Episode 10 Money for Nothing

What are you throwing away?

How do you make money for nothing?

I like the look of that.

The answer could be hiding in over 20 million tonnes of household waste

thrown out by us every year.

What else are you throwing away, anything exciting?

That's why entrepreneur Sarah Moore wants to get her hands on things

before they hit the skip.

Finding, transforming and selling stuff we throw away is an obsession,

and it's that obsession I've turned into a moneymaking business.

I make new stuff out of the old stuff and I sell it for a profit.

And with some of the country's elite designers and makers...

You've got a bucket of fun for me!

-It's a big one!

-Is it?

..she can transform her finds into desirable...

-They are amazing!

-..valuable...

I've never seen anything like them.

..and hopefully saleable items.

That's a lovely job, thank you.

-Thank you.

-If Sarah is successful, then she can hand the profits back

to the very people who had no idea there was cash to be made from their trash.

-£165 here.

-No!

Sarah is at Merchants Way Recycling Centre in Walsall near Birmingham,

where local residents queue up to get rid of the unwanted,

the unloved, and the unseasonable.

See you next year, Santa. Ho, ho, ho.

I'm looking for sad, unloved loot coming out of your boot

that I can make lovely once more and bring some profit to your door.

Oh, that rhymed. Sarah's on the hunt for three items that can be

-transformed and turned into cash.

-Quite old as well, isn't it?

-It is.

But before you think of doing something similar,

Sarah had to get special permission to rake through people's weird things.

There's an element of snake about him,

I can't help but think he should be something else!

Get that in the tip!

Perhaps she'll see potential in what Yvette has in her boot.

That's quite a sweet little bookcase, isn't it?

Thank you. It's rather old, yeah.

Yvette is dumping her uncle's old bookcase.

It's just too dated for her.

We've upgraded, so it's quite old and rustic and...not really serves

-the purpose in the home.

-There's something quite sweet about it with these sliding bits, though.

Oops!

Probably best not to break it up just yet, Sarah!

It could maybe be made into something else.

I would love to just give it one last chance of being useful again,

-if that's all right?

-Yeah. I mean, if you're willing to take it,

that's not a problem, you can have it, gladly.

Sarah's bagged herself a bookcase. But with everything going digital,

what do you think she'll do with it, Yvette?

I'd like to think she'd keep it as a bookcase,

just for the sake of what it used to be.

But I wouldn't have a clue, if she transformed it into something else.

Some things have it, and some things don't.

And this has got it. Just enough.

There's something about it, I don't know if it's the '60s styling,

but there's enough here that I think this deserves a second chance.

And I reckon if we do something lovely to it, it'll be desirable

again. And useful.

And Sarah knows just the man to take on the challenge.

Rupert Blanchard is a furniture designer and self-confessed hoarder

of anything old he can turn into gold.

I work mostly with salvaged and found, reclaimed materials.

So I basically work with other people's waste.

I reassemble it as modern furniture.

Rupert has carved out a name for himself as one of the most imaginative

designers working with undervalued materials.

His furniture is modern, fun, and always tells a story.

I love making something from nothing.

Something that everyone has given up on, something with a good history,

something with a story and something that I want to preserve, and share

that story with others. It's an incredibly satisfying job.

Rupert might have a passion for preservation,

but will he have a place in his heart for this cabinet?

With one item in the bag,

Sarah's on the hunt for a second piece to save from a dusty end.

It's mad down here today.

Yeah, there's tonnes being turfed.

But has anything got that special sparkle?

Is there something in William's boot?

Could be, as Sarah's raided it once before!

-Hey, they look cool.

-They're very good, yeah.

They belong to my daughter, actually.

-Oh, really?

-She's moving house.

-No wonder she's getting shot of them!

Looks like they've seen better days.

-Has somebody been storing them in the garden?

-Yes, that one has, yes.

They look like they're English, solid wood, 1930s, '40s,

-something like that.

-Yes.

-I don't know if they've got any

makers' marks or anything on them, but we'll make sure.

That's the British... 1960, there you go.

Hmm, a bit younger than you thought, Sarah.

Is there still potential to be had?

I think they've got something about them.

-Yes.

-The pretty little, decorative sort of edge to them.

They might look lovely if they're done up.

-Yeah, OK.

-So if I could take those away, I'd be really pleased.

