Bricolage

Bricolage is one of my favourite words and one of my favourite things to do, especially when it means saving money and creating something original. Here is part of the definition from Wikipedia.

"It is borrowed from the French word bricolage, from the verb bricoler – equivalent to the English "do-it-yourself", the core meaning in French being, however, "fiddle, tinker" and, by extension, "make creative and resourceful use of whatever materials are to hand (regardless of their original purpose)".

Alan and I have recently been using Bricolage to revitalise some old furniture and to re-house our fish Nemo. The white cane table used to belong to Alan's Mum (c1950's) and we came by it about 15 years ago - last week Alan painted it white and it looks great. The `vase' on this table is the fish tank I bought for Nemo which turned out to be too small, it makes a great vase :) The leaves are from a plant which grows in water so it never dies. Nemo is now housed in a large jar which I have had for years and I found hidden at the back of a cupboard. The cover on his jar was bought at the market and is of course one of those old fashioned milk jug covers designed to keep flies away. In Nemo's case it prevents him from leaping out :) The vase with the yellow rose was given to me by my mother when she was downsizing years ago and I use it every day.

The chair is one of 2 (circa 1930's and very Art Deco) which we saved from the rubbish tip and first renovated in 1991. They were originally outdoor furniture. We have just had the cushions re-covered and they look great :) 3 cheers for Bricolage. Oh and Anne you may recognise the chain of turtles hanging by the window - they came from Singapore and contribute some quirky Fung Shui to our living room :) The little cane stool was one of 2 originally given to me by my brother Phil in 1983 and Alan has painted them white too. All great decorating on a budget, but more importantly its all original, fun to do and expressive of our approach to life. It is so good to have things around us which we use every day, love, and which have been either given to us or handed on to us by our family.