Antonia Edwards is the queen of upcycling – the art of not just recycling discarded recyclable materials and found objects, but enhancing them. The motto: “old and inconspicuous” becomes “new and wow!” Design always plays a major role.
Her book is about the big picture, not the details – it’s about houses. In the three major chapters “RECLAIMED – Make new out of old”, “REVIVED – Fresh flair in old walls” and “REIMAGINED – Creative misappropriation”, a total of 35 creative house projects are presented. Upcycling is pretty much the opposite of recycling. A process in which plastic waste, for example, is turned into the ugliest garden benches in the world. It’s different with Edwards – all things have their own distinctive style and story.
In her first book, Edwards focused on individual objects – furniture, lamps and small installations. In the volume “Upcycled Homes” everything is one size bigger and more impressive – but the motivating imitation effect is initially less. All the houses in the band are simply impressive – but most of them are also breathtakingly large and exclusive. So that for the average wage earner only details are interesting as inspiration. But there are plenty of them. The band has excellent photos – so it’s not that they just recycle photos from blogs. In addition, there are lovely texts with interesting details about the work. These little things invite you to dream again. These are suggestions with which the reader can work, even if he does not want to reach a 500 square meter domicile. The sophisticated Collage House in India designs its fronts with a puzzle made of old traditional window elements. However, individual buildings such as the Remisen Pavilion near Bremen show how one could also build small, functional buildings such as sheds or garages in a completely different way – if only one had the courage to do so. “Upcycled Homes” is such a book that you leaf through to dream, but which is also useful for those interested.
In her first book, Edwards focused on individual objects – furniture, lamps and small installations. In the volume “Upcycled Homes” everything is one size bigger and more impressive – but unfortunately the motivating imitation effect is less. All the houses in the band are simply impressive – but most of them are also breathtakingly large and exclusive. So that only details are of interest as inspiration for the average earner. The sophisticated Collage House in India designs its fronts with a puzzle made of old traditional window elements. However, individual buildings such as the Remisen Pavilion near Bremen show how one could also build small, functional buildings such as sheds or garages in a completely different way – if only one had the courage to do so.
The wings of the Wing House consist of the wings of old jets – it was certainly not cheaper than a conventional roof. Antonia Edwards warns against false expectations. “Recycling is not always the quickest and cheapest option.” Old objects would first have to be found, cleaned and refurbished. To equip a complete house, you have to be on the hunt for many years. If you want to turn old sheds or industrial buildings into a home, you have to invest more in refurbishing than in an off-the-peg house. But he is also rewarded with a unique home. And that’s the trend: If you click through a platform like Airbnb, you are always stuck with the unique items.
Love of the material is essential. Wall cladding made from reclaimed wood is popular, for example. Only when you look closely do you realize how much work has been put into the old boards.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