-Yes, of course you can.

-Shall I come and show you what I've done

-with them?

-By all means, yes.

-Brilliant.

Go on, William, tell us what you think Sarah's got planned for them.

I've got no idea what Sarah's going to do.

It might be a wacky thing she might do with them for someone who likes

wacky things.

William, you're bang on the money there!

Sarah loves wacky.

I'm really chuffed with those because they're a set and it's always worth salvaging a set.

At the moment, they are in a pretty sorry state.

They look very dated and you just wouldn't want to give them house room.

But I'm hoping there's just enough about those chairs,

a bit of quality to them, that I think will make them

something that people want to buy again and maybe turn a profit on.

And I know just who to take them to.

Master carpenter Norman Wilkinson.

Norman's skill and attention to detail shines through in everything

he makes, and Sarah is never disappointed.

What Sarah brings, yeah, well, you know,

it gets a bit more diverse every time.

It tests you, it can be fun. As long as the job comes out looking good,

saleable, and someone loves it at the end of it, that's all that matters.

Norman brings with him 25 years of experience and is the very definition of old school.

I'm not into this modern world and the modern sayings.

Yeah, upcycling is a new word, I mean...

recreate, I suppose, that's what we called it.

I'm one of the lucky people in life,

I get up in the morning and I look forward to coming to work.

So, I can't ask for any more than that, can I?

Well, you'd better be up bright and early for this one because it might

take a while!

With two items tucked away for our makers,

Sarah now just needs to find a little treasure for herself.

Check this out. 1836.

How could you throw that away?!

The nerve of some people!

Although I do like the 1842 edition better.

Perhaps Prasad has something in his boot that could roll in the cash.

-Oh, is that really a box full of wallpaper?

-It is, yes.

-Is it?

-Hi, I'm Sarah.

-How do you do?

We haven't used it for a number of years, so it's lying there in the shed,

-so we thought we'll just clear out.

-OK. Go on, then, let me have a look at it.

-Yeah.

-So is this wallpaper from your house?

-Yes.

-Oh, wow. It's got...

-I love the patterns on it. It looks quite cool.

-OK.

Cool? I've got the same stuff in my lounge!

I am pretty cool, though.

-Can I have it?

-Yeah, by all means, you're welcome. Yeah.

-Fantastic.

If I make anything out of it, can I come and show you what I've done?

-You're welcome, no problem.

-Thank you very much!

Prasad had no use for his mishmash of wallpaper,

but what might stick with Sarah?

She might use it up again for decorating a house or whatever.

Erm, maybe.

Well, I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do with this.

There's a lot of it and it's...

It's got different texture.

It's very pale and that could be a little bit boring to work with.

Well, I hope you come up with something!

Sarah now has all three items.

Rupert will be reflecting on this glass bookcase.

Norman will take on the shabby seats.

And for Sarah, a pile of old wallpaper.

Well, that was a really hectic day,

but I think we've found some fabulous pieces.

I just can't wait to see what happens to them.

We're at the seaside in one of Kent's most popular towns, Margate.

Sarah's brought along the bookcase to see what Rupert can make of it.

I've heard Sarah's on her way, so I'm expecting trouble.

She always bring something quite unusual and lets me do whatever I want with it.

UNusual?

It's more like usual.

-Hey, Rupert.

-Hey, Sarah. What have you got for me today, then?

-I've got you a little something. Look at that.

-Oh, this is cute.

-How are you doing?

-I'm good. I'm good. Wow.

There you go. Good bit of British furniture.

It's all recognisable because most homes used to have one of these.

This bookcase was made by Herbert E Gibbs,

one of the most popular English mid-century furniture-makers.

Maybe there was 60 companies in the UK that were making similar cabinets

to this. But Herbert E Gibbs were the ones that really flew and took

the market for small glass cabinets.

It's solid, it all works, the doors are immaculate.

There's a few blemishes,

it could do with a polish if you're going to keep it as is.

But the problem is, people DON'T want to keep these as is.

People, sadly, don't hoard books any more.

Speak for yourself, my Beano annuals would look great in that!

-It needs repurposing. What are you going to do with it?

-I think

I'd like to keep it as a storage piece.

Because it's three shelves, I'd keep one section as a glass display

area, but for the middle section and the bottom section,

I was thinking maybe I could just make some hidden storage.

