Episode 8 Money for Nothing


Episode 8

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Transcript


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What are you throwing away?

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How do you make money for nothing?

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I like the look of that.

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The answer could be hiding in over 20 million tonnes

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of household waste, thrown out by us every year.

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Mm, what else are you throwing away? Anything exciting?

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

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on things before they hit the skip.

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Finding, transforming and selling stuff we throw away

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is an obsession, and it's that obsession that I turned

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into a money-making business.

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

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

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You've got a bucket of fun for me.

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-It's a big one.

-Is it?

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

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They are amazing.

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..valuable...

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I've never seen anything like them.

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..and hopefully, saleable items.

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That's a lovely job, thank you.

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Thank you.

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If Sarah is successful then she can hand the profits back

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to the very people who had no idea

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there was cash to be made from their trash.

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-£165 here.

-No!

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Today, Sarah's travelled to the busy Witley recycling centre in Surrey,

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where she's seeking to salvage, um...

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Oh, I'll let her tell you.

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I'm seeking to salvage something special and turn today's tip finds

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into top designer treasure.

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Yeah, that.

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Sarah's on the lookout for three items that can be transformed,

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turned around and sold on for a profit.

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Barbecue recycling.

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And just in case you at home were thinking of doing the same

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at your local recycling centre, don't try it.

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Sarah had to get special permission,

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and, anyway, the tip is like a second home to her.

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I'm here all day - thought I might make it a little bit more homely.

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That's nice, isn't it? I just need a sofa now.

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Or, you could get back to work.

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And if you're quick, your first item

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could be falling out the back of that car.

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Perhaps David and his partner Vanessa

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will let you have a look at their battered old table.

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-Hello.

-Hi.

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Make my day.

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Tell me that I can have what you are about to throw in the tip.

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Well, it's extremely heavy,

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so if somebody was going to let us not throw it in the tip,

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that would be good.

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In my experience weight often shouts quality,

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so I'm thinking this must have been a beautiful table.

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Yeah, it is. The legs are absolutely stunning.

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Shall we try and get it on its feet?

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In its heyday, this Victorian dining table

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would've been able to extend in the middle

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to fit a dozen people round it at dinner parties,

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but as it's missing the connecting table leaves,

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it's only good now for very small dinner parties.

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Isn't that right, David?

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Oh, he doesn't say much.

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You hung on to it because you thought you might restore it one day

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or is it just...?

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It's just in the way, we don't want it, we don't need it.

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It would make a sort of oversized card table, as it is.

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I think this has got such great bone structure,

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it's going to be beautiful when it's...

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Well, as you say, heavy is good.

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-Excellent, on that note...

-Except when you are carrying it.

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What a find!

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Sarah's got herself an extending table that doesn't extend.

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What do you think Sarah will do with it, David?

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Oh, yeah. Vanessa?

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I'm sure she'll make the best of it.

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If you start off with a ritzy product,

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sometimes you land up with an even ritzier one.

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You don't often find one of these rocking up at the tip.

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I'm so pleased it turned up today.

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It's a big, substantial, heavy mahogany dining table.

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It would stretch right out and have probably three or four leaves

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in the middle so you could seat 12 of your friends round it.

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I'm really going to need somebody very creative

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to make some money out of this.

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It's got huge potential,

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but it's got some massive problems at the moment.

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If it's creativity you're after, there's only one man to call.

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Rupert Blanchard is a furniture maker and self-confessed hoarder

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of anything old he can turn into gold.

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I work mostly with salvaged and found reclaimed materials.

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So I basically work with other people's waste.

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I reassemble it as modern furniture.

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Rupert has carved out a name for himself

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as one of the most imaginative designers

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working with undervalued materials.

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

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I love making something from nothing,

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something that everyone's given up on.

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Something with a good history.

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Something with a story and something that I want to preserve

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and share that story with others.

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It's an incredibly satisfying job.

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Well, Rupert, you might be in luck.

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If it's a story you are after,

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then this table...

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well, could be a long story.

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That's one item down, two to go.

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And Sarah's back on the prowl.

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But people round here have got wise to Sarah

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poking her head in their boot,

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so they've started bringing guard dogs.

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Oh, no, you jumped out.

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Quick, Sarah, run.

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Oh, tickles! Are you being a good puppy? Oh, yes.

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What a brute.

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In you go, back in.

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In you go, in.

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Master of dogs.

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He just ripped my sleeve. See that?

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Good dog.

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If you're quite all right to continue, Sarah,

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you might be familiar with what Janice has in her boot.

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Hello, hello.

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I'm thinking that's an Ercol, is it?

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It is Ercol. Yes.

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I do know a bit about it, and that is that the blonde stuff like this

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is the more commercial stuff that people like.

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So I'd love to see it out.

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-Can I help you get it out?

-Yes.

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This old sofa frame was made by famous British manufacturers Ercol,

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and pieces like this from the '60s and '70s

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are considered classics of modern British design.

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Nothing classic about those cushions, though.

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How long have you had it?

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I've had it since my kids were small. The youngest is now 16.

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As you see, it's fallen through.

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I meant to repair it. It hasn't happened. It went in the shed.

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So now I'm thinking I'll just get rid of it.

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I'm really pleased that you brought it in,

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because any furniture that you can instantly recognise,

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even upside down in the tip,

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is a really good thing,

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because it means other people are following it,

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they like it and it's got that real,

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what, 1970s slouchy look to it, hasn't it?

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It certainly has.

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If it's all right I'm going to pile the cushions on it

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and take it away and see if one of my fantastic restorers

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can get it back into its former glory.

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It would be lovely, actually,

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if somebody could do something with it, which was what I intended.

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You don't have to feel guilty at all about dropping it off,

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it's come into safe hands. I'm so pleased I was here.

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Sarah's got herself a retro stunner to renovate.

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But how would Janice do it up?

