The rebirth of cool

‘Loz and Tom’ – type that into a computer and your spellcheck will be unimpressed. It’s the same with ‘upcycling’ – Microsoft Word gives you the squiggly red line treatment before politely suggesting that you probably mean ‘recycling’ or ‘bicycling’ or ‘Liz’ or ‘lob’… which just goes to show that spellcheck needs to keep up with the play, because typed into Google ‘upcycling’ gets 2.7 million hits, while ‘Loz and Tom’ turns up 100,000 pages and over 21,000 likes on Facebook.

Loz and Tom are of course Loren and Tom Heaphy, the likeable couple from Nelson on TV3’s recent hit show The Block NZ. The pair impressed the public and judges alike with their bright, modern take on the trend of upcycling – though if you’re a fan of the show you’ll know their flair for design didn’t translate into a win.

Not that that’s shaken the pair’s confidence. “We’re so pleased we went on the show,” says Loz. “The best people are a bit like upcycled furniture – they’ve been down and out, picked themselves up and come out a little better for it – and usually they’re a little more colourful too!”

So what is upcycling?

Upcycling is the practice of taking worn-out items that would otherwise be thrown away and turning them into something beautiful and valuable. In short it’s turning trash into treasure, and it’s never been more popular: browse some of those 2.7 million upcycling pages on the net and you’ll find clever ideas for turning old bathtubs into love seats, ladders into bookshelves, broken chairs into bathroom shelves – and on and on.

At the heart of upcycling is “an ability to see the beauty in things that other people have discarded” says Loz, and environmentally, it ticks lots of boxes. Reusing old stuff is a way of reducing the piles of junk that modern society creates. Plus every upcycled object made means one less new item to be manufactured, packed and shipped – with all of the carbon emissions and other impacts that involves.

Perhaps most importantly though, making beautiful objects out of old materials is a powerful challenge to the ‘new is good’ throwaway culture of today – an idea that resonates with the pair.

“Visually we love it” says Tom. “And conceptually we love minimising waste – it’s great seeing something and giving it new life rather than finding somewhere to dispose of it”. Plus for newbie renovator Tom there’s the added bonus that upcycling can be technically easier than building from new.

“To be honest I’d be better at making a coffee table out of a gate and bits of wood than starting afresh with new timber!”

Nelson roots

The concept of The Block sees four pairs competing to renovate four run-down houses, which are then sold at auction with some of the profits being pocketed by the contestants. Loz and Tom – 29 and 31 respectively – started on the show as renovation rookies. However they quickly showed their skills, winning several challenges, and making a mark with their signature upcycled look – something that Loz says came out of their Nelson upbringing.

“We’ve always grown up with a bit of a recycling ethos,” says Loz. “I think for both Tom and I it started with a fashion sense. We both shop at vintage shops and enjoy wearing second-hand clothes, and I think growing up on a farm for Tom is where he saw the value of reusing things.”

“We’re obviously not the pioneers in this,” adds Tom. “But we were really excited as we looked for inspiration before we came on The Block and the thing that really jumped out to us was the upcycling. Without it really being a conscious plan, that was the direction we went down – and anything we can do to continue that is great.”

Tom in particular has a love of old timber and has a stack of century-old fence-posts stored on his parents’ farm that he’s slowly turning into beautiful pieces, including a coffee table made from an old farm gate (pictured) that will be a wedding present for a friend.

“I just love that timber. It’s had hundreds of thousands of sheep run past it and rub their lanolin against it, which gets in there and preserves it. And it’s beautiful to work with – rock solid.”

Salvaging earthquake timber

One of the pieces of furniture Loz and Tom used on The Block got a huge response from fans of the show – a table made by Rekindle of Christchurch. Rekindle is more than just a design outlet – it’s a social enterprise that creates all of its pieces from timber rescued from earthquake-damaged homes that have been demolished.

Vast volumes of wood are still being sent to landfill in Christchurch – much of it irreplaceable native timber – a waste problem that Rekindle is trying to address by turning it into timeless furniture. The company’s founder Juliet Arnold was even able to find out which properties the timber in Loz and Tom’s table came from, and let the original owners know that parts of their beloved homes had taken on a new life.

“Cantabrians really loved seeing that on telly,” says Tom. “They loved the fact that what they’ve gone through hasn’t been forgotten, especially up in the big city – that people still remember what they’ve been through and what they’re dealing with.”

Make it look good

Visually, too, the ‘distressed’ look of the Rekindle table, with its different coloured flecks of paint, helped unify some of the varied styles in Loz and Tom’s house. It’s a strength of upcycled objects that the pair love taking advantage of: “It’s a great way to tie in the eclectic and to tie in a bit of randomness,” says Tom.

Though Loz reckons that upcycled interiors do run the risk of looking too hodge-podge and rough – “It’s like ‘how do we upcycle without it looking like I’m an Otago University student who made a pallet grandstand,’ you know?” Yet the pair managed to combine an impressive array of pre-loved objects into a coherent look.

A cable-spool coffee table, a pallet table, a bed headboard made from an old door, bathroom and lounge shelves made from kauri beams pulled from demolished parts of the house – plus Tom’s personal favourite, a toy chest made from the house’s demolished pergola – all found a place in their final house design. That’s a testament to the versatility of the upcycled look – and also to Loz’s keen stylist’s eye.

Recouping some costs

So what have the couple learned from their stint in the glaring media spotlight? They walked away with a $25,000 profit from their home – arguably not a vast amount for 10 weeks of gruelling work by two people – though they’ve since said they feel incredibly fortunate to have won the sum. And they’ve also learned a lot about renovating and designing sustainably.

“I think Pinterest has done big things for upcycling,” observes Loz. “The more crafty ways people come up with for upcycling, the more it will be picked up”. And Tom chips in to point out how they’ve had their eyes opened to the possibilities of low-waste renovating – partly from a need to recoup money to complete projects.

You can’t reuse all your so-called waste yourself during a renovation, “but it turns out there is a market for a lot of that stuff,” says Tom. The network of recycling centres around the country can take huge volumes of material, which can mean a cash boost to people doing projects on a tight budget. And that in turn gives crafty upcyclers the chance to browse through affordable materials for inspiration.

“We were really conscious of that,” says Loz. “We tried to recycle everything we could – right down to the copper wiring. We pulled it out from under the house, took it off to the recyclers and got lots of money for it.

“We sold our hot-water cylinder, our toilet … anything we could sell, we sold. We put it all on Trade Me.”

Quite simply, upcycling and recycling can be the most cost-effective way to renovate. And as Tom puts it: “It just doesn’t feel right throwing a useable toilet in the skip!”

Loz and Tom’s top 10 upcycling ideas

Did you know?

You can pick up free stuff for upcycling projects on websites like www.freestuff.co.nz or try www.swaportradeit.co.nz to swap for something of yours. Otherwise Google ‘demolition yards’ to find your local recycling centre for great cheap stuff.

Upcycle with Green Ideas

Try some of our upcycling projects from past issues.

• Turn tea towels into a tote bag
• Make a table from crates
• Upcycle your bicycle! Pimp your ride with a cute picnic box
• Make a self-watering herb pot from a wine bottle
• Make a vertical herb planter from an old pallet