We'll try and re-use the glass if we can, if it's safe.

But I'll bring a few new elements into it and really make it

quite a pop arty sort of piece.

I'd never have put pop art and this piece of furniture together,

but if you think you can do it, I think that sounds great!

So, you're going to put in hidden storage, add new pop art elements,

and you're going to fix all the blemishes? That sounds expensive.

How much do you think I'm going to have to pay you to transform it?

What I'm really hoping to do is something clean and modern,

something that other people could do to this cabinet.

So I want to keep it quite simple, I think I'm going to charge you 160.

160 quid, I'm sold.

I think I'm going to want it because at the moment, I don't,

but by the time you've finished with it, I think it's going to be ultra-desirable.

The deal is done for this revamp and maybe Rupert can even rekindle our

former love of the bookcase.

I'm pretty happy that Sarah brought me this piece today as I've seen

them so many times in second-hand shops and car-boot sales,

but I've never worked with one.

Well, there's a first time for everything.

We can always rely on Rupert, whatever I bring to his workshop,

he's got original ideas to transform old stuff into fabulous stuff.

Sarah, I'm glad you're willing to spend £160

to buff up this bookcase. But will it be worth it?

Just outside the chilled-out town of Eastbourne lies the village of

Hellingly, where wood expert Norman has his workshop.

He's used to tattered tip finds,

but these crumbling old seats might be a challenge.

I dread to think what she's going to bring today.

It would be quite nice for her to just bring something quite normal.

Well, Norman, you're in luck.

Nothing unusual about these chairs.

I've brought my four vintage chairs to East Sussex to see Norman.

Let's see what he thinks of them, because at the moment,

-they're looking a bit tired!

-Tired indeed, Sarah.

Let's hope they don't have our Norman requiring a lie down.

Don't know what to say!

-Four...

-Chairs.

-Chairs.

-You take those two, I'll take these two.

-OK.

-Let's get them inside.

-Let's see what we can do.

Hmm, could these be too exhausted for even Norman to reawaken?

I can see you're impressed by my finds!

-I think that is one word for it!

-Nice try, Sarah.

If Norman's going to work wonders with this lot, he's got to get tough.

And the seat pads are first in the firing line.

-If we chop them out.

-What, all of the upholstery?

All the upholstery, just chuck them away. Out of the way.

-OK.

-And then we can then decide where we're going to go

-from there.

-OK. They look better already, actually, don't they?

-No, they don't!

-I was wondering about a couple of benches, maybe.

Trying to use the backs or the legs to try and make a pair of benches to

go, you know, next to a table or something.

We could do. Or we could maybe put them all together

-and see where we go.

-What, make one big bench?

-One big bench.

Yeah, go one then, let's have a look.

We lose these legs here and those legs there,

so we've got the ones in the centre and the end legs.

Then we can put a new rail across the front and round to tidy it up.

And these bits will be joined up?

They will push together because

we've got this front bit pushed back in. So they're all nice and square.

On the base here we could fill this in, fill this in part of the way,

you know, if you imagine the kids and you in the morning all lined up,

-putting your shoes on together.

-Yeah.

-Trying to pick out what shoes.

That happens in our house!

So the idea is a bench for the whole family to put on their shoes.

-I love it. Absolutely love it.

-I love it too.

And we shall name it the shoe station.

And then we could do a nice distressed finish on it.

Nice rich top. Something for your shoes, Bob's your uncle.

It's certainly creative.

But will it be costly?

How much is it going to cost to cut them, shove them altogether, I mean,

we're talking new stretchers, new tops?

New everything. We'll do a really good price.

Big bench, we're talking?

It's going to cost you £350.

OK. I love the sound of what you're going to create.

£350, I think I'm going to turn a bit of a profit on it.

I am...excited by your suggestion.

It's the first time I've ever heard you say that, so that is,

we're going in the right direction, then, aren't we?

We have a deal, and they're both happy.

But will Sarah be sitting on a profit?

We're going to be creating something original, it's going to be useful,

practical, that kind of thing makes it much easier for me to sell.

-You go and leave us to it.

-Thank you.

-See you later.

Bye.

Well, I thought my little chairs might get a paint job or a bit of a

makeover - but turning them into one massive bench,

that completely exceeds my expectations.

