Junk Beautiful ~Sue Whitney & Ki Nassauer
–published 2008
–Taunton Press
–204 pages
–5/5 stars
They say every woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure…or something to that effect. 😉 Junk Beautiful is all about the treasure. Among other things, the approaching summer has brought with it a desire to redecorate. How much the budget will actually allow is a mystery at this point, but I decided to feed this desire by scouring my local library for decorating books to start the creative juices flowing. On my second trip for this specific purpose I discovered this amazing book.
Those of you who read my review of Michael de Meng’s book,The Secret of Rusty Things, or any of a number of Friday Favorites artist features know that I am particularly attracted to found art projects, be they pieces of art or creatively re-purposed items, like those featured in Junk Beautiful.
I am fully prepared to admit up front that the “trash” vs. “treasure” viewpoints may come into play as I expose you to this book. Wherever you stand on the issue is fine by me, I know what I like, and I am beyond thrilled that the found art aesthetic is becoming more and more prominent in magazines, books, and on various online sites. It sparks my imagination and stirs my creative juices.
One of the wonderful things about Sue and Ki’s book is that it is a decorating book AND an art book. They not only showcase their creative use of “junk”, but they do complete makeovers on the rooms featured in this book. The book takes you through a number of families who were able to choose one room, tell the designers what they were looking for, and then step back and let the magic happen. Junk Beautiful takes you through a sunroom/porch, a kitchen, a dining room, a laundry room, entryway, living room, bedroom, home office, and bathroom and concludes with a section on how to make a number of the items that were featured in the remodels.
The book is chock full of pictures. I apologize ahead of time for the quality of the few I showcase here. I had to take pictures of the book and the lighting was terrible. One of the room changes I am most fond of is the kitchen. I love reds anyway, and the reclaimed ice cream stools are a favorite.
Isn’t that clock fantastic! So big and has such a great patina. It is hard to see in this picture, but they took old, worn dominoes (yellow and red) and made coasters (setting underneath the wine bottle). They are fantastic. The “Please Pay When Served” sign is sitting on an easel created from old piano parts.
Though this is a similar color palette to the kitchen, it is actually a home office in another family’s house. The wooden table along the back wall is a fantastic piece. Again, hard to see here but the desk is a glass top on a frame built from old pallets with fading stamped black numbering and lettering from the business they were originally from. The office supply storage made out of old soap dispensers is really fun. I like metal in decorating, be it old or new.
This is the other side of the office area. The family likes to play games, particularly chess. They used an old incubator to make the chess table and attached rearview mirrors from a classic car for drink holders. The wall hangings are made of metal grate pieces so art can be attached via magnets. Rich, fun colors make me wish my new office at work could be so funky.
One of the makeovers was author Sue Whitney’s teenage daughter’s bedroom. This above is the creative/school work space they designed for her. Very fun accessories here, including the great metal bookshelves along the side of the wall.
This ferris wheel supply storage solution is really fun. Which makes a good segue into what really makes this book one that made me read it cover to cover and has had me pouring over it ever since–the accessories made out of unconventional items that are the real art is this book.
Using interesting, antique hinges as placeholders is so much fun, as is using worn drawer pulls for napkin rings
I will definitely be stealing that idea.
This old flourmill cart makes a great coffee table. Reminds me of some of the tables you see in Pottery Barn right now.
Old architectural pieces have such personality, and I like these corbel picture frame holders. Very simple to make without taking away from the charm of the aging piece. The idea of joining this piece of the past to pictures from our own past is perfect if you think about it.
This revamped kitchen island made classic contemporary with the edition of a set of cool rollers and some metal storage containers is a great accessory to the kitchen area I showed above.
This Emergency Telephone box, also in the kitchen on a wall facing the above arts and crafts table, is another really fun decorating piece that is as simple as reclaiming the item from a junk store and putting it to a different storage use. Fun!
This was a fun idea in their dining room makeover, where they took old sink pedestals and used them with a glass top to create a sideboard.
This bench, featured in the bathroom makeover, caught my eye because of the old bottle caps used around the border. Over the past year I’ve developed a fondness for old bottle caps thank to the game Fallout 3. Nuka Cola bottle caps are the currency in this post-apocalyptic landscape. I’m weird, I know.
Fantastic use of an old birdcage. I look at the various colors from the rust and the paint that used to be on it and it reminds me of why I like aged, rusty things so much. There is something beautiful about the decay and I love how these ladies embrace that in their decorating.
