Episode 11 Money for Nothing

-Can I have a little rummage around in your rubbish?

-Yeah.

How do you make money for nothing?

I love that!

The answer could be hiding in the 30 million tonnes

of household waste we throw out every year.

So heavy. They don't make them like this any more. Look at that.

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

on things before they hit the skip.

I'm a passionate maker, buyer and user of old stuff.

And I've turned that passion into a moneymaking business.

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

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

Say something nice about it.

-My juices are flowing in this one.

-They are going to be wow.

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

Isn't that stunning?!

..valuable...

Oh, wow!

..and hopefully saleable items.

That is bonkers.

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.

-We got £350.

-Whoa!

Witley Recycling Centre in Surrey is the final destination

for thousands of items which have become unwanted and unloved.

It's coming in here all day long, and I am like a magpie.

If I see something in there,

I want to have it and I want to take it away

and do something with it.

It's also where Sarah is searching, with permission by the way,

for three items to transform.

I'll give you a little warning if I see anything good.

SHE HONKS KLAXON

Right, Sarah, let's get started.

First to catch her eye is something in Jeanette's boot.

You having a big clear-out, then?

-I've been having a big clear-out for over a month.

-Really?

-What are you throwing away? What are you clearing out?

-My husband's...

My late husband's lean-to, where he used to do his work.

So I've had all sorts of things.

-So is that just an old petrol can?

-Yeah.

I'm not likely to use it, so it can go. That's the line I'm taking.

-I really like this.

-You're welcome to it.

-Really?

It's got a lovely look to it.

I know it's old and battered, but there is something

about that old typography and all those bits on there.

I think we've had it since about 1965,

cos that's when we first got a car.

Oh, really? Oh, that's fantastic.

-Yeah, so...

-And yours truly returned to work.

JEANETTE LAUGHS

-Would it be all right to take that away?

-Oh, yes, I'm only throwing it.

Thank you so much for letting us take it away and talking to us.

-You're welcome.

-Thank you.

What do you reckon that rusty can will look like

when Sarah's done with it, Jeanette?

I've no idea.

I have seen people make animals out of little bits of metal,

and that's all I can think of, to be truthful.

So this is a really lovely old petrol can.

It's got beautiful typography on it, screaming out from the era

when it was made, probably '50s, '60s.

It's not in great condition,

but it's chunky and I've worked with these kind of things before -

if you get it right, these can look absolutely beautiful.

And she's got just the person in mind to take it to.

If you like lamps made from all sorts of crazy stuff,

Guy Trench is your man.

Retired North Sea diver Guy works tirelessly

with his band of happy helpers to make one-of-a-kind

furnishings from, well, anything, really.

I love what I do.

I mean, every day I get up,

I just walk across the yard, get into my workshops

and have a look around.

And I'll suddenly see something in the corner and I think,

"Oh, wouldn't that be great just to do that today?"

And how about every single day you go to work

you're doing something different?

I mean, it's just marvellous!

Will Guy's passion for all things old

be enough to get excited about the rusty petrol can?

One item down and two still to find.

Oh, she's onto something, though.

It's the plastic version, isn't it? Yeah.

I've got a really clear idea about what I need.

If it looks too new, it's just not good enough.

If you can't cut it up, if it hasn't got that real strength,

if it's flat-packed, there's just no point in taking it away.

So I feel a bit rude, but sometimes it's yes, sometimes it's no.

Oh, maybe not then.

But how about some pine drawers being unloaded by Corinne

and Graham?

-Chucking it out?

-Yeah.

-Had enough?

The drawers don't work particularly well, they're quite sticky, so...

-That is so annoying, isn't it?

-I know.

It looks like a nice, solid bit of furniture, though.

-Is it quite heavy?

-Yeah.

-It's fairly heavy, yeah.

Do you want a hand getting it out?

Got the muscle.

I can pop it down here.

Brilliant. It looks really solid. But as you say...

-Oh, my word, they don't work, do they?

-No!