I think Norman's going to nail it.

To transform Sarah's four old oak chairs is going to cost £350,

the result of which will be a family shoe station.

Well, it's different, but is it going to work?

In sun-kissed West Sussex...

Sarah is at home about to take a closer look at the wallpaper

she saved from the skip.

This is good, old embossed wallpaper,

designed to be painted after it's hung.

It's been a regular on British walls since Victorian times,

but what on earth is Sarah going to do with it?

I am a massive wallpaper fan, so when a whole box full of it

turned up at the tip, I was really excited.

If you get stuff that has a really good pattern on it,

it's quite valuable. But this stuff is mainly white,

but it has got some redeeming features because these rolls are fantastic.

They're embossed and they've got really sweet designs on them.

So I'm hoping that if I could turn this lot into some printing blocks,

I might be able to create some designs of my own.

I thought fabric was the way to go,

so I'm going to use some plain fabrics, print some designs on them,

and hopefully create a lovely piece of fabric that can cover things like

this notebook and perhaps some files to create a range of stationery that

will hopefully be desirable and saleable.

Does anyone remember covering your school books with wallpaper?

Sarah's cutting out some of the raised patterns

and she's going to stick them to these blocks, dip them in paint,

and stamp the designs onto bits of scrap fabric she found lying around

in her workshop. You're sure this is going to work, Sarah?

I've done a bit of potato printing in my time

and I'm hoping the wallpaper will act in pretty much the same way.

Potato printing! You are kidding!

Sarah uses simple PVA glue to fix the paper to the wood and then just

waits for it to dry.

In the meantime, she's got to stick that fabric onto the notebooks.

I've got some plain, lovely linen material here,

just to give these books an old-fashioned, original look.

The material has to be pulled tightly to make a good

printing surface, and double-sided tape sticks it down firmly.

Unlike glue, you don't have to wait for it to dry and, actually,

with the fabric going on to this cardboard, it sticks really well.

To give these £2.50 notebooks a luxury look,

Sarah's going to roll out another printing technique.

As well as my blocks, I've also made a roller with this fine bit of

wallpaper design on it. And I'm hoping I'm going to be able

to roll a pattern onto that notebook.

Nice theory, but you might just make a big flowery smudge.

So I'm hoping there's a thin layer of paint on there.

And I'm going to roll it over here

and a beautiful pattern's going to appear.

If not, I'm going to be recovering this notebook.

You could have done a test run first, you know!

I reckon this could work, Sarah.

Yeah, that is clever.

OK, I'm impressed.

-Well, that sort of works!

-I think she's surprised herself there.

It's come up better than I thought it would. Great. One done.

With three more notebooks to go and lots more stationery to dream up,

here's hoping the potato printing comes out as well.

It's going to cost Sarah £26 for the stationery and other materials.

It's not a lot, so let's hope she'll be writing up a profit.

Over in Margate, our very own furniture repurposing whizz Rupert

is getting started on this binned bookcase.

I'm going to re-use as much as possible of it, and as this is a mid-century

piece, I'm taking inspiration from one of my favourite designers,

-Jean Prouve.

-Of course you are, Rupert.

Jean Prouve was a ground-breaking French designer who introduced

industrial metal into beautiful furniture.

And Rupert hopes to reflect his ideas with new metal doors on the

bookcase. Oui, c'est bon!

New doors will mean new runners,

which Rupert's cutting from wood he found in a skip.

I bet he hoards piles of old stuff.

Can you actually see anything other than hair?

But your hair is just so pretty, Rupert!

No, seriously, how does he get it like that?

That's a salvaged bit of solid teak which the original cabinet's made

with, solid and veneered.

And I've just machined it up to make a new little groove to take more

-doors than it used to have.

-Oh, yeah, the doors.

Where is this industrial French design you've been teasing us with?

I've made these!

These ones, I had them punched instead of drilling them myself.

Rupert's cut this galvanised steel to size and then taken it to

a professional metal cutter's who punched these holes without leaving

nasty sharp edges.

And he's got another trick up his sleeve to safeguard big and

little fingers.

Hopefully it will evenly bend the outside of the circle inwards.

It's the moment of truth to see if my toy works or not.

Yay!

So, it's bent the edge in,

it's perfectly smooth, completely child-safe.

These little things in life please me.

