This is such an inspirational circular service model that should be replicated and I hope that more retailers will start operating things like this. They do this by giving you different options – they can collect and then refurbish your old mattress if you want to keep hold of it, or they recycle the individual elements from mattresses that aren’t needed any more, or they can even donate your mattress, following a deep cleaning service. Leading the way is Naturalmat who create natural fibre mattresses and offer a great scheme where they ensure that your mattress will never end up in landfill. Retailers are slowly catching onto these and I think they are brilliant initiatives, so – if you do have to buy new – make sure to check if the store has a scheme available. Patrick O'Donnell's Worcestershire house Chris Horwood Buy Back schemes and retailer recycling It goes back to the concept behind ceramic art of Kintsugi – seeing beauty in the imperfection and making a statement out of it – and it gives you an opportunity to make that item even more unique. As with clothing, I think there’s something quite beautiful in using embroidery to cover over and actually making a feature out of it. Taking a leaf from fashion’s book, I’ve actually become quite a fan of patching items of upholstery if they get small tears or rips.
I think we’re far too quick to see a slight imperfection and think that an item becomes completely unusable.
RepairĪ recent WRAP report revealed that repair of home textiles is very low with only 7% of UK citizens actually attempting to repair damaged items. If online isn’t your thing, making a trip down to your local charity shop is also a great opportunity to re-home items with money going to good causes, or you could always sign up for a local boot fair if you have quite a few items to get rid off. You could also try heading to Instagram where I’ve discovered some great independent sellers – such as and – who you can contact to ask if they would be interested in selling your items to their followers. For re0selling super high-end designer furnishings make sure to take a look at Rehaus, a marketplace for brands such as Ligne Roset and Vitra. One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure as they say! A great way to do this is via Facebook Marketplace or the Next Door app where you can easily sell or donate items to people in the local area. It takes a bit more effort and time to organise, but you’ll be doing your part to save unnecessary waste.
If upcycling isn’t your thing, the rubbish tip may seem an easy option if you want to dispose of big items of furniture quickly, but make sure to think about donating or reselling items first. Take a look at one of my favourite suppliers, Dannells, who create fabric lampshade-making kits, which are a great activity for a weekend. At Haines, a lot of customers buy surplus fabrics and re-imagine these into new cushions, table runners, napkins, draft excluders, lampshades, you name it - all using up fabrics that would have otherwise gone to landfill.
#Second life market place update#
If you’ve got – or find – a piece of furniture that has strong bones, you can easily update it with a fresh lick of paint or a fabric that will allow you to match it to your decor, instead of getting rid of it.
#Second life market place how to#
There’s been a surge of interest in DIY reupholstery, sewing and restoration recently, as shown by the popularity of online courses from Create Academy with the likes of Annie Sloan and Micaela Sharp teaching us how to do this easily at home. With more awareness around the UK’s fast-furniture and textile waste problem, a lot of us are actively choosing to get more hands-on and creative, re-looking at furnishings in our homes (and our lofts) and thinking how we can restore and rejuvenate items to give them a second life.
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