Guerilla Furniture Design...

My husband and I love to reuse rather than buy new whenever we can. At our old house, I took off the kitchen cabinet doors and painted the cabinets, rather than purchasing brand new ones. I left the tile backsplash in the same kitchen and found cabinets, paint, and floor tile that would make it palateable. When all was said and done, I was pleased.

In our new home, we have had to do a lot more repairs, but we've sought to do more painting than replacing. Lots of projects in the house had been done 90%, but they needed to be finished, so we tackled those. Rather than ripping out the paneling in our school room, I painted it. I love the texture of the walls and it was a lot less work. I do these things not out of fear that our world will run out of resources and the landfills will become full, but out of a desire to be a good steward of what we have and waste less.

Will Holman shows that same desire in his new book Guerilla Furniture Design. This book is all about reusing construction debris and making economical furniture with a modern design. I loved reading the book and seeing his ideas. The beginning of the book was particularly interesting to me because of his job history. He was an architecture grad who couldn't find a job. But, he didn't give up and go on welfare. He pursued one job/internship after another that knit together an interesting path that took him all across the country. In the end, he's developed a vision for economical ways to furnish his homes (and others) and as he puts it-- “get his stuff off the floor”.  I have a brother in law who feels the same way and who, I am certain, would love this book.

The plans and ideas in this book seem clear and straight forward. I, a non-construction person, feel that I could make these projects (or at least many of them). I appreciated the information at the front about the history of other guerilla furniture movements and his explanation of his vision. I was also pleased by how he explains what should be done to dispose of the furniture when it is no longer needed and what she kept for another project down the road.

As with other Storey books, this one is well edited with wonderful pictures and illustrations. I was taken by surprised with how much I enjoyed it. My husband is looking forward to reading it now!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Storey Books.