This old fire door is put to use, with a few additions, as a catch-all in a mud room. It makes me smile to see old wood, complete with its own history, given new life this way.
These old water faucet handles make a great hanging rack in the remodeled laundry room. This creation calls out to the part of me that embraces the steampunk aesthetic.
This piece of art created from a variety of reclaimed wooden panels and drawers caught my eye right away. Something about it reminds me strongly of the pillar in Mirrormask with all the locked drawers in it that Helena and later Valentine repeated tried the key in.
And finally, this large auger makes for an interesting piece from which to hang pictures in the remodeled bathroom.
I haven’t even scratched the surface of all the wonderful ideas and imagery in this book. There are a variety of styles featured here with the connecting theme of the use of found items, reclaimed, re-purposed items…junk…to make a room look brand new.
Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer have captured lightning in a bottle here, in my opinion. This book stands far and above the many…MANY…other decorating books I have been pouring through the last several weeks. They have their own website (and blog) which you can link to here: Junkmarket Style. I was excited to notice on their blog that they have an Outdoor edition of Junk Beautiful as well. Cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of that.
Thanks for bearing with me. I may seem inordinately excited about this book, but decorating has long been one of my passions and this book speaks directly to the heart of my own personal style.
___________________________
This book is a selection for the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge.
I have a fondness for trashy-treasure as well. I used to have an old barber chair in my living room, but couldn’t bring it when I moved. My coffee table’s top is a 5 inch slice of tree trunk that had been in a friend’s yard. There are a ton of great ideas and inspirations in there. I really like the island, chess table, the wood tables, and dominoes coasters, among other things.
Mish: If you can track this down through your library system I am sure you would enjoy it. That is a shame about the barber chair. Fun idea for a coffee table. Pics?
I love the idea of turning trash into treasure, but it takes a gift I don’t think I have 🙁
Or maybe I just need to practise more…
What an interesting way to reuse stuff!
Amanda: They find much more creative ways to reuse stuff that I wasn’t able to show here just because the pictures were too small or whatever.
Fence: I definitely think some talent is required, at least to imagine some of the wild things they did with these home makeovers. But, the nice thing about a book like this is it begins to help you see things differently, which is a good start to being creative.
Doesn’t work for me. My preferred style is Craftsman: Stickley, Roycroft, and on through Frank Lloyd Wright. Stick Style. Mission.
William Morris said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”.
I think these women are trying to go in that direction, take something that isn’t – but could be – beautiful and make it useful, but for me it forces the issue. There are some elements of steam punk here, which I suspect is why you are drawn to it, Carl. Or maybe you just like the uber-casual, shabby-chic, junky look, many people do. This schtick was very popular in the mid-late 1970s and many people fell into it. I had a friend who had a telephone booth in his living room, his stereo equipment housed in it.
I’m not sure I would go so far as to call is “schtick”, but yes, I’m drawn to it for a number of reasons. The steampunk elements are certainly part of it. Not something you always see with this design style but these ladies incorporate it in quite a bit which is why I think their book is so much better than several others that I’ve looked at over the past few months. I also like the colors and the use of old and new things. Shabby-chic is a good comparison as that old television show was what initially attracted me to the style several years ago…pairing older, ‘shabby’ things with contemporary style, also bringing in elements of nature on some level: birds nests, branches, etc.
Now, if I had a telephone booth in my home, I would want it to actually have a functioning telephone in it…which shows how different the ‘re-purposing’ of the object could be now vs. back in the 70s. Phone booths are such a thing of the past that it would actually bring a cool retro-vibe to have a telephone booth in the home actually fulfilling its original purpose. Now if it could be a Dr. Who Tardis police box with a working telephone in it, that would be the bomb! 😉
I agree with William Morris’ philosophy, only I certainly would have my own interpretation of it. It could be interpreted to mean a very clean, stark style, which is not for me. I don’t like clutter, but I do like filling a space with items that have meaning, and hence their own beauty, to me. I don’t have any decorations in my house that are simply there to fill space. Everything I’ve bought, been given and kept, or adopted, or what have you is there because it fits some grander scheme of what makes Mary and I the people we are and speaks to our interests.
Which is again why this style really appeals to me. My dad has always been a wood-worker as a hobby and so I have grown to love the smell of fresh wood, which developed into a fascination with the interesting look of wood that is aging, paint flaking, etc. Seeing something built leads me to think about the history of an item. Who built it? When? What did this piece of furniture, wood, etc. see in all its years of existence? How did it end up on some junk pile instead of being a part of something that was cared for and refinished and kept alive? While I wouldn’t want to live in a house with the sides all flaking paint and rotting, I love seeing older wooden items, with paint fading/flaking, used as part of an art project or decorating element.