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I would like to see it in a classic restoration,

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but Sarah's the boss.

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She's doing it, so I guess it might be something quite wacky.

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Oh, I love this sofa, it's got three things -

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it's vintage, it's Ercol and it's blonde,

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and that makes it commercial.

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I'm definitely going to re-use it,

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and I think I'm going to be sitting on a profit.

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Janice would like a sympathetic restoration,

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but that might not be the plan with the person Sarah's lined up

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to take it to.

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Anthony Devine, the upholsterer with the mosterer.

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Anthony takes his two decades of design experience

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and passes it on to the younger generation

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at his school of upholstery.

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Anthony's work is loud, exciting and experimental.

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I've been an upholsterer now for 21 years.

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I started straight from school.

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That's me ever since, really.

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Now I teach people who want to become upholsterers,

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and through that I get my self-satisfaction.

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I still enjoy the passion of it,

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but now I pass that knowledge and passion on to all our students.

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When it comes to sofas, Anthony has seen them all.

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So what new ideas is he going to bring to this one?

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We're nearly there.

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Sarah now needs to find something to work on herself

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and she'll be done.

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But, with the day drawing to a close, she's getting a bit bored.

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Just don't fall off and break your leg.

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I know, that's what I'm thinking, it's a bit of a liability, isn't it?

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This is a good look, isn't it?

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How would you make these at home? A couple of baked bean tins?

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Great, find some tins of beans and you're finished.

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Oh, my word, I'm loving everything that's in here.

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You can't throw this lot out.

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Or will she see potential in what Diane has in her boot?

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You know we've got to get rid of it, this is the problem.

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You're very welcome to take what you want.

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Diane's been clearing out her childhood home

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with the help of her cousin, David.

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Oh, no, and whose is that?

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Oh, that was mine, yeah.

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And there's something in there I think Sarah has her eye on.

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Hands off.

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-When was the last time you played with that?

-Oh, crumbs.

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I'm not giving my age away. That was Noddy's car.

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It is Noddy's car, isn't it?

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I don't know whether Noddy is in there, still.

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That's fantastic. Would it be OK...?

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I know you are in a desperate hurry,

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but if it's all right to take it away,

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I think it would be a crying shame if that ended up in the wood skip.

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It does seem a shame.

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You know, you're not allowed to keep that for yourself, Sarah.

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All your dollies are too big for it anyway.

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Lovely, well, thank you very much.

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I'm going to take that away first, keep it out of the rain.

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Have a good day, thank you.

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Do you think the doll's house will scrub up well, Sarah?

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Sarah?

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Sarah?!

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I may be some time.

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Diane?

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Well, I don't know.

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I hope she can make it look a lot better than it looks at the moment

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and that somebody will be able to make use of it,

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because it is a shame to put all that in the tip, I must admit.

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I think this might be a Triang doll's house,

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and that company manufactured loads of different styles of doll's house.

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It's got that classic red roof and some great detail.

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Everybody would've had one of these

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and it is like a snapshot of 1950s history.

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I mean, these things, they're just lovely -

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the detail and the quality is fantastic.

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I'm so pleased to have found it.

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And with that, Sarah's three items have all been found.

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Rupert will extend his talents to the mahogany table.

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Anthony will have a bash at the classic Ercol sofa,

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and, if she can stop playing with it for two minutes,

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Sarah will spruce up the doll's house.

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Well, what a cracking day!

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I've had my pick of the rubbish here.

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Now all I've got to do is get my thinking cap on

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and make some money out of it.

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Sarah has ditched the dump

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and headed to the seaside down of Margate,

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a place where thousands of Britons flock to every year

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to top up their sunburn.

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Unfortunately, there's no time for fun in the sun

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for our wood-working whizz-kid Rupert.

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Sarah's about to surprise him with the extending mahogany masterpiece

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and see what ideas he brings to the table.

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I've brought my lovely tip-find table all the way to Margate

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and I'm hoping Rupert is going to transform it

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into something really amazing.

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Rupert.

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Wow. That's heavy.

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It is a beast, isn't it?

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It is. It was obviously a real thing of quality in its day.

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I always say that, heavy equals good, equals expensive.

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It's got a whole heap of stuff underneath it, though,

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from where it must originally have stretched out.

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-Yeah.

-So have you got the extra flaps?

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We were lucky to get this.

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This turned up literally falling out the back of a car.

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Yeah. The legs are sort of coming off of the framework.

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They're really heavy-duty, almost like a massive old snooker table.

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Yeah, that's what I thought.

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What do you want done with this?

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Do you know something? Whenever I see something like this,

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I want to know what it looked like when it was that enormous thing.

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So I was wondering if you could make some new leaves

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or something to go in the middle of it?

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I want to cut this one up and almost like...

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..how people used to have crazy paving.

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Some people love it, some people hate it,

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but kind of crazy paving or the pattern on a giraffe's neck.

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So I'm going to reassemble the table as really a patchwork

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of lots of broken bits of table.

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It sounds a bit like the giraffe,

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you're going to stick your neck out on this one, aren't you?

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Very much like a giraffe, people are going to love this or hate this.

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What, who hates giraffes?

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So how big do you think it would've been?

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Shall we not just try and pull it apart and see how big it is?

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Yeah, go for it.

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From what I got there,

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it sounds like Rupert's going to make a giant patchwork table top.

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-If you can just try and pull that side.

-Yeah.

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Crazy paving was how people did their gardens in the '70s and '80s.

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It was horrible.

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Doesn't matter, keep going. Keep going.

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-I think it's stuck.

-That's about it.

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So, crazy paving.

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Does that come at a crazy price?

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I think if you give me about £300 to play with on this,

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I can do something really fun with this

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and make you a very expensive table.

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I think that just sounds wonderful. Thank you so much.

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Sarah's bagged herself a bargain,

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with a crazy paving giraffe-neck table.

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I can't really picture it.

