'Upcycling' is not just a passing fad among hip designers but a whole new way of thinking about interiors that reflects a sea change in consumer attitudes, it has been claimed.
Writing in The Times, craft expert Danielle Proud suggested that homeowners are now more interested in camping in Cornwall and dreaming of 'hand-built bamboo bikes' than jetting off to Dubai and buying a new Range Rover Sport.
As a result of this shift, she explained that the time is right for upcycling, which is the art of transforming old furniture with paint, textiles or upholstery.
This is something that Ms Proud recently took part in - transforming pieces of furniture from M&S for the launch of a new furniture recycling partnership the retail favourite launched with Oxfam.
'The idea is not to use collectable pieces - it's to take solidly made but rather dull items from periods such as the 1950s and 1970s, and, by using wit and art, give them a new lease of life,' she said.
'The results are individual - no two pieces are ever the same - contemporary and yet classic.'
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