Upcycling Outdoors: 20 Creative Garden Projects Made from Reclaimed Materials

by Max McMurdo

Ever thought about transforming that rusty old item in the garage into something awesome to impress visitors to your garden, or fancied refurbishing the random old dining chair in the shed but don't have the tools or know-how?

In Upcycling Outdoors, Max McMurdo teaches you how to discover your inner design genius, where to find great scrap items, and techniques on how to transform them into great design for your garden and outdoor spaces. Divided into Planters and Containers (copper-edged wooden planters, vintage suitcase planter, nautical style planter), Outdoor Structures (fabric teepee, mindful dressing table corner, firepit), Eating and Entertaining (car bonnet BBQ, outdoor domino set, bicycle picnic set, wheelbarrow beer store), Furniture (repurposed picnic bench, concrete-skimmed occasional table, living grass chair, swing), Lighting and Accessories (bird cage lights, dog-feeding station, outdoor chandelier, lampshades), Max shows simple design ideas throughout the book that will inspire you to roll up your sleeves and have a go. Step away from the chipboard and venture out of your comfort zone into a glorious world of doodles, sanding, waxing, stunning colours and the satisfaction of telling people that you made that!

• ISBN13: 9781911127857
• Publish Date: 19 April 2018
• Publish Status: Postponed Indefinitely
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Jacqui Small
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 144
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Upcycling Outdoors is a new DIY book from entrepreneur and style guru Max McMurdo and published by Quarto Publishing - Jacqui Small. Available in hardcover, it's very well illustrated with clear photography and step by step construction tutorials.
It's a relatively short book, 144 pages, but manages to pack a lot of content inside. There are 20 complete projects included in 5 categories: planters & containers, structures, eating & entertaining, furniture, and lighting & accessories. The tutorials cover materials, construction techniques and tools. There's a fair bit of background design info on the projects as well, to allow for flexibility with available materials.

The projects range from the whimsical - (outdoor hanging fairy lights in a birdcage) to the slightly odd(?) - (a bicycle frame mounted portable picnic basket). Some of them are sublime (hanging planter made from a ruined boat float), they're all very informal. If your outdoor spaces are strictly formal, there's much whimsy and humor to be found here, but not much formality.

Roughly 30% of the page content is devoted to general techniques, sourcing supplies and finishing techniques. The finishing supplies and tools are accessible and easily acquired.

I was impressed by the fact that most of the projects look really attractive and not like recycled items that belong in a landfill. There were, of course, some which were over the top for my taste personally (a suitcase with legs converted to a planter for example), but a surprising number are spot on (the firepit and lawn dominoes are really cool).

All in all, a worthwhile philosophy and lovely design sense.

Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.