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Well, I think that table has really captured Rupert's imagination,

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and with a £300 budget,

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I think I've going to make a really good profit on it too.

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It's going to cost £300 to transform the table,

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and if it's half as good as Rupert thinks it's going to be,

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we could have a real money-maker on our hands.

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For Sarah's next stop, she's travelled north to Manchester,

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and awaiting her arrival is Anthony Devine.

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Devine by name, divine by nature...

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most of the time.

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Sarah's brought along the beautiful blonde bombshell of a sofa.

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Let's see what Anthony can make of it.

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So it's Ercol and you're either a lover or a hater.

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I'm hoping Anthony's a lover.

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Oh, steady on, Sarah, we've got work to do.

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I can't really tell if you like this kind of thing or not.

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I've never seen any here.

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Ah, students bring them in now and again.

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The thing with Ercol is it's been around for ages

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because it lasts for ages.

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I mean, there's a whole almost like an appreciation society,

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and the purists will probably say,

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"Don't do any more with it, keep it like this,

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"put new fabric on it, replace the webs,

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"touch up all the wood",

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but that's not entirely what I think we should do with it.

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What's your take on it?

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My instant thing would be get rid of these, right?

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I just knew you were going to do that.

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All of a sudden it looks completely different.

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Obviously we need comfort,

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so I would say replace with a few scatter cushions,

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potentially, as well, have one cushion, rather than two.

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Plus point for that is if anybody is sitting in the middle,

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it's more comfortable and you don't lose your remote control down there.

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Comfortable and functional,

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but what's your plan for tidying up the rather battered-looking wood.

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The one thing that is worrying is the damage to the frame,

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it's quite a lot. And one thing -

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we could carefully sand it all down,

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but that's going to cost in terms of labour.

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Because we're going to try to do this for a price

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and I know you are always keen on price,

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then we have to look at alternatives,

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and one of those great ways of doing it would be just kind of spray it.

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Oh, spray painting? That lovely blonde wood?

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That lovely, natural, blonde wood that's so commercial?

0:16:440:16:47

OK, a nice natural light colour, perhaps.

0:16:490:16:52

Yeah, we're not going to go too crazy.

0:16:520:16:54

Instantly, I'm thinking like a really dark, heavy blue.

0:16:540:16:58

Right, what do I know?

0:16:580:17:00

But, if it keeps costs down, I know Sarah will be happy.

0:17:000:17:04

Sounds really simple.

0:17:040:17:05

Simple paint job, simple cushion across the base, how much is it?

0:17:050:17:09

I mean, you are looking about the £450 mark.

0:17:090:17:12

£450.

0:17:120:17:14

Go for your life.

0:17:140:17:15

And it's a deal.

0:17:150:17:16

Although painting that lovely natural wood,

0:17:160:17:19

is it really worth it just to save a bit of money?

0:17:190:17:22

It'll probably divide opinions,

0:17:220:17:24

because we all know there's purists

0:17:240:17:25

and then people will want to see something exciting.

0:17:250:17:28

I'm certainly on the side of exciting.

0:17:280:17:31

Well, Anthony is going to have to nail the look of that sofa

0:17:310:17:34

if we're going to make a profit. £450 is a big investment.

0:17:340:17:38

But he's talking a good game.

0:17:380:17:39

It'll be £450 to transform the sofa.

0:17:400:17:44

There's a good chance of making a bit of profit.

0:17:440:17:47

Well, if someone wants to buy it, obviously.

0:17:470:17:49

With our two makers put to work,

0:18:010:18:03

it's time for Sarah to get back home to the Sussex countryside

0:18:030:18:07

and get started on her own project.

0:18:070:18:09

Sarah's been playing with the doll's house all morning.

0:18:120:18:15

Now she's ready to get to work.

0:18:150:18:17

Well, this is a very sweet little doll's house

0:18:210:18:23

and the contents of it are fantastic.

0:18:230:18:25

And I know that it's a Triang doll's house,

0:18:250:18:27

and I can say that with complete certainty

0:18:270:18:29

because it says it here on the back.

0:18:290:18:30

This house is in lovely condition

0:18:300:18:32

and I really don't want to change that.

0:18:320:18:34

I'm not going to paint it because if somebody takes this on as a project,

0:18:340:18:37

I want them to be able to choose

0:18:370:18:38

whether they want the original interior

0:18:380:18:40

or if they want to make it more of their own.

0:18:400:18:42

The Triang Company started making doll's houses in the 1920s.

0:18:460:18:51

By the 1930s, the company was so successful,

0:18:510:18:54

they bought the famous London toy store Hamleys.

0:18:540:18:59

TV. You've got to love a TV.

0:18:590:19:00

They were big in those days, weren't they?

0:19:000:19:02

However, they stopped production during World War II

0:19:020:19:05

when they joined the war effort.

0:19:050:19:07

They stopped making doll's houses, and made weapons instead.

0:19:070:19:10

This is just the most wonderful little world in here.

0:19:120:19:15

There's a whole history of somebody's childhood

0:19:150:19:18

and what they played with.

0:19:180:19:20

I think it's just a case of cleaning it all up and making the best of it.

0:19:200:19:24

It is in really dirty condition.

0:19:240:19:27

In fact, the last people who played with it, I think, were probably mice

0:19:270:19:29

cos there's lots of mouse poo inside it.

0:19:290:19:31

That really isn't going to make any difference.

0:19:310:19:33

I'm going to give it a really good clean up,

0:19:330:19:35

polish up all the pieces, things like this -

0:19:350:19:37

they're collectible and they're definitely saleable.

0:19:370:19:41

As mice have been using the house as a loo,

0:19:410:19:43

Sarah's using some simple antibacterial spray,

0:19:430:19:47

which will get rid of all the nasties

0:19:470:19:49

and remove the surface grime.

0:19:490:19:51

I need to be careful not to damage any of the lovely delicate wood

0:19:510:19:54

and paint that's on the surface, but it should clean up really nicely.