-They don't work at all, do they?

-No.

They aren't supposed to, though, are they?

Yes, absolutely, it's just that it's...

It's budging a little bit.

-It has seen better days for you, basically.

-Yes.

-Definitely, yeah.

Past its best for us.

OK. Well, I think it'd be great to have a go at it.

I don't know if it's something that we would keep as it is

or if we would perhaps send it somewhere to somebody

who might cut it up and do something else with it.

-Can I take it away and see if I can do something to it?

-Oh, yeah.

I'm here all day, if you want to stay and help.

What do Corinne and Graham think should happen to their old drawers?

I think she might chop it up completely.

Because with those sticky drawers, I just can't see a way around them,

so I think she might repurpose the wood somehow.

This type of furniture,

people have been slapping paint on it for the last ten, 15 years,

and pretty much nobody has a piece of old gold pine left.

But I think it's really good to see it in this condition

because it's a blank canvas for us,

and I can make anything I like out of this.

Indeed.

And there's two men I know who would relish

a challenge like this one.

Furniture restorers Tom and Johnny

just love to breathe new life back into old furniture.

These young hotshots have only been working together for a year,

but have already made a name for themselves with their expert wood

and metal restoration techniques and imaginative designs.

What I like about what we do is working with friends.

That's always a good point.

But just having something to start from and having an end result.

The actual craft and figuring out the problem

and solving the problem is what's enjoyable about it as well.

It's done like a puzzle.

You know, it comes in not in very great condition

and then you get to see the person's reaction when you get it back.

That's what I enjoy the most.

Well, fellas, Sarah's latest find is certainly going to test your skills.

That's two items found for the artisans,

and now Sarah needs to find one for herself.

Just going to have a look at some rubbish, no need to follow me.

You really are following me now, aren't you? Go away.

Go and find your own rubbish.

Sarah is in a hurry as she's spotted Brent,

who she's met before.

He's been back and forth a few times clearing out

the contents of his father's house, who has sadly passed away.

Sorry to bother you,

I'm just wondering what you're clearing out today.

-My parents'. My father has just died.

-Oh, no.

OK, so it's not a happy task. Oh, dear, oh, dear.

Are you a long way through it? Have you got lots to do?

-There about. I've got two sisters to do it as well, so...

-Oh, really?

I'm taking the day off to have a big clear-out.

-And is it very emotional or are you getting through it?

-I don't mind.

-You don't mind?

-No.

Can't believe this - 65 years worth of clutter.

I'm looking for things today that either might have some value or

that I might be able to do something with rather than being thrown away.

Not much that has any value.

The chair might be.

That is old, that is.

That is a lovely original Lloyd Loom,

actually in really good condition.

It's something that people are collecting.

What happens often is they go on the corners here

and they all start unravelling, but yours is lovely.

Would that be something that I could maybe take away and see

-if anybody would like to own or...?

-Yeah.

-Would that be all right?

-We filled the charity shops up in town, so...

-Excellent.

-We can't get rid of any more.

-No, and lots of...

The churches have taken as much as they can, but...

I'm the last... I'm the end of the line just before it goes in there.

So if I could take that, that would be lovely.

Somebody might like it

and I think it's lovely to see one in such good condition.

Lovely. Thank you.

This chair was manufactured by British company Lusty & Sons

using the Lloyd Loom technique.

These types of chairs were hugely popular in the 1930s,

and in decent nick can still fetch good money.

Given the circumstances, Brent probably hasn't thought

how much his parents' old chair would be worth.

I have no idea.

It's not something I ever looked into, so...

Probably I'll find out when I get back and my sisters

wanted to keep it, but...

Never mind.

So this is instantly recognisable as Lloyd Loom.

So that is a really pleasing, lovely find, and in very good condition.

Far too good to go into the tip.

That's another day done at the recycling centre.

Guy will light up the petrol can,

Tom and Johnny will tackle the sticky chest of drawers

and Sarah hopes to breathe new life into a classic old chair.