That IS very pleasing. But he has got 15 holes on each door to do.

That's 30, and he hasn't even started on the actual bookcase yet.

Long night ahead!

It's on to the sanding, which will really help bring this old thing bang up-to-date.

But there's a problem.

There's a spray varnish, and it's so dark.

Underneath the varnish,

the exterior wood is a lot lighter than the interior. And annoyingly,

the new runner he added earlier is a completely different colour, too.

Now I've got three colours of wood

and need to tie them all together as one.

That's a shame, he was flying high earlier with his metal doors.

Now it looks like he might not get his bookcase off the ground.

In East Sussex, our wizard of wood Norman is in his workshop, sizing up

Sarah's chucked out chairs.

They'd be boring just as chairs, wouldn't they?

This one looks like the runt of the family.

Seats are going. We're going to keep the backs,

we're going to lose some of the legs.

So we're trying to make something exciting and

have a little bit of a wow factor, maybe.

Norman puts the wow factor into everything he does.

Even a bench you use to put on your shoes.

If we start with one, take it apart and see how we go,

then the rest should just then nicely follow.

So, we'll get the saw, hammer...

-..matches...

-Don't you dare!

First, Norman makes the front of the chairs the same width as the back,

so they'll all line up in a neat row.

After removing the front rail,

Norman uses a clamp to pull the legs together.

That's exactly the same as the front as it is the back,

so I've just now got to put a rail in there.

Norman cuts a piece of wood that will form a new smaller front bar

for the chair. A little glue helps to hold it in place

and then a couple of screws either side to secure it.

Yep, our Norman's up and running.

And as they say, that's all there is to it.

Right, so obviously we get the next one, do the same process,

-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.

-LIVELY SPANISH GUITAR MUSIC

Oh, I'm enjoying this!

And, ole, there's a definite whiff of a bench to be had here.

Although it does have too many legs.

What we've got to do now is really sand it up and then really make

the decision on which legs to keep in and which ones to take out.

Sounds like a plan, Norman, but once you chop off the chair legs,

there's no going back.

And after a bit of sanding, would you look at the nick of those chairs?!

They actually look a lot better now, being all cleaned up.

Now the bonding together of each chair, using polyurethane glue.

And some backup screws.

If you're going to start chopping up furniture,

it helps to have a clear vision of what you're going to make.

Sometimes there's no real plan, you just make it up as you go along!

Well, Norman, you weren't so hot on the chairs when they arrived.

But now I can kind of see how this is going to turn out.

I think it's looking really cool, so, yeah,

I have a love-hate relationship with it.

It might be love-hate for you, big guy, but for Sarah it's got to be love, love, love.

With two craftsmen already hard at work on their creations,

Sarah is at home in West Sussex

fiddling with her fancy wallpaper-inspired stationery.

Right, time to put those blocks to work.

-And this would be the potato-printing bit.

-I'm sure when you're doing this

properly you should have a roller where you

roll a lovely even layer of paint onto a surface.

So I'm just painting mine on, and then press down really evenly,

just try not to move them too much.

She's going to print the designs onto card

to make some fancy gift tags.

That has got to be the weirdest use of a rolling pin.

Lovely. Well, that looks just about all right.

I'm going to try and make a batch of little gift tags. Should be fun!

Sarah's obsession with vintage wallpaper

drew her to this pile of, well, just old wallpaper, really.

Now she has a stunning stationery set,

with elaborate designs on linen-covered notebooks,

giving a real sense of luxury.

With details like these, she is really pushing the envelope

to make stationery that looks special

and, hopefully, gets a special price.

Well, it turns out it really is quite tricky to make stuff out of vintage wallpaper.

But I've had a good go, I've made some folders,

I've made some good pockets here, just lined with a bit of original vintage paper too.

And several of these notepads. Now, I think these are probably usable,

I've just printed the linen on the surface.

I think they work. And I've got a whole range of gift tags too.

So, you know what, I think I'm going to keep going with these.

I've got plenty of materials, I'm going to take some pictures of them

and share them and see if anybody likes them and if I have to go into production.

You never know, might get a couple of orders!

Sarah's taking pictures she can share on social media,

which we hope will create a sale.

When Sarah spotted Prasad at the dump,

he was getting rid of his leftover wallpaper.