0:19:540:19:59

Triang doll's houses were of the highest quality and built to last.

0:19:590:20:03

Look at that tiny spoon.

0:20:040:20:07

They even had specially-printed wallpapers

0:20:070:20:10

that were miniatures of contemporary designs of the day.

0:20:100:20:13

That's just about it, I reckon.

0:20:130:20:15

These little bits have cleaned up really nicely.

0:20:190:20:22

What I want to do is pop them all into the house,

0:20:220:20:24

style them up so it looks stunning, and then get it sold.

0:20:240:20:27

I've got my interior design helper to help me.

0:20:270:20:29

Come on, this is your size.

0:20:290:20:31

Sarah's enlisted the help of daughter Libby to help decorate.

0:20:330:20:37

So, which one's the master bedroom, this one?

0:20:370:20:39

That one.

0:20:390:20:40

Sarah plans to sell the house online,

0:20:400:20:42

so a nice arrangement will help greatly

0:20:420:20:45

when it comes to bagging a buyer.

0:20:450:20:47

I see what you've done there, I like it.

0:20:470:20:49

Looks good. Cosy.

0:20:490:20:51

So far Sarah hasn't spent a penny renovating the doll's house,

0:20:540:20:58

so if she can get it sold, it'll be all profit.

0:20:580:21:01

We're leaving leafy Sussex and heading back to Margate...

0:21:050:21:08

..where Rupert's getting started on the crazy paving giraffe table.

0:21:100:21:14

How's that going to work again?

0:21:150:21:17

I'm going to splice into the middle of this table -

0:21:190:21:21

a lot of colourful sections of wood.

0:21:210:21:23

Almost like crazy paving of colourful bits of Formica.

0:21:230:21:28

It's going to have a real contemporary twist to it.

0:21:280:21:30

And it's going to be big and heavy.

0:21:300:21:32

So, I'm going to start pulling this apart and see how big it used to be.

0:21:360:21:40

Rupert begins to fully extend the table

0:21:400:21:43

to get a better idea of how large he could possibly make his own.

0:21:430:21:48

What is a popular size for a table?

0:21:480:21:50

Are you asking me?

0:21:500:21:52

I don't know. Six?

0:21:520:21:54

Six people.

0:21:540:21:56

Well, what's wrong with that?

0:21:560:21:57

Six people isn't going to be enough for this table.

0:21:570:21:59

Well, you did ask.

0:21:590:22:01

Once it's apart,

0:22:040:22:05

Rupert can also tell if the original framework

0:22:050:22:08

is strong enough to re-use in the new design.

0:22:080:22:11

And it's not looking good.

0:22:130:22:15

All of this centre section is now redundant.

0:22:150:22:18

It's all broken.

0:22:180:22:21

It's going to collapse in that corner.

0:22:210:22:23

Rupert begins to dismantle the table.

0:22:250:22:28

There are a lot of complex joints

0:22:280:22:30

and I'm not quite sure where all the hidden fixings are.

0:22:300:22:33

What, so you'll just smash it with a mallet and hope for the best?

0:22:330:22:37

Oh, well, that did the trick.

0:22:370:22:38

That's got it.

0:22:440:22:45

These are the bits that I've pulled out of the table

0:22:470:22:49

that I can actually turn into a new table.

0:22:490:22:52

The oak framework underneath turned out to be really badly damaged,

0:22:520:22:57

so I'm going to have to make a new sub-frame for the table

0:22:570:23:00

to carry the new heavy table top.

0:23:000:23:02

Building an entirely new frame from scratch

0:23:040:23:07

is going to eat into a lot of Rupert's time and be costly.

0:23:070:23:12

But for now, he's concentrating on this crazy patchwork table top,

0:23:120:23:16

which will be made from old, horrible, '60s Formica tabletops.

0:23:160:23:22

One of the things I've kept hold of are old, broken, Formica tables,

0:23:220:23:26

so I'm going to bring together a lot of these scraps and useless bits

0:23:260:23:30

that I've collected

0:23:300:23:31

and make something colourful and join them all together.

0:23:310:23:34

So it's kind of a big jigsaw puzzle piece now.

0:23:340:23:37

Formica laminate is a heat-resistant white, clean, plastic coating,

0:23:370:23:41

commonly used for tabletops and work surfaces.

0:23:410:23:45

In the '60s, many homes in Britain had some form of Formica

0:23:450:23:49

in their kitchen,

0:23:490:23:50

and the bright, jazzy colours... Well, it was the '60s.

0:23:500:23:54

I'm going to start cutting these pieces down now,

0:23:560:23:58

get them all down to size.

0:23:580:24:01

Rupert starts cutting the Formica into sections.

0:24:020:24:05

Care has to be taken when cutting any laminate.

0:24:070:24:10

The dust particles can be very dangerous,

0:24:100:24:13

as they contain formaldehyde, amongst other things.

0:24:130:24:16

So why, oh, why is Rupert not wearing a mask then?

0:24:160:24:20

Well, it's because his trusty handsaw has a built-in vacuum

0:24:200:24:24

that sucks up all the dust before it gets into the air.

0:24:240:24:27

Isn't that clever?!

0:24:270:24:28

Rupert only manages to cut a couple of bits

0:24:320:24:34

before he notices another problem.

0:24:340:24:36

Every single piece of material I've got is a different thickness.

0:24:360:24:40

Somehow I've got to get it level and smooth,

0:24:400:24:44

so, this is going to be a real labour of love.

0:24:440:24:47

Oh, what happened?

0:24:500:24:51

Can it just fade to black?

0:24:510:24:53

Oh, this isn't going well.

0:24:530:24:55

As Rupert has a little lie-down to rethink the budget,

0:24:570:25:01

we're back in Manchester where upholsterer Anthony

0:25:010:25:04

is about to bring on the wrath of the Ercol Appreciation Society.

