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This is so cute! When you're creative, even a pickle jar has potential! Photo: Wary Meyers
Next time you see some old furniture or "junk" gathering dust, stop a minute and consider: What could it be?
From yard sales to dumpsters, husband and wife design team, Linda and John Meyers, are often collecting castaway items and transforming them into something beautiful. Just check out the pickle jar terrarium (right).
Since they helped so many of their New York City friends redesign their homes on a tight budget, they were forced to be resourceful and spot treasures in unexpected items. They've had such success that they decided to write a book. I chatted with the pair about Tossed and Found: Unconventional Design From Castoffs and asked them to share the stories behind some of their coolest creations. Here are my five favorites.
1. The Pickle Jar Terrarium
Linda and John grabbed a pickle jar from the fridge and some plant life from their back yard to make this fun DIY terrarium. Here's how to make it yourself. First, take a piece of packing tape, and with the sticky side facing out, place it on the underside of the lid that you screw on your jar (basically it'll look like a cup and the lid is the bottom of the cup). Then start adding the ingredients into your makeshift holder: place a layer of pebbles at the very bottom, add a layer of charcoal on top of that (to keep things fresh, which is very important in a closed environment). Then add whatever you want to grow from seeds along with some potting soil, or like the Meyers did, a little piece of the woods outside. Then water them (it'll be the one and only time you do, so make sure the soil's damp but not too wet). All you need to do now is close the jar, put it in some sunlight, and you have a charming little terrarium all for yourself. I love this idea.
*TIP: Make sure to thoroughly wash out whatever jar you choose, and line the bottom with a circular piece of tape (facing out) to help keep everything in place.
This Mantle is made out of scrap wood found on the street or from a dumpster! Who would ever have thought? Photo: Wary Meyers
The Meyers have already made four fireplace mantels like the one above, and each time they've used only wood from the street, construction sites, wharfs and dumpsters! "There's always a feeling that you're not doing your environmental best when you buy a new 2x4 instead of plucking them from a dumpster," says Linda. "I think wood is the most valuable material that gets tossed before it's time, since there are so many projects it could be used for." Indeed!
*TIP: When looking for wood, always make sure to check for smells or odd stains. If it's suspect, don't take it. You don't know what you're bringing into your home.
"Le French Dresser" is a beautiful redone piece that retains its style even though it's been given an updated look. And those words are all hand cut! Photo: Wary Meyers
John and Linda were in Old Orchard Beach, Maine searching for furniture and decor for their friend's Brooklyn apartment when they spotted this 1920s dresser. The dresser was $10 and may have been thrown in the dumpster sitting in the sellers driveway, if the Meyers hadn't purchased it. Keep an eye out for what John and Linda call "good bones," or furniture that has a sturdy structure and is well made.
Linda fancies this project because "it retains the dresser's integrity while being changed into something very modern and stylish." The typography on the drawers was hand-cut. I chuckled at the play on words: "Les pulls" means "sweater" in French, but you also "pull" a drawer open.
*TIP: Try to avoid taking pieces from the side of the road or anywhere else where you can't ask about the object, say Linda and John. Stick to yard sales, or a place where you can examine it.
'The Blue Willow Chair' was found at a yard sale for five bucks! Look what a little reupholstering can do! Photo: Wary Meyers
The Meyers found this chair (with its mod silhouette) while perusing another yard sale, and although the fabric looks great now, it was pretty ugly when they found it. Still, the chair was five bucks. So they bought it. "We like to reference old designs that have fallen out of style, like this chair," says Linda. Sometimes you need to give an ugly piece a chance -- just adding an updated fabric can completely change an older structure to a wonderfully modern addition to your home!
*TIP: Stay away from any upholstered items that are damp or smell like mildew. Some things are meant to be tossed and never found again!
Before you toss your old jeans, remember they could be keeping you warm at night -- as a quirky, fun quilt. Photo: Wary Meyers
This inventive quilt was made mostly from Linda and John's old jeans, with some yard sale and thrift store jeans thrown in for variety. They sewed "Home Sweet Home" into this quilt on some of the patches, backed it with a pretty floral fabric and stuffed it with cotton. Now they use it as a throw blanket for winter. "Boro," according to their book, is a Japanese word that means "rugs" or "tattered clothes." Often Boro refers to a type of Japanese indigo or denim reused by poor Japanese peasants and fisherman who can't afford new clothes. In other words, use what you have, rather than buying what you don't need.
To learn more about Linda and John's book, visit Wary Meyers.