We haven't used it for a number of years, so it's lying there in the shed.

Sarah just couldn't help herself.

I love the patterns on it.

And Prasad gladly gave her the whole boxful.

She might use it up again for decorating a house or whatever.

After making luxurious stationery out of its vintage patterns,

Sarah posted pictures of it online.

And in no time at all, she found two buyers.

One of which is a Dorking gift shop and tearoom,

selling all things vintage.

Manager Linda took a shine to the stationery.

-In fact, she loves it.

-This is a beautiful stationery set.

Very unique. We'll have no trouble selling this at all in the shop.

Sarah is back in Walsall to give Prasad the news about what happened to his old wallpaper.

-Hi there, Prasad.

-Hi, Sarah.

-How are you?

-Yeah, I'm well, thanks,

-how are you?

-I'm very well, I'm very well.

So, I feel like I know your house because I've looked at all your wallpaper!

-Is this where it came from?

-Yes, yes. This is the house, yes.

Did you wonder what I might do with it after I took it away?

Yeah, I've no idea what you've done with it!

Well, I didn't wallpaper with it. But some of your wallpaper

has lovely embossed pattern on it, and it was my

job to find something to do with the wallpaper.

So I thought I'd try and use that embossed pattern on it

-to print things.

-OK.

-So that's the route I went down.

I've actually got some pictures here to show you what I did with it.

-All right.

-So, your wallpaper was used to make this lot.

-Wow!

-So, I don't know if you recognise that wallpaper,

or if any of it's still in use?

-It looks lovely.

-Oh, thank you.

So I made some gift tags and covered some books.

And some files and some folders.

-You might recognise it.

-Yes, that bit I do, yeah.

Lovely. Well, that's what happened to it.

It was certainly something that needed a bit of thought to work on,

-but I sold it, actually.

-Oh, OK.

That collection of stationery has gone off to a vintage tearoom

and shop, and I've got some profit for you.

-Oh!

-£49 for you!

-That's really kind of you.

-That's all yours.

Can I give it to charity?

OK. Do you have a charity in mind that you might...?

-Save The Children, maybe.

-Well, that's fantastic.

It was great to catch up, and thank you very much for letting me have a play with all that wallpaper.

-Lovely to see you.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Well, that was lovely. A lot of wallpaper, a little bit of imagination,

and a very generous gift to charity.

Sarah spent a total of £26 on the notebooks and folders and sold it

all for £75, leaving a tidy profit of £49.

Money for old wallpaper! Who knew?!

In Margate, Sarah's on her way to pick up Rupert's pop art bookcase.

But is the boss going to love it, or loathe it?

It was a bit of a nightmare just to refinish it.

And I hope that she's going to like it

because it was quite a trial in the end.

Well, I left Rupert with a sad-looking little bookcase which, frankly, lacked any personality.

And I'm hoping he's managed to put his own distinctive style on it and

give it a little bit of appeal.

With old-fashioned bookcases no longer in vogue,

it's no surprise this one was bound for the bin.

Now, it's got a smattering of French design,

a lick of pop arty pastel green paint,

and a set of supercool sliding galvanised steel doors.

Rupert has given this little cabinet a real revamp.

Better still, he's buffed up some of the original teak and retained part

of the old glass doors.

All bound to make any vintage furniture fanatic scream,

"Je t'aime!"

But will Sarah feel the same way too?

Oh, wow!

Hey, Sarah, welcome back.

Hey! Look at that!

-How are you?

-I'm good, I'm good.

This one's been a bit of fun.

I absolutely love it. I mean, it's a far cry

from that thing that was hidden in the dowdy corner

of the living room, isn't it? These have got great kind of atomic styling,

-haven't they?

-They're still sliding doors, just like the originals.

-And they're all child-safe.

-I mean, I see it in a kitchen.

I can see some lovely sort of cafe style glassware going in the top and

I'm loving this arsenic green on here.

It works so well with the teak, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's atomic and retro, all at the same time.

People are chucking out the bookcases as fast as they can get rid of their CD cases at the moment

at the tip. So to see something like this that will make people think

about that is... I think it's really clever.

I mean, anyone at home could actually take a cabinet like this,

insert their own doors, it's very simple.

But to take it at this level, this has got a lovely

designer finish now. And real appeal.

But does this tres-chic appeal come with a crazy French price tag?