0:25:040:25:09

So, with the Ercol, we are very carefully trying

0:25:090:25:13

to not to offend people,

0:25:130:25:14

but the purists out there might be slightly offended

0:25:140:25:18

with the plan we have for it.

0:25:180:25:20

So what we're going to do is modernise it.

0:25:200:25:22

We're going to remove these cushions instantly.

0:25:220:25:24

Because this is in quite a bad state,

0:25:260:25:28

what we're going to do is give it a little sanding,

0:25:280:25:30

and then we're going to prime it,

0:25:300:25:31

and then we're going to spray it,

0:25:310:25:33

and that's another way of kind of bringing it right up to, um...

0:25:330:25:37

To?

0:25:370:25:38

Bring it up to...

0:25:380:25:40

Scratch?

0:25:400:25:41

..date!

0:25:410:25:42

Ah, nearly.

0:25:420:25:43

That's the one.

0:25:430:25:45

Anthony starts by removing all the snapped and brittle webbing

0:25:450:25:49

from the face,

0:25:490:25:50

which will later be replaced by brand-new bouncy webbing.

0:25:500:25:54

They start off in a really nice rubber state,

0:25:540:25:57

and just over a period of time they just dry

0:25:570:26:00

and decompose and disintegrate.

0:26:000:26:02

So if you pop a little bit of moisturiser or oil over them,

0:26:020:26:06

that'll keep them all nice and dry and supple.

0:26:060:26:08

Top tip - moisturise your chairs.

0:26:080:26:11

I've found that a deep cleansing, exfoliating scrub

0:26:110:26:15

will really open the pores and make it look ten years younger.

0:26:150:26:19

Anthony's giving the frame a very light sanding

0:26:220:26:25

to remove the bumps before he applies the undercoat primer.

0:26:250:26:28

A primer is a layer of paint applied before your main coat of paint.

0:26:300:26:35

It ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface,

0:26:350:26:38

increases paint durability

0:26:380:26:40

and provides additional protection for the wood.

0:26:400:26:43

Anthony puts the base outside to dry

0:26:450:26:48

and turns his attention to the fabric for the cushions...

0:26:480:26:51

and it isn't going to be just any old fabric.

0:26:510:26:54

This is hopefully - which is in brackets very experimental -

0:26:550:27:00

going to be the fabric for the Ercol seat cushions.

0:27:000:27:04

So there's quite a few different processes to this.

0:27:040:27:06

Number one, we're going to paint our base colour on,

0:27:060:27:10

all the way around like so.

0:27:100:27:11

Then we're going to put some paint down one half,

0:27:110:27:15

fold it in half, open it up,

0:27:150:27:18

allow it to dry and keep on repeating it,

0:27:180:27:21

so this is just...

0:27:210:27:22

..act one, scene one of, potentially, our own fabric.

0:27:230:27:27

Once Anthony's happy with his design,

0:27:270:27:29

he'll send it off to be digitally printed,

0:27:290:27:32

and if you're wondering what he wants it to look like,

0:27:320:27:35

here's the blueprint.

0:27:350:27:37

Mm.

0:27:370:27:38

Designs that look like ink blots are very on trend, I'm told.

0:27:380:27:44

Uh, can you just very carefully hold it here and hold it here?

0:27:440:27:49

Anthony's got one of his frame makers

0:27:490:27:51

to help him neatly do the folding,

0:27:510:27:53

so, in theory, it should come out as a pristine mirror-image design.

0:27:530:27:58

Oh, it's a mess.

0:28:010:28:04

When in doubt, start from scratch.

0:28:040:28:06

We'll just have... We'll put this one down here.

0:28:060:28:08

Repeating this process is taking up an awful lot of Anthony's time.

0:28:090:28:14

Especially when he's using the world's smallest roller.

0:28:140:28:17

So here's hoping this one is a little better.

0:28:170:28:20

What do you think, Anthony?

0:28:210:28:24

Oh, that doesn't look good.

0:28:240:28:26

Any improvement?

0:28:260:28:27

Yeah, I think we'll start again.

0:28:270:28:29

Oh, dear.

0:28:290:28:31

With Anthony's handmade fabric not turning out the way he wanted,

0:28:330:28:37

he decides to put it to one side and get started painting the sofa base.

0:28:370:28:43

This was supposed to be the most cost-effective way

0:28:430:28:46

of renovating the sofa.

0:28:460:28:47

With all the time it's taken designing the fabric,

0:28:470:28:50

the budget's in danger of sky rocketing.

0:28:500:28:53

With our makers both struggling with our tip finds,

0:28:560:29:00

it's time to swing by Sarah's and see how Libby's got on,

0:29:000:29:04

doing up the doll's house.

0:29:040:29:06

Well done.

0:29:100:29:11

And it's ready to be put on the market.

0:29:110:29:13

When Sarah rescued the doll's house,

0:29:150:29:17

it was moments away from being crushed.

0:29:170:29:20

But now, it's shiny, bright and ready to be loved again.

0:29:220:29:27

Sarah cleaned the house from top to bottom

0:29:270:29:30

with all the lovely miniatures looking brand-new,

0:29:300:29:33

and with Libby's skilful arrangement,

0:29:330:29:35

it's ready to be put online and hopefully find a buyer.

0:29:350:29:40

Oh, my word, I'm loving everything that's in here.

0:29:450:29:48

When Sarah met Diane at the tip,

0:29:480:29:50

she had a rifle through her childhood possessions.

0:29:500:29:53

Oh, no, and whose is that?

0:29:530:29:55

That was mine, yeah.

0:29:550:29:56

But it was the doll's house that caught her eye.

0:29:560:29:58

When was the last time you played with that?

0:29:580:30:00

I'm not giving my age away.

0:30:000:30:01

Sarah whisked it away to be spruced up.