I am really inspired by today's motley crew of gathered items.

But I'm going to have to have some big ideas

if I'm going to make big bucks.

Sarah's first stop is just outside Maldon, in Essex,

where Guy Trench and his team of skilled craftsmen

work their magic on old and unloved items.

How do you get them into...?

Speaking of which...

I'm always looking forward for Sarah bringing me something.

Anything that's thrown away, there is a second life for it.

We'll just see what she brings this time.

It could be a really big challenge for me. I have no idea.

We'll just wait and see. Always looking forward to see her.

I hope he's still as keen when he sees what's headed his way.

Hello.

-Oh, hi, Sarah. Lovely to see you again.

-And you. And you.

Oh, every time I come in here, I see something completely different.

-It's a good look, isn't it?

-It's a good look.

I am a bit embarrassed to add that to it then.

Ah.

I just couldn't see it going to the metal skip and get thrown away

because there is something about the typography and the bits on it

that I thought had enough appeal to maybe go into an interior.

It is a sort of '60s, '70s petrol can.

My dad had one of these in his old Ford Capri.

You open it up here and you pull your petrol through here.

-It's quite a clever design.

-It is a clever design. It's...

-Keith, are you about here?

-Yeah.

-Come have a look at this.

Yeah, come and say enthusiastic things

about my quite ugly petrol can.

OK, so I was thinking, I have had a little play with it.

What do you reckon? Not something you usually convert, is it?

No. The lettering is nice. The colour is not that great, is it?

I was wondering about an old headlight

or something to come off it so that it ties it back

into the fact that it's come out of a garage, or it's car-related.

Luckily, Guy has some old headlights lying around.

What you want...

What you are saying is that

if we just had this sort of silvery bit here,

and we put that on the front there...

That might work. And I was sort of wondering what it would be like

if you had something coming out of the top of it, more like a...

Something like that. But...

-It almost looks like a sort of road thing, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

You put that on a railway. A railway light.

It looks like petrol pump or, you know, whatever.

I mean, realistically, because this isn't brilliant,

-I would be reluctant to spend much more than 150...

-Right, OK.

Well, whatever we do, it will be a total one-off.

So whoever you're selling it to,

it's the only one in the world that looks like this.

It's a challenge, but if you're prepared to take it up...

-Yep, we'll give it a go.

-Give me a shout when it's up and running.

Thank you.

This time she's left me with a real challenge.

We're going to do our best at giving it a good go.

It's the real mark of a maker to take on a challenging item

and turn it into something fantastic.

I think Guy is the man for the job.

With a capped budget of £150

and with Guy still to work out how to make it,

will this petrol can prove to be too challenging?

Sarah's next stop takes her from the rural to the suburban.

In Thornton Heath, near Croydon, South London,

Tom and Johnny turn old furniture into desirable pieces.

I guess the reservations we might have about the stuff that Sarah's

going to bring is whether or not it's going to be pretty dilapidated.

Fingers crossed that structurally it's sort of sound, that way

we can spend most of our time making it, you know, more appealing.

-Hello.

-Hi, Sarah.

-How are you doing?

-Yeah, I'm good.

-You're all right?

-How are you doing, you all right?

-Yeah, cool.

I've got something really heavy.

-I definitely need a hand bringing it in.

-Cool. Let's see.

Yeah? Come and...

Come and see what little tip treasure I've got this time.

Tip treasure? I think that remains to be seen.

-Cool.

-All right.

Cool. I'll take cool. Any chance you can give me a hand out with it?

-Yeah.

-Sure.

-Are the boys happy or just relieved?

It's sometimes difficult to tell.

It looks slightly better up there. What do you think?

-Yeah.

-Yeah! I mean it has got solid drawers, but the drawers don't open.

This is one of the problems and why it was being dropped off.

-Um, yeah, things like that.

-THEY LAUGH

This one opens. And it's dovetailed. It's really solid.

I think it's just had all these sort of trims and mouldings stuck onto it

-to give that mock country look.