I also love metal (again, very steampunk influenced). Old, rusty metal especially, but I like elements of new, shiny metal in design as well.
Like I said in the beginning, I know this style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but something about it reflects my truest self the same way that well done found art pieces speak to me more than just about any other kind of art. If I were to do a little pop psychoanalysis on myself, I would liken my enjoyment of melancholy things (books, films) to my love for things like this that once had a purpose and no longer do, until they are rescued, of course.
I love that they and other artists are doing this, not because I have any big “go green” philosophy, although many who recycle this way do so also because they have a passion for the environment. What I love about it is that I personally see beauty in these cast off, aged architectural elements and decaying pieces of machinery, etc. and I’m thrilled that the beauty is being rescued from destruction.
Can’t wait to track down the outdoor version of this.
That’s a wonderful enlargement of your initial commentary, Carl. Excellent. We all have our favorite styles, of course. I have a friend who ceaselessly hunts for Danish Modern furniture and accessories, hoping one day to have her home entirely decorated therewith. As I said, I’ve always (seriously, since I was a kid) been drawn to the Craftsman style. I hope we’ll get to see some pictures when you apply some of the book’s ideas to your home.
I’m with both Richard & you on this one Carl.
My dream house is a Craftsman Bungalow…i live in a 60’s Ranch @_@.
I adore all things Craftsman especially the ceramics and furniture, but i adored this book! I’ve seen several articles/things Ki Nassauer has done and IMHO she’s a re-purposing genius. That office was hands down my favorite room in the book. I can appreciate spare, stark and modern, old worlde and shabby chic, but there is no way i could accomplish it. People always throw fits when they come to my house because of all the weird stuff i have. I’ve always described my style as Early American Flea Market meets Geek chic with a library thrown in for good measure!
SGist: The fact that you have a description of your style means that you are probably decorating in the way that pleases you, which is all the better. I’ve always considered myself pretty eclectic as well. I don’t like things to be a big mess, but beyond that it is more about what we like not whether it necessarily goes together…although I do feel that I do a pretty good job of tying everything together.
Richard: “wonderful enlargement” is a perfect phrase for the verbal diarrhea I sometimes find in my longer comments! 🙂 I’ll definitely take pics, but I suspect that with the budget the most I’ll be doing this year is slapping a different color on the living room walls and changing up the art a bit. We’ll see. Someday I’ll be able to just go wild and redo everything.
At first, I wasn’t so sure about this book, but the more your review went on the more I could appreciate design process. Actually, truth be told, this book is far closer to what my style would be than the more sterile style of “perfection” that is out there..err…modern style is what I think it called. I think…
Currently though, my design style is one of survival…meaning, not too much interest paid into decorating because all efforts would have to come under the treatment of a child who is roaring storm. 😉 Seriously though, once our youngest is much older, we have decided to put monies and efforts into decorating.
For now, this book seems perfect for a very good friend of mine. She is fantastic at re-purposing. I hope that her gift will rub off on me, someday. 😀
Thanks for including the photos. They really helped give a great idea of what this book is about. Just looking at them is enough for me, for now.
Ibeeg: children definitely put a different spin on ‘decorating’, that is for sure! 🙂
Truth be told, I like a lot of different styles. I love watching all the home decorating shows. I just know that when it comes down to me actually living in a space I like something a little more eclectic.
If the world was fair and I got everything I wanted (ha!) then I would have a huge house that I could decorate in various styles. That would be a dream come true. I love seeing those bedrooms in old country houses where the room is all decorated in whites and wrought iron. Beautiful. I just know that I wouldn’t be happy if that was my own bedroom, despite how much I would love to have at least one room in my house decorated that way. Ah well, that’s why I live vicariously through decorating shows, magazines and books.
Wow! Looks like a great, inspiring book. I love how antiques have become hip and modern, how they can be mixed into even the most contemporary decor. Everything old is new again–and visually so interesting! This is my kind of book: a book about ideas!
Yes Carl, I am right there with you in regards to if I got what I wanted it would be a huge home with an ecletic style throughout. Umm…that is not in the cards for me, at the moment. I use to watch the decorating shows a bunch, especially the ones that dealt with organizing as well. I gave them up because I became increasingly dissatisfied with my own arrangement. So, when the time arrives where I have the funds and the children are older, then I will approach this topic with gusto…well…the decorating part as I am still pursuing the organizing part with all my might. 😀
I will also say, when I do re-purpose something, I get a bit of a high. That does not happen much…re-purposing is a bent that does not come to me naturally.