0:30:010:30:04

Well, I hope she can make it look a lot better

0:30:040:30:05

than it looks at the moment.

0:30:050:30:07

Sarah didn't have to wait long after posting the doll's house online.

0:30:090:30:13

She had a buyer lined up

0:30:140:30:16

and so set off to Wingrave in Buckinghamshire

0:30:160:30:19

to see if she could seal the deal.

0:30:190:30:21

Do you want to bring it through to the shed?

0:30:210:30:23

The shed? Oh, yes, please.

0:30:230:30:24

Collector, Kim, loves doll's houses so much,

0:30:240:30:28

even her shed looks like one.

0:30:280:30:29

Oh, that's lovely.

0:30:320:30:33

But does she love Sarah's enough to buy it.

0:30:330:30:36

What do you think?

0:30:360:30:37

I love it, I really love it, thank you.

0:30:370:30:39

Really? I'm so pleased.

0:30:390:30:41

Yes, of course she bought it.

0:30:410:30:43

But for how much?

0:30:430:30:44

Sarah's now travelled to Tismans Common in Sussex

0:30:460:30:50

to tell Diane what happened to her doll's house

0:30:500:30:52

and hand over the profits.

0:30:520:30:54

-Hi there.

-Hello.

0:30:580:30:59

-How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you, how are you?

0:30:590:31:02

Very well. Now I last saw you and you were clearing out

0:31:020:31:04

-your mother's house, is that right?

-That's right, yes.

0:31:040:31:06

And so you got as far as the loft when I saw you

0:31:060:31:09

and found your old doll's house.

0:31:090:31:10

It had been there, sitting there for probably about 40 years.

0:31:100:31:14

It was a bit mucky.

0:31:140:31:16

To be honest, I just thought, "It has to go. What do you do with it?"

0:31:160:31:21

I literally gave it a quick clean-up

0:31:210:31:23

and I've taken some pictures of how it looked after I had had...

0:31:230:31:26

-Oh, fantastic.

-..a little look at it.

0:31:260:31:28

So, I just literally...

0:31:280:31:31

-My goodness.

-..got the marigolds out...

0:31:310:31:33

-Oh, my goodness...

-And just gave it a tidy up.

0:31:330:31:35

Actually, you played with it beautifully.

0:31:350:31:36

-It was in great condition. Do you have siblings?

-No. No.

0:31:360:31:39

That's probably why it's in great condition.

0:31:390:31:41

-Because mine would've all been crushed by my brother.

-Aw!

0:31:410:31:45

I shared it on social media, and it's gone to a new home.

0:31:450:31:48

Oh, fantastic. I think that that's brilliant.

0:31:480:31:51

In fact, I have £160 for your doll's house

0:31:510:31:54

and all those lovely things that are in it.

0:31:540:31:56

My goodness, that's amazing, thank you very much.

0:31:560:32:00

Is there something you might do with that?

0:32:000:32:02

Well, I would like to give a little bit to Macmillan,

0:32:020:32:05

because they looked after my dad when he was very ill,

0:32:050:32:08

and I might save a little bit for myself as well.

0:32:080:32:11

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

0:32:110:32:13

Sarah didn't spend anything on materials,

0:32:150:32:18

meaning with a sale of £160,

0:32:180:32:20

Diane gets the full £160 to split between a cancer charity,

0:32:200:32:25

in memory of her dad, and a treat for herself.

0:32:250:32:28

Lovely.

0:32:280:32:29

That's one item producing a profit.

0:32:350:32:38

Let's see if we can make it two.

0:32:380:32:39

Sarah's back in Margate to drop in on Rupert and the old table...

0:32:410:32:45

Oh, would someone please buy her some laces?

0:32:450:32:48

She's likely to trip and break her neck.

0:32:480:32:51

Rupert's finished the colourful mahogany table,

0:32:510:32:54

but I have a feeling it was probably a late night.

0:32:540:32:57

It actually took a lot longer than I thought

0:32:580:33:01

for something quite simple, it was quite a labour of love.

0:33:010:33:04

I hope she does like it, otherwise I'll be eating my own dinner off it.

0:33:040:33:07

Well, it's scorching down here in Margate

0:33:090:33:11

and I'm hoping Rupert is also on fire.

0:33:110:33:14

And if his past reputation is anything to go by,

0:33:140:33:17

that table is going to go from the tip to the top.

0:33:170:33:20

Well, let's find out.

0:33:200:33:22

When Sarah salvaged the old thing, it was on its last legs, but now...

0:33:220:33:27

..it's a big, bright beauty.

0:33:310:33:34

The new shiny laminate mid-section mixes swinging '60s Britain

0:33:340:33:38

with classy Victorian style.

0:33:380:33:41

Rupert has lovingly restored the original mahogany

0:33:420:33:45

whilst still keeping its character and charm.

0:33:450:33:49

It's been stretched out to fit eight to ten people round it.

0:33:490:33:53

Perfect for dinner parties, or just big dinners.

0:33:530:33:58

-Rupert. Hi.

-Hi, Sarah.

0:33:580:34:01

-Hey. How are you?

-I'm OK.

0:34:010:34:03

-Come on, then, let's see it.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

0:34:030:34:06

Wow!

0:34:090:34:10

Isn't that fantastic?

0:34:110:34:13

I went through all of the scrap salvage bits of 1960s tables

0:34:130:34:17

that I could find,

0:34:170:34:18

and they're such a contrast to the original Victorian mahogany.

0:34:180:34:23

I think it's absolutely amazing.

0:34:230:34:27

In the end, it was quite a labour of love to carefully restore

0:34:270:34:29

what you'd given me, but build a whole new subframe,

0:34:290:34:33

so I might have to charge you a little bit more,

0:34:330:34:36

as it did take a lot longer.

0:34:360:34:38

I think the region was around £300.

0:34:380:34:42

Have you doubled it, or is it less than that?

