Changing rooms

Blueprint for 100% recycled home It has become a national sport to watch designers struggling with tight budgets and deadlines on home makeover shows. But Changing Rooms designer Oliver Heath faced quite a different challenge at this year’s Ideal Home Show: to come up with a home made entirely of recycled materials. “The exciting part was seeing just what we could use.” Within the three rooms you’ve got a kitchen surface created from pieces of recycled glass; cupboard doors made of recycled yoghurt pots; a designer chair that used to be plastic bottles; springy flooring from lorry tyres… Heath even added a bit of Blue Peter, making a dividing wall from hundreds of wine bottles. There’s a hint at eco-lifestyle too, as the bamboo in the ‘courtyard’ is growing in compost that would come from the kitchen waste. The stand was commissioned by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to demonstrate that recycled stuff has moved well beyond loo paper. What’s more, these eco-designer products aren’t too exclusive for the man in the street, insists Heath. “If you’re not going for a hand-made wooden surface, but a recycled glass one, there’s no reason for it to cost more.” - Hannah Bullock

20 June 2005

Hannah Bullock