-Or is Rupert still safely on budget?

-How much has that cost, then?

It took me a lot longer, but I learnt a lot of new things with this project.

So I'm happy to stick with your budget if you're OK with that.

Definitely. Can't thank you enough.

-Very happy.

-Can you wrap it up nicely for me, please?

-Sure will.

-He's happy, she's happy.

It's a job well done.

She kind of understood what I'm trying to do with it and, yeah,

I've just got to pack it up and hope she can find a good new home for it.

Well, it's certainly got some personality now.

It looks a million miles away from that sad,

depressing little bookcase that I dropped off.

Over at the tip, our little cabinet

was hiding in the back of Yvette's car.

That's quite a sweet little bookcase, isn't it?

We've upgraded, so this is quite old and rustic and, yeah,

-not really serves a purpose in the home.

-Sarah nearly broke it.

But Yvette let her take it.

Even though she was saying goodbye to an old friend.

I'd like to think she'd keep it as a bookcase,

just for the sake of what it used to be.

Rupert gave it new life by revamping the glass doors

and it was "cheerio, bookcase, hello, trendy cabinet!"

And who's fallen in love with it?

Joel has, and he's bought it for his quirky,

retro furniture and homewares shop in Sandbach in Cheshire.

I love the industrial look of the doors.

I think it works really well with the green.

And it fits in perfectly with what we're about.

So our customers are going to love it.

I'm not surprised, Joel. It's a keeper.

Sarah's in Walsall to meet up with Yvette and let her know what happened to her bookcase.

-Hi, Yvette.

-Hi, Sarah. Nice to see you again.

-And you, and you.

I said I'd come and find you if there was something to be done

-with your old bookcase. So here I am!

-Gosh! OK.

And I'm pleased to say that there was potential in it.

-Did you wonder what we might do with it?

-Well, I was actually curious, obviously,

because it was very old and shabby.

Well, I've got some pictures here to show you.

But before I do, it went to Margate to a great guy called Rupert.

-OK.

-And he looked at it,

it was made by an established maker that he recognised instantly and

apparently your bookcase was manufactured in the sort of 1950s.

-Right.

-So here's what he did with it.

-Are you ready for this?

-Yeah, absolutely.

Oh, my goodness!

-That's amazing! Gosh.

-So a few more shots here of what he did.

That's really cool.

I like what he did with the front, with the holes, that's amazing.

Well, it was actually bought by a boutique in Sandbach who love it,

-who sell things like that all the time.

-Yeah.

-Because it's a small piece,

there's not a huge amount of profit in a piece like that.

-But I have got something to share with you.

-Oh, gosh.

-In fact, I've got £30 here.

-Wow! That's amazing.

-For your old bookcase.

That's brilliant. Thank you so much, that's amazing.

Excellent. And do you know what you might do with 30 quid?

Well, I'm due to get married shortly.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-How exciting!

-Rather soon, actually.

So yeah, I'll put something towards that.

Well, it was so lovely to catch up.

-Have a fantastic wedding!

-Thank you.

-Take care, bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

I love a wedding, and I'm so pleased that Yvette's old bookcase and all

Rupert's hard work are going to add a little bit extra to that really special day.

Rupert charged £160 for labour and materials,

and the cool cabinet sold for £190,

leaving a cheeky £30 profit for

an unexpected little wedding gift for Yvette.

In Hellingly, Sarah's dropping in on Norman

to see how he's got on with his shoe station.

And he's sounding surprisingly peppy.

With what we had, I think we've

turned it into something quite smart.

So, fingers crossed, it's on the money.

-Yeah, she's going to love it. Isn't she?

-Well, I've crossed Sussex

to collect my old, uncomfortable chairs

from Norman, and I'm hoping he's transformed them into a beautiful bench.

When Sarah found these dilapidated old chairs,

they weren't worth sitting on. But now...

..they're transformed into a fabulous bench complete with

a distressed paint effect. This ties the chairs together as one.

Reclaimed wood gives a cosy top and bottom.

Underneath, a shelf can store the shoes of the whole family.

While on top, everyone can sit together to put their footwear on.

A fantastic addition to any family hallway.

-Norman?

-Hello.

Norman! Aren't you clever! Oh, it's really quite cool, isn't it?

-We've done the arms like we said we would.