0:34:420:34:44

-I could work with about £400. Would that be OK?

-£400.

0:34:440:34:47

I will happily pay that.

0:34:470:34:49

I think you've done a very good job on it.

0:34:490:34:51

Great. Good luck with it.

0:34:510:34:54

I won't need much, I don't think.

0:34:540:34:56

Even with the extra £100,

0:34:560:34:58

I think Sarah's got herself a bargain.

0:34:580:35:01

Well, Margate has just got a new masterpiece.

0:35:010:35:03

Rupert has created his own style of modern art,

0:35:030:35:06

and that table, well, it's an absolute winner.

0:35:060:35:09

I hope you're right.

0:35:090:35:11

Let's see if we can get it sold.

0:35:110:35:12

-Hello.

-Hi.

0:35:180:35:19

When Sarah met David and Vanessa at the tip,

0:35:190:35:21

they were happy for Sarah to lug their mammoth table away.

0:35:210:35:25

Well, it's extremely heavy,

0:35:250:35:26

so if somebody was going to not let us throw it in the tip,

0:35:260:35:28

that would be good.

0:35:280:35:30

Vanessa didn't think much of the old table.

0:35:300:35:32

It's just in the way.

0:35:320:35:33

We don't want it, we don't need it.

0:35:330:35:35

But had confidence in its potential.

0:35:350:35:38

If you start off with a ritzy product,

0:35:380:35:41

sometimes you land up with an even ritzier one.

0:35:410:35:43

Ritzy is one word for it.

0:35:430:35:45

With Rupert's rampant imagination, it's ready to be dined at again.

0:35:450:35:50

Sarah took snaps of the table and shared them online,

0:35:500:35:54

and do you know what?

0:35:540:35:55

It was snapped up by retro furniture store Elemental in London.

0:35:550:35:59

Sarah's travelled to Hambledon in Surrey

0:36:010:36:03

to tell Vanessa the good news and hand over the profit.

0:36:030:36:06

-Hi, Vanessa.

-Hi, Sarah, how are you? Nice to see you again.

0:36:110:36:14

Yes, lovely to see you too.

0:36:140:36:15

Now, I saw you at the recycling centre.

0:36:150:36:18

You had that lovely table roped into the back of your car.

0:36:180:36:21

Did you wonder what might happen after you took it away?

0:36:210:36:24

Well, I mean, as it had been left in the rain

0:36:240:36:26

I wasn't really quite sure,

0:36:260:36:27

and I just couldn't face the restoration process.

0:36:270:36:31

Lovely Rupert, who is down in Margate,

0:36:310:36:33

took one look at it and said

0:36:330:36:35

it's just something he would love to work on.

0:36:350:36:37

So I've got some pictures to show you what he did with it.

0:36:370:36:39

Oh, wow. Wonderful Rupert. How exciting.

0:36:390:36:41

It's not possibly the most traditional of makeovers.

0:36:410:36:46

You've painted it or...

0:36:460:36:47

Brace yourself. This is how your table ended up.

0:36:470:36:51

Oh, my word. How amazing.

0:36:510:36:54

He kept all of the original mahogany,

0:36:540:36:56

that lovely finish on the table,

0:36:560:36:58

and he added this very bright section...

0:36:580:37:00

Contemporary look.

0:37:000:37:02

-What do you think of it?

-I think it's amazing.

0:37:020:37:04

I mean, it's better than it being in the rain down at the farm.

0:37:040:37:06

A shop in London absolutely loved it.

0:37:060:37:08

And so I have a little bit of profit to hand over to you.

0:37:080:37:10

In fact, I've got £100 here from your table. That's for you.

0:37:100:37:15

Well, wonderful. Well, Sarah, well done.

0:37:150:37:17

How lovely to see something as old as that used and appreciated.

0:37:170:37:21

What might you do with that £100?

0:37:210:37:23

Of course, well it'll probably just go to the roof fund, I'd imagine,

0:37:230:37:26

which is something that is very much needed in this house.

0:37:260:37:29

-Great. Lovely to see you again.

-And you, Sarah, thank you.

0:37:290:37:31

Even with Rupert going a bit over budget with £400,

0:37:310:37:35

Sarah managed a cracking sale of £500,

0:37:350:37:39

meaning Vanessa has 100 to put towards getting her roof fixed.

0:37:390:37:44

That's two items now that have raked in the cash.

0:37:500:37:53

So, Sarah's headed back to Manchester

0:37:530:37:55

and she's got herself some laces, thank goodness.

0:37:550:37:59

Will Anthony's black and white ink blot sofa be another money maker?

0:38:000:38:06

So, Sarah's on her way.

0:38:060:38:07

Really excited to kind of show this one off.

0:38:070:38:10

It's a lot different to what we were originally going to show off,

0:38:100:38:13

but, yeah, I'm really pleased with it.

0:38:130:38:15

Oh, there's been a change. I can hardly wait.

0:38:150:38:18

I'm here to pick up that broken Ercol sofa.

0:38:190:38:22

It had a great frame and quite a bit of potential.

0:38:220:38:25

So I don't know if Anthony has gone traditional and played it safe,

0:38:250:38:28

or if he's gone for bonkers, brilliant and bang up-to-date?

0:38:280:38:31

Well, you might have got the bonkers bit right.

0:38:310:38:34

When Sarah dropped it off,

0:38:340:38:36

it was beautiful and blonde but banged and battered.

0:38:360:38:39

Now...

0:38:390:38:40

..it looks like this.

0:38:410:38:43

Not an ink blot in sight.

0:38:430:38:45

Anthony's foray into the world of fabric design ended...

0:38:450:38:49

um, badly.

0:38:490:38:51

So, instead he's chosen a fabric bursting with colour

0:38:510:38:55

by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix.

0:38:550:38:58

And it certainly catches the eye,

0:39:010:39:03

covering the one big base cushion at the bottom

0:39:030:39:06

and scatter cushions at the back.

