For the past two years, I’ve been asked to participate in the BC Home + Garden Show’s Ultimate Upcycle Challenge.
To “compete” in this friendly face-off, 10 local bloggers, media types, and interior designers are invited down to ReStore – the Habitat for Humanity Society retail outlet – in South Vancouver to choose an unassuming, pre-loved piece of home décor for upcycling.
After we’ve given the furniture a facelift (with a $50 design budget and a mystery box of donated products from Rust-Oleum paints), the items are auctioned off to the highest bidder at the BC Home + Garden Show, taking place Feb.17-21 at BC Place Stadium. One hundred per cent of the money raised goes to Habitat for Humanity Vancouver, a non-profit that focuses on building affordable housing locally, and to support its four Restore locations, which sell new and used building items at a discount and help divert more than 2,400 tons of waste from local landfills each year.
“Habitat Greater Vancouver is grateful for the ongoing partnership with the BC Home + Garden Show,” said Stephani Samaridis, Habitat’s director of operations, in a press release. “Each year we are excited by the creativity of the Upcycle Challenge participants – truly showcasing how ReStore items can be integrated into every home in some way and keep usable items out of the landfill. Additionally, through the sale of these items, and those in our ReStore, Habitat Greater Vancouver is able to address the need for affordable housing in one of the world’s most expensive markets. Community partners are integral to our ability to fulfill our mission and this collaboration is a colourful illustration of many partners having an impact.”
Last year, we Upcycle challengers transformed boring dining table chairs into luxe living room accent pieces and, this year, we were tasked to turn regular household items into (hopefully) gorgeous, sustainable planter boxes.
I chose an oversized ‘70s glass-and-brass chandelier with interesting bone structure to be the base of my design. Looking to showcase the natural terrarium effect of the body, I flipped it, filled it with potting soil, and placed plants of varying heights and textures strategically throughout. I chose to paint some of the fixture (a lightbulb and part of the ceiling mount) with hot pink accents from my mystery box to highlight the colours of the plants and emphasize what the planter used to be. I left a lot of the welded metal unpainted and exposed, however, because I found there was a lot of beauty in the strength of the chandelier and the dark, brushed industrial tones.
Full of new life, the planter is unwieldy as all get out, but it was a thrill to have so much nature sitting in my living room. My favourite part turned out to be the bit of English ivy growing out of the centre cup. Initially, I had planned to disassemble the bulky light rigging to create a clean bowl shape, but I now feel that leaving the metal arms half-buried in soil gives it a bit of post-apocalyptic flare.
And my fellow competitors, including Christie Lohr from Style Nine to Five and Julia Dilworth from Western Living, got equally creative, embracing the Habitat for Humanity philosophy of rethinking every item’s end of life. Is there another use for it? The Upcycle Challenge would say yes, while offering some fun ideas for a little urban DIY.
Head to the Home show this week to see the “before and after” reveals in person and place your bids. There are also 425 exhibitors and a stable of home, horticulture and landscaping experts ready to offer advice for your burgeoning home project.
You can save $3 on tickets for the show by purchasing online at BCHomeAndGardenShow.com.