-Yeah.

We used part of the chair, that piece is part of a leg,

-so we kept that in there.

-Yeah, yeah.

-It sits well.

Yeah, you've got just the right length in there, haven't you?

-It's comfortable.

-Yeah, it's comfy.

And it's not huge for a hall or something like that, is it?

So you've done really well there.

I'm not thinking there's four chairs that somebody stuck together.

Which is, I think, quite a good thing for when it comes to selling it.

You've created something that's useful out of something that was,

you know, they were tired and they were outdated.

Whereas this is... Oh, it's really quite cool, isn't it?

It's a really good piece of repurposing.

-And it's fun, isn't it?

-Good piece of recycling.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, definitely.

He might have wowed you with the design,

but has Norman stuck to his budget?

So I know you're going to tell me now that you're bang on the money as well, aren't you?

We had a budget of 350 and we kept to it, yeah.

That's really good because, you know, piece of furniture like this,

it's got to be 500 quid here, hasn't it?

I hope so. It's cool, it's on the money.

-You have done a really lovely job on that. Thank you.

-Thank you.

Really pleased. You know, if you think what we were dropped off,

I think we've done a good job.

Chairs like that, you know, you normally just paint them and someone

covers the seat. But we've gone the extra mile and done what we've done,

and I think she was really quite made-up with it.

So, yeah, another ten out of ten, I feel.

Well, that is a fantastic transformation and that's what you get from Norman.

He's steady, he does what he says he's going to do,

and he brings it in on budget. It's a lovely little bench.

Yeah, Norman, it's a beaut.

When Sarah spotted William's familiar face at the dump,

he was already unloading more hidden gems from his hatchback.

-Hey, they look cool.

-Having met her before,

he already had the measure of her.

It might be a wacky thing she might do with them.

He was pleased she wanted to pinch them.

-Shall I come and show you what I've done with them?

-By all means, yes.

And after some hard graft by Norman,

the four chairs have been reinvented.

The shoe station didn't have far to travel, as it was snapped up by a

vintage home shop in Westerham, in the north of Kent.

Owner Maria couldn't wait to get her hands on it.

I really, really love it because what it is is something that is

really solid. I think it's totally unique.

It's back to Walsall for Sarah to share the news with William about his chairs.

-Hello there.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Lovely to see you again.

Now, I said I'd be back in touch with those chairs that you were dropping off at the tip.

-Oh, yes. The chairs, yes.

-Now, they weren't yours, where they?

No, they were my daughter's.

Did you wonder after we had ambushed you at the tip what we might do with

-those old chairs?

-I haven't got a clue. I don't.

-Well, I actually

took them to somebody called Norman, who specialises in taking

old pieces of furniture, turning them into new furniture

that actually looks old. So, I've got some pictures to show you.

-Yes, yes.

-First of all, is this how you remember those chairs?

That's the ones, yes.

And then this is what Norman has done to them.

Oh!

-That's amazing.

-He has turned them into a lovely four-person bench.

I'd have never dreamed of them putting together and make a bench.

He must have a marvellous imagination.

I don't know about you, but I think they look like they've always been

-a bench.

-They're that good, aren't they?

And, actually, they sold as a bench so I do have some,

-a little bit of profit to hand over to you.

-Have you?

-I've got £95 here for you.

-No!

-For your old chairs.

That is a surprise. And my daughter will really be surprised.

Do you know what it is that she might do with that money?

Well, she has just moved into a new house.

So she'll be spending it on something she wants for the house.

It was lovely to catch up with you, and thank you so much for letting us

take your chairs away. And I think you're a very kind daddy to be helping out like that.

-Thank you very much.

-Lovely to see you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Well, I think William was keen on what Norman did with those chairs

and that's so generous, all of that £95 is going back

to his daughter to buy something special for her new home.

The total cost Norman charged for labour and materials was £350.

Sarah sold the lovely bench for a cool £445,

leaving a profit of 95 quid for William's daughter's new house.

Nice one.

Sarah rescued three items in total from the Walsall recycling centre.

Yvette's tired bookcase became a trendy cabinet.

William's four oak chairs are now a family bench.

And Prasad's old wallpaper was rewritten as stylish stationery.

That's another three items rescued from the rubbish and turned into

beautiful bespoke pieces. What could be better than that?