Renew & Reuse

Saving the planet, once piece at a time

We’re all familiar with the need to recycle more these days and recycling furniture is no different. Giving an old piece a new life is immensely rewarding for many reasons, not just because you’re saving something from going to landfill, but for a start, you’re also not contributing to the pollution caused by the the mass production of modern furniture.

To be clear, I’m not talking about a Blue Peter-style approach (Brits will know!) of making a sofa out of a wooden pallet and length of rope: comfort is still important of course.  But, I love to appreciate the beauty and craftmanship in older items which still have many years of use and purpose within them.  Not to mention the history. Think of the many fashions that have hung in a 100 year-old wardrobe for example, or the treasured mementos that were stored for decades in a beautifully carved solid wood cabinet - what stories could they tell?

With many Italians preferring modern furniture, and with tax breaks encouraging the purchase of such items on a seemingly annual basis for some, there are many opportunities to instead save, renew and reuse a piece with a little more history and beauty within it. It’s just waiting for someone with a bit of imagination and some love to give.

As well as monthly open-air antique markets in the region, such as our local one at Nizza Monferrato or the more famous Gran Balon in Turin, I’ve been a frequenter of the ‘mercatino del usato’ for years here in Italy – a place where houses are cleared to when the younger generations throw out the inherited style of their parents and grandparents. You’ll frequently hear me quipping “they don’t make them like this anymore” as I wander the aisles of these temples to wood. Some pieces are surely destined to languish in these warehouses for years, but amongst the banks of monolithic wardrobes, 80s sparkling black melamine and questionable art, hidden jewels can be found.

One such piece discovered at a favourite local mercato is a robust workbench which belonged to a local carpenter in Asti. I’m told by Massimo who runs the shop that the son cleared out the workshop when his father passed away. This solid piece was handmade around 100 years ago, took three of us to lift it and despite its age, was in remarkable condition, if now a little tatty and glue-stained from years of hard labour upon it.

I’m no carpenter myself so I can’t claim to be planning to use this in my own workshop. As it happens, I do also already have a bench that belonged to the former owner of our house and its now proudly covered in an organised mess of of my own tools.  No – this hulking piece of green history is being cleaned and repaired and will find a new home at Villa Menaluna.

British designer William Morris once said “have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”  I couldn’t agree more and also believe that some things, with a little love, can be both. So this ancient workbench won’t be hidden in a workshop. Instead you’ll find it in the kitchen at Villa Menaluna - a beautiful and able assistant for leisurely breakfasts and relaxed dinner parties, and where it can have a front row seat for the next 100 years.