0:39:060:39:08

I tell you, if I wanted to get on the wrong side of the Ercol purists,

0:39:080:39:13

that's the material I would choose.

0:39:130:39:15

But what will Sarah think?

0:39:160:39:18

-Hello, hello.

-Hello.

0:39:180:39:20

-Give us a hug.

-How are we?

0:39:210:39:24

Oh, I'm much better now.

0:39:240:39:26

-Do you like it?

-Oh, I love it.

0:39:260:39:29

-Oh, good. Phew.

-Isn't it cool?!

0:39:290:39:31

It looks brand-new and that's not often a look I'm championing,

0:39:310:39:34

but you've really brought it up-to-date.

0:39:340:39:37

Nice fabric.

0:39:370:39:38

And so there the story begins.

0:39:380:39:41

This wasn't the original choice.

0:39:410:39:43

Originally we went for kind of craft corner,

0:39:430:39:45

and I got some paint out and started throwing it around,

0:39:450:39:48

and then we just threw it in the bin...after three times.

0:39:480:39:51

So then we went with this.

0:39:510:39:53

It's definitely worth pursuing a look like this.

0:39:530:39:55

I'll stick to upholstery rather than painting.

0:39:550:40:00

Now you're not going to tell me it looks this good

0:40:000:40:01

and you did it for the £450 budget, are you?

0:40:010:40:04

Um...

0:40:040:40:05

I wish I could...n't,

0:40:070:40:09

-but we did.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-I love it.

0:40:090:40:12

So, there's a lesson for us all.

0:40:140:40:16

If at first you don't succeed...

0:40:160:40:19

just give up and buy something nicer.

0:40:190:40:22

Well, I'm so pleased I was right.

0:40:220:40:24

Anthony has really gone for it with that old Ercol sofa,

0:40:240:40:27

and as tip find transformations go,

0:40:270:40:29

that's right up there with the best of them.

0:40:290:40:31

I recognise those cushions.

0:40:370:40:39

When Sarah met Janice at the tip,

0:40:390:40:41

Sarah knew exactly what she was throwing away.

0:40:410:40:44

I'm thinking that's an Ercol, isn't it?

0:40:440:40:46

It is Ercol, yeah.

0:40:460:40:47

It was too far gone for Janice to take on as a project.

0:40:470:40:50

I meant to repair it. It hasn't happened.

0:40:500:40:52

It went in the shed. So now I'm thinking I'll just get rid of it.

0:40:520:40:56

And she could only guess what Sarah had in store for it.

0:40:560:40:59

I guess it might be something quite wacky.

0:40:590:41:03

Well, Janice, you couldn't be more right.

0:41:030:41:06

To find a fancier of the floral,

0:41:060:41:08

Sarah took to social media and posted the sofa

0:41:080:41:12

on Instagram, Etsy, and eBay.

0:41:120:41:15

But were there any takers?

0:41:150:41:17

Sarah is in Godalming to meet up with Janice

0:41:190:41:21

and show her what was made of her Ercol.

0:41:210:41:24

Hi, Janice, how are you?

0:41:280:41:30

Hi. Nice to see you.

0:41:300:41:31

I said I would be back in touch with you

0:41:310:41:33

if there was something to be done with your Ercol sofa.

0:41:330:41:36

So tell me a bit more about it.

0:41:360:41:38

Because it had been in your garage for a while, hadn't it?

0:41:380:41:40

It had been in the shed.

0:41:400:41:41

The kids used to have it in their room.

0:41:410:41:43

I didn't really want to throw it away,

0:41:430:41:44

because I thought with Ercol it's a bit too nice, really.

0:41:440:41:47

When we first looked at it, we really went over it thoroughly,

0:41:470:41:50

looking at the condition of the frame and the webbing,

0:41:500:41:53

and we actually decided that it was better, probably,

0:41:530:41:56

to update it rather than try to restore it.

0:41:560:41:58

So I've got some pictures here to show you.

0:41:580:42:00

-Are you ready?

-Yes, I'm ready.

0:42:000:42:02

-It now looks like that.

-Wow.

0:42:030:42:06

Actually, that's really nice.

0:42:060:42:08

He has used this lovely bold fabric and gave it a fresh, new look.

0:42:080:42:12

Yeah, I think that's really lovely. Very nice indeed.

0:42:120:42:16

It is currently still for sale.

0:42:160:42:17

I'm hoping to be back here and be in touch

0:42:170:42:20

saying that I've made some profit on it,

0:42:200:42:22

but I wanted to come and catch up with you

0:42:220:42:23

and show you how it had turned out.

0:42:230:42:25

Thank you so much for letting us have it.

0:42:250:42:27

-Lovely to catch up with you. Bye-bye.

-Thank you. Bye-bye.

0:42:270:42:30

Ah, well, you can't win them all.

0:42:300:42:33

With Anthony's costs coming in at £450 and no sale,

0:42:330:42:39

we're looking at a potential £450 loss.

0:42:390:42:43

But, with a bit more time,

0:42:430:42:44

Sarah will find it a new home

0:42:440:42:46

and be back to see Janice to hand over the profit.

0:42:460:42:49

Sarah salvaged three items that were destined for the dump.

0:42:530:42:57

Instead of lying in landfill,

0:42:590:43:01

they've all been given a new lease of life.

0:43:010:43:03

A new look...

0:43:060:43:07

..and a chance to be loved again.

0:43:080:43:11

Well, how about that Ercol sofa?

0:43:140:43:16

I reckon that fabric was just the thing

0:43:160:43:18

to bring it right up to date,

0:43:180:43:19

and Rupert's dining table, well, that was a triumph.

0:43:190:43:22

The doll's house, a lucky find.

0:43:220:43:24

Altogether, I'm so pleased we've managed to make

0:43:240:43:26

a little bit of money for nothing.

0:43:260:43:28

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