seems nothing more than appropriate to mention the upcoming festival of thrift that is being held in Darlington (UK) on 21st and 22nd of September.

Featuring a fantastic variety of attractions including craft workshops, swap meet, vintage, eclectic and retro home wares, music, cookery workshops, the list I'm sure is endless.
This festival is set to be amazing and with some familiar faces at the event should be a fantastic opportunity to showcase some truly brilliant and inspirational ideas and also be a great platform to mingle with so many like-minded and interesting people.
I would encourage everyone to get their derrières upto Darlington for the festival of thrift and what's more the entry is free.
I know where I'll be!

http://festivalofthrift.co.uk/

Hanging plates on the wall

So, the other weekend I spent way too long hanging some fantastic old plates on our kitchen wall with my girlfriend. The only thing we knew for certain was that we did not want to see the way that the plates were mounted and we didn't want to use some granny style plate holders since we both felt they were far too dated.

After much thinking and a good few brews later we came up with this idea to use silicone sealant that seems to stick like £@#%.

We used some metal garden wire and bent it into hook shapes and used the silicone to bond it to the back of the plates but a word of warning, it takes a few hours to set so you will need to be patient.

After that we tapped some small round wire nails into the wall for these plates to hang on so the mounting is discreet and I think it gives them a cleaner and more modern look.

So far they are all still on the wall and we haven't woken suddenly in the night to the sound of shattering porcelain so that's a good sign. 

Here is our little collection, hope you like them.

Alternative wrapping paper

Hi, finally I have got round to putting my first real post on here. I am always on the look out for something interesting that I can re-use. Old sheet music is such a great thing. The look and the feel of it is fantastic and the history behind it I think is so interesting to think who would have sat and played this in front of a roaring fire or to guests. I have only really seen a few people use it for other things and the latest one that I have found is to use it as wrapping paper. Although I would normally prefer a use with abit more longevity, if removed in a delicate way it can be used re-used again for other fun things. 
Thanks for reading my post, I am starting to build up my blog now so please come back and see my next post.
Rob

Welcome.

Hi and welcome to my design and ideas blog for creative and innovative living. I have decided to write this blog as my passion for design continues to grow and which I hope one day to turn into a career. 

I am a huge fan of products that have more than one use and especially if they have been upcycled in some way and are saved from landfill. 
It would be great if anyone wanted to share their little, or big for that matter, ideas here as I believe our part in helping move away from a disposable culture is by showing the others how to do it.

I hope you enjoy it.