Ibeeg: I am in the same boat as you in that I’m not watching decorating shows…but my reason is that I haven’t had cable or dish for the last year so my decorating show addiction has not been fed much of late.
If I find where those free giant houses are I’ll give you the hook up. 🙂
Susan: Me too. I appreciate the mixing/blending of styles, stuff from different eras, etc.
So after reading this post earlier, I made a trip to the library and found that they had this book on the shelves! So it’s now sitting on my nightstand ready to be thumbed through 🙂 Even though I don’t have my own place right now, I love looking at these types of books and getting ideas. I love this design aesthetic…the reuse of old things. Particularly stuff like that picture frame and that wall of wooden panels. And the birdcage lamp…fantastic stuff! I’d really like to check out their outdoor book too!
Chris: That’s cool Chris. I’m disappointed that my library system doesn’t have the outdoor book, but I’ll interlibrary loan it. The bad thing about that is that I can only have it for one week, and one week isn’t enough. I may have to add these to my wishlist at some point. Hope you have fun with it. 🙂
I love, love, love, love, love everything about this post!!! If our library doesn’t have this book, I am definitely buying it! It’s definitely “treasure” to me. And very much the way I try to “decorate” our home. Though I fully admit, I don’t have the talent to pull things so completely together as they do!!!
Definitely some very cool ideas here. Especially liked the ice cream stools, the repurposed augur, and the drawer-pull napkin rings. Most inventive. Of course, they make it look easy; I’d make it look like garage sale leftovers….Talented ladies. Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your own redecorating!
ds: Yes, they do make it look easy, but I imagine they have years of mistakes and screw ups behind them that have led them to this point.
Debi: I’m glad you like it. I’m going to have to track down a copy of each of these books at some point for myself. And like I said to ds, they do have talent, to be sure, but also years of actually practicing their creativity, which is something we can all do.
Carl: Our styles are similar. I like my eclectic decorating. It’s representative of different times, places, people, and me. I much prefer rustic coziness than sleek and modern. I posted a picture of the coffee table. It’s not a full view because I don’t have a camera.
I’m glad you posted the picture, even if you can just see part of the table. It is worth it just to see your kitty all stretched out and doing what I would like to be doing right now, taking a nap! 🙂 Thanks for sharing it.
So glad you posted about this book and included some pics. I’ll have to see if my library has this. If not, there is always interlibrary loan! I just love it when I find something old and can re-purpose it. And I love having those things around me that have meaning. Like you, I don’t like clutter but I do want things with interest, meaning, and a certain human warmth (does that make sense?). Thanks for the heads up on the book!
Terri: I hope you can track down a copy, I think you’d find it fun and inspiring. “Human warmth” does make sense. Certainly the things I decorate our house with are not cold, impersonal items to us. They may be to others, but certainly not to us.
I love this sort of stuff, too. I like to think of my house decor as being a sort of shabby chic but it’s more shabby, I’m afraid, than chic! 🙂 I will have to see if my library has this book!
Danielle: Ha, that cracks me up. I say you just declare your shabby to be chic and proclaim your own unique house decor style! 🙂
It wouldn’t take much money to do something cool like this in your own home, Carl. Just time! After you slap on that coat of paint this summer, head out to rummage sales every Saturday morning (get there early!). You will find “cool” stuff, cheap. Take it home and let your imagination soar. When my kids were little I was constantly dragging them to rummage and estate sales…. great entertainment on Saturday morning, and they always found “treasure” too.
I love books like this; thanks for reviewing it and tempting me to do a little redecorating!!
You are correct. Time is the most, but it would take some money. I am already planning on painting the living room and my dad is going to help me texture the ceiling in there as well. We may put up a ceiling fan in there too as it needs one. We have been looking for some stuff at antique/salvage stores this spring and I’m sure we will do more shopping this summer. Armed with this new inspiration it will be fun to see what my eye stumbles upon. and you are welcome for the temptation. 🙂
Ooh, I love the look of this one! I’m addicted to interior design books to begin with, but anything that embraces a funky, less-than-minimalist aesthetic gets my vote.
This sounds like a great book with some unique ideas. I love taking something and kind of making it my own, like what they did with the dominoes, what a fun idea. I like older pieces too, anything vintage. The frame holder is great.
Thanks for posting this with the pics!