-I saw that, yeah.

I think it's kind of over to you on what you think you're

capable of doing with it or if you've got some ideas for it

-because it needs help at the moment.

-I think we're going to start...

-Getting rid of the trim.

-Yeah, removing this. We'll take these off.

Uh...

-Cheaply put together then.

-At least, you know, there's nothing...

That can be sanded back, so we can have just the, you know,

the nice flat front rubbed and these kind of trims

which kind of don't really do much.

So is this the thing that's just making it look really dated?

-Isn't it?

-Yeah. Like, all round the bottom here, that's just nailed on.

So that should come off quite easily.

I now have the picture of it on its legs, looking really sleek,

a nice square, chunky-looking, plainer-looking wooden top to it.

Sounds great. How long is that going to take you

and what kind of budget am I going to be coming back to find?

Um... I think it is going to be around sort of 280, all-in.

OK, 280, and that would include some new legs for it, would it?

Yeah, we think we can do it within that budget.

-I'm going to take your 280 quid and say thanks so much.

-No problem.

-Pleasure.

-And take care.

-Cheers. Bye.

-Bye!

-All right.

-Yeah.

-Let's get started then.

I'm actually really pleased how that went

because I wasn't engaged with that piece of furniture

and now I think it is going to look fantastic.

Those boys have given me a good budget as well,

so I stand to make maybe even a chunky profit too.

I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this one.

Yeah, it's got a lot of potential.

There's a lot we need to remove before we can start adding,

-but it's going to be cool, I think, isn't it?

-Yeah, definitely.

Yeah, I'm excited about this one.

Sarah has left Tom and Johnny a budget of £280.

But will they be able to overcome the problem of those stuck drawers?

Having left the petrol can and the pine drawers in safe hands,

Sarah has returned home to West Sussex in order to begin

work on her own restoration project.

Well, it's time for the Lloyd Loom Lusty chair to get its makeover.

I've had a look at it and it's actually in really good condition.

I'm not keen on the upholstery.

But all of this lovely woven surface on here is great.

It's got a nice bit of pattern, but there's nothing on here

that's falling apart, so that's really good.

In this condition, they're sort of 40, 50 quid if you're lucky.

But I think with a spruce-up, a bit of a makeover,

I've got a chance to make probably a little bit more than that.

Lloyd Loom furniture is not made from wicker or cane.

It's actually craft paper woven round wire that provides

a remarkably strong and durable finish, smooth to the touch.

So I'm thinking a really lovely, flowery fabric,

all over the seat pad, then I think I'm onto a winner.

I've just got to choose some.

I'm not quite sure which fabric will work. I've got a few...

..to choose from.

Sarah has been collecting fabric for almost ten years,

during which time she's built up a considerable selection of styles.

This one's really unusual. I've never seen anything like this.

It's a lovely woven fabric...

that's quite unusual and nice and rich.

And I think it goes actually really well with that gold.

So this is a really easy makeover.

All I've got to do is cover this seat pad in that fabric.

Just take this off first.

So let's take this, give it another cover.

OK, so this is really simple. All I've got to do...

In fact, I'm going to cover the whole thing.

Because it's nicely tightly packed in there, I'm just going to put

a new layer of fabric over the top and then reattach it to the chair.

Sarah has chosen to place the central motif of the fabric

into the centre of the seat

and is securing it using a staple gun -

a quick and easy way to achieve a professional look.

It's all about how tight you get it.

You want everything really tightly tucked in.

You want it to be like patting a robust dog.

You don't want any wrinkles.

It needs to be lovely, tight. And when you turn it over,

you want to know that it's going to be...

..looking really smart

and really neat. I think if I keep on stapling down that way,

that should be fine.

I'm still trying to work out what a robust dog looks like.

Sarah's costs so far are just £12 for the fabric.

But will that really be enough to transform the chair from rags

to riches?

Nestled in the Essex countryside are Guy Trench

and his skilled companion Keith.

They've got the challenge of turning an old rusty petrol can

into a motor-themed lighting.

Sarah's dropped this can off.

And what this is going to look like, I think,

is that we'll set this up.

We'll probably put something in here to hold this like that.

And then we'll put just an electric light bulb there.

I think that could look quite cool.

It's quite plain, it's simple, it says petrol can,

it says sort of, with the bulb lit up -

an old fancy fashioned bulb with the elements going sort of down -

it is sort of looking like fire coming out of it.

And, yeah, I think it could look OK.

I don't know until we've had a go at it yet, so...

We'll have look at this.

Certainly sounds like there's a clear plan now,

as Guy gets to work with the wire brush to remove

the worst of the rust and the flaky paint.

So... We're getting sort of a little bit of colour back into here.

We're not losing...not making this dark enough here,

so I think a bit of Jacobean black polish might do the trick.

We just want to dull it down a bit so it doesn't look quite

so in-your-face.

That's a job for Keith, I think.

It's like magic.

Now it's coming up to be quite a nice colour. It's now coming alive.

You know, we're losing the brown rusty,

we're now getting sort of darker colours coming into it.

Yeah, look at it coming up now, beautiful. Lovely.

My guess is it is what it is, and we're going to leave it like this,

this colour here, and then do the electrics on it and go from there.

In order to ensure the safety of the light,

Guy does not tackle electrics himself

but calls upon the qualified help of Steve, the electrician.

Steve is quite a good thinker on these ideas,

and so we have quite a bit of discussion beforehand

on sort of the best route.

I may have an idea, he may even change it around

to something which is more practical.

It's nice to have somebody to have feedback and chat to

-and get it absolutely looking 100 right.

-Yeah.

-I think that's the thing, there is no right or wrong, is there?

-No.

It's just sometimes you look at things a different way

and, you know, what with the modern materials,

we can do different things with lighting as well.

So there's lots of possibilities these days.

Steve's also attaching a granite plinth to the bottom of the can

for both aesthetics and stability.

But you never know, when you find these things

you just keep on playing with them and cleaning them up a bit more

and suddenly they start coming to life and then all of a sudden, bang,

"Hey, that looks really good." You know, erm...

I think, you know, this is taking shape

and my least favourite thing now is becoming...

I think it's going to look OK.

It's going to look quite cool.

In Thornton Heath, near Croydon,

Tom and Johnny are getting started on the chest of drawers.

-First though let's get these drawers out and numbered up.

-Yeah.

-Make sure we can get them out first, I think is the key.

-Yeah.

-They're pretty stuck in there.

-Yeah. Yeah.

It's well and truly stuck.

We need to get this out.

I'm not quite sure how we're going to do that.

The wood's swelled.

When it gets lots of moisture in the air,

it kind of soaks it up like a sponge and expands. That's why it jams.

To free the drawers, Tom and Johnny are using brute strength.

However, too much force could cause irreparable damage.

This is always going to be the first big challenge in this one,

getting these out without sort of damaging it too much.

For a better grip, Tom has devised a plan to use the screw holes

of the old handles to attach a long piece of wood.

This provides the boys with something substantial to pull on.

Just give it... If we sort of do... Yeah, there you go.

-Leverage.

-One way of doing it.

I was wondering if it was ever going to come out, to be honest.

Two more to go but these ones are a little bit easier to access.

Finally.

It's almost like an anti-climax cos all it is is getting the drawer out.

With the drawers removed,

the old-fashioned pine moulding is taken off.

And to prevent the drawers from sticking in the future,

the sides and edges of each drawer are being planed

in an attempt to make them fit and slide perfectly.

It seems better than it was but it's catching here still.

So I'm just trying to figure out if it's tight on the sides

or if it's the top or bottom edge. It could be both.

It looks very tight there,

so I might just take a little bit off that top edge.

Trying to get these drawers to run smoothly

is basically a trial and error thing.

You've just got to take a bit off here, take a bit off there,

figure out where it's tightening up

and just keep taking little bits off, a little bit at a time.

So it can take a while sometimes.

There's something about a drawer sliding in,

it's quite a weird sensation when it fits.

Even though it should do in the first place but, yeah, it's good.

With the drawer sliding effortlessly,

it's time to remove all the old varnish.

The guys are using a paint stripper,

which is why they're wearing protective gloves and masks.

So you need to put quite a bit of this on

and sort of keep the surface quite wet.

Sometimes the polish, it'll react very quickly

and you can take it off again pretty much instantly

and other times you need to keep it on there for up to 20 minutes,

half an hour sometimes.

Chemical paint removers are the best way to remove old paint coverings

if you want to prevent damage to the wood underneath.

However, they should be treated with extreme caution

as they can cause a variety of health problems

if not used correctly.

With the varnish gone, the whole thing is given a final sanding

before the addition of a very modern twist.

It's going to really change the overall look

of the piece of furniture having these legs on it.

It's going to make it look a lot more modern.

The original style of the piece was kind of Victorian furniture

but we've removed all of that styling,

so now it's just going to be a lot more clean lines

and kind of more of a 20th century look.

-Right, it's ready to stand up, I think.

-Cool, let's have a look.

That's added a bit of weight.

Cool.

-I think that's going to look good, isn't it?

-Yeah, that's awesome.

It's going to be really cool. Definitely a lot better than it was.

Back home in West Sussex, Sarah has taken on the challenge

of revamping a chair,

providing it with a classical update by using fabric offcuts

and a little bit of TLC.

It's a simple, easy-to-do update but it packs a punch

because it's gone from drab to saleable.

And the fabric hoarder in me says that if you were to make

four beautiful little lavender bags out of that,

that would pay for the fabric for the chair.

We don't have time for that today.

That's it.

When Sarah found the Lloyd Loom chair, it was tired and dated.

Sarah has respectfully provided this chair

with a sympathetic makeover.

Giving it a thorough clean and re-covering the seat

with a classic Sanderson fabric.

Small but effective changes that have given the chair

a new lease of life.

So I'm really pleased how this has turned out.

It's a simple thing to do but it's a really good update

and this makes it saleable now.

There are going to be people out there who love Lloyd Loom

and those that like this kind of floral fabric

that will definitely give this chair a good home...

for a bit of cash.

Sarah plans to send photos to several antique and retro dealers

in the hope that she is sitting pretty on a profit.

When Sarah spotted Brent at the Witley Recycling Centre,

he was in the middle of the difficult task

of clearing out his late father's house.

There's not much of any value.

The wicker chair might be.

-May I pull it out?

-Yes.

Brent was happy for Sarah to take the chair

and was unaware of its potential popularity.

It's not something I've ever looked into so...

..probably I'll find out when I get back

that my sisters wanted to keep it but never mind.

Sarah refreshed the faded seat fabric and offered it for sale

and it wasn't long before it was on its way to a new home

beside the seaside.

Southsea to be precise and the antiques emporium of Ian and Sue -

Parmiters Antiques.

Every chair we buy, we know if it's going to be good

cos if Duke jumps in it then we know that he likes it

so we're bound to sell it.

With Duke approving Sarah's handiwork, a deal was struck.

Sarah has travelled to Brackley to show Brent

what became of his parents' chair.

Hi, there. How you doing?

-Fine, thank you. Yourself?

-Yeah, very well.

-Good.

At the tip I know that you'd been there a lot

and you'd got lots of things that were coming out

-of your parents' house...

-Yeah.

-..and that's where this chair came from.

-It is.

Now, it was a Lloyd Loom chair. Had you grown up with that?

-Is that something you remember in the house?

-Oh, yes.

From a very early age it's always been there as far as I can remember.

-Oh, really?

-So I don't know where it came from

or whether it was a moving in present to them or what.

We never really spoke about it.

There are plenty of them around but not many of them

-in as good a condition as yours was.

-Good.

So it was well looked after and that made it something

that was quite easy to just update a little bit.

So it was my job to do that. Do you want to see what happened to it?

-Yes, please.

-I hope you approve.

So there it is, to go with the lovely original gold paint on it

we just picked some fabric that had those sort of tones in it.

Good, excellent.

Altogether it looks quite decorative now.

So a lovely antique shop has snapped it up.

So I've got a little bit of profit to share with you.

In fact, I've got £5 and another £50 here to go with that.

Excellent. OK, brilliant, thank you very much.

55 quid. What is going to happen to that?

I'm not sure yet. Might just give it to the dementia charity.

Well, that's a lovely thing to do with that cos I know that chair

has obviously memories for you but it's going to go into the heart

of somebody else's house and be part of their life now

and hopefully they'll have happy memories to go with that as well.

So, lovely. Thank you so much for catching up again.

-No problem.

-And, yeah, that sounds like a lovely thing to do

-with that money. Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Sarah's only costs revamping the chair were £12 for material.

The chair sold for £67,

which left £55 for Brent to donate to a cause close to his heart.

Well, Brent's a very generous man

because that was a lovely little chair to work on

and I really enjoyed giving it an update

and raising that little bit of money that's going to a good cause.

Time now to see how our artisans have been getting on.

Sarah has returned to Essex where Guy has been working on

the rusty old petrol can, which had reached the end of the road.

Sarah bought this along to me and I have to say

I didn't like it at all. It's one of my least favourite to do.

But it's much, much better than I thought it was going to turn out.

So, yeah, I think it ticks the box again.

I'm back here to see what Guy's managed to do

with that old blue petrol can

cos when I dropped it off he really wasn't sure about it,

so I'm going to go and find out.

When Sarah salvaged the rusty old fuel can,

it's motoring days were over.

Now Guy has managed to turn it into stylish designer lighting.

By polishing the surface, highlighting the patina and wear

and with the addition of the old-fashioned looking bulb,

he's managed to create...

a petrol can with a bulb on top.

-Oh, wow, Guy!

-SHE LAUGHS

Hiya!

Go on, then. What do you think of it?

You know, it was a '60s, '70s plain boring can and...

but now, oh, wow -

we've made it look like it's firing fire out of it, you know.

We've polished it up, we've given it a good gleam,

which has dulled down the colours here a lot

but given it a really rich colour

and with that rust coming through there,

I think it just makes it look really cool.

I love it. I think it's quirky, I think it's entertaining. It's funny.

When you look at it, you want to smile, don't you,

-cos it's really unusual.

-Yeah.

I love the base you've put it on and it really adds to it, doesn't it?

I love using these bases, which I always put on my lights.

It's granite, it's textured, so it sort of looks like antique.

We're using again the old silk wire here.

Again, it's a little touch, a little detail

going to a decent clicker switch

so you don't have to put your hands up here to turn the light on.

And it's obviously got a PAT certificate,

so it's all tested ready for one of your clients.

The budget for this transformation was £150.

How have we got on?

Spot-on. No problem at all with that. We can do it for that price.

Oh, that's great. You've created something really simple, elegant,

really cool from an old can.

Well done, Guy.

I think Sarah was very pleased with it.

It wasn't my favourite thing.

I didn't know really what to do with it

and just a little bit of thinking, a bit of playing with it

and it really has turned out extremely well.

Well, I am so pleased that Guy got behind this

because look what he's created.

It's just so quirky.

When Sarah spotted Jeanette in Witley,

she was having a ruthless clear out.

I'm not likely to use it, so it can go. That's the line I'm taking.

The rusty old petrol can was enough to fuel Jeanette's imagination.

I have seen people make animals out of little bits of metal

and that's all I can think of, to be truthful.

Guy made it into a trendy new light

and it soon followed in the footsteps of the woven chair

to the seaside.

This time it was Eastbourne

and the Little Chelsea Antiques Emporium

run by Steve.

Two, three...

Yay!

Sarah has returned to Witley to catch up with Jeanette

and to show her what became of her old rusty can.

-Hi, Jeanette. Lovely to see you again.

-Nice to see you.

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

I've finished my work on my conservatory,

-which was what the clear-out was all about, so I'm pleased.

-Excellent.

And is it right to say that petrol can was from your first car in 1965?

That's right.

Yeah, so it did... It did have a real retro look to it, didn't it?

Oh, it did, yes.

-So do you want to see what we did with it?

-Yes.

-What do you think?

-I'm astonished!

I wouldn't give it houseroom but lovely.

THEY LAUGH

Did you hear that? Wouldn't give it houseroom.

Well, other people like it - an antique shop in Eastbourne.

They took one look at it and they bought it

and I've got a little bit of profit for your petrol can.

-I have got £25 here to give to you.

-Oh, good heavens. Thank you.

I'm astonished.

-Well, I'm really pleased.

-That's a big surprise.

Oh, excellent. We like surprises.

I hope that you can find something to do with the £25.

Oh, I'm sure I shall.

I shall probably buy something for the conservatory

that's newly constructed but... And I shall probably buy a lamp...

-That would be funny, wouldn't it?

-..but not one like that.

Well, I hope you don't mind too much

-what we did with your old petrol can.

-Oh, no, no.

I'm pleased to see somebody's made use of what was my rubbish.

Well, I hope you find a lamp that suits you and thank you so much

for letting us have your old petrol can. Lovely to see you again.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

Clearly Jeanette's not a fan of rusty lighting.

The cost of creating the motor-themed lamp was £150.

Sarah managed to sell it for 175,

which left £25 profit to hand over to Jeanette.

Well, I think Jeanette was pleasantly surprised

that we were able to re-use her rubbish.

And although it might not have been up her street,

I think there's plenty of mileage left in that old tank.

Sarah's returned to South London on a roll,

having achieved a profit from the first two items.

She's here to find out how Tom and Johnny have got on

with the old pine drawers.

We're hoping when Sarah comes along that she's going to like

what we've done with the piece, the colours. I hope she likes the paint.

I think that's the most drastic change.

I think it's worked quite accurately to what we proposed

we were going to do but it's always a bit hairy, I suppose, isn't it,

when you don't know what...

When someone hasn't seen something like that.

When Sarah dropped off the pine drawers

they were old-fashioned and out of favour.

Tom and Johnny have transformed them almost beyond recognition.

They've squared all the edges, creating clean lines.

The dumpling feet have been replaced

by stylish industrial-looking pin legs

and the handles have been updated.

Finally, the top has been stripped, sanded, bleached and re-waxed

and the carcass has been painted a stylish teal colour.

-Hello?

-Hi.

-Hey, are you all right?

-Yeah, really well. How you doing?

-Yeah, good.

-Nice to see you.

How you doing?

-No way is that it?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

Guys, that's amazing.

How...

It looks fresh and modern and really cool, doesn't it?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-Can I see if the drawers open?

Yeah.

Oh, they work beautifully, don't they?

That is a really fresh look.

I love the little hairpin legs to make it look fresh.

-Brought it up higher as well.

-Yeah. And nice choice of handles.

-And that is the original pine top?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Did it have...

I can't remember what it had. Was it...

It had the mouldings on the side, which were that fake Victorian,

-wasn't it?

-Yeah. So we took that right off and took it back

and then had to quite heavily sand the top as well

cos it was quite pitted and scratched

and had water stains all over it.

I left you I think with about 280 quid, bar fixings.

How did you come out on budget?

Pretty good. I think we ran over by about £10.

Yeah, I think it was about 290 all in, yeah.

I'm so pleased with what you managed to achieve. Thank you so much.

-Cheers.

-Take care.

-Bye.

Well done, boys. I think Sarah really liked it.

Those lads have done so well, haven't they?

That now looks like a beautiful crisp piece of furniture

that you want to have in your home. Bingo!

-It went really well, yeah.

-Yeah.

She seemed really surprised, which was good. A really good surprise.

Yeah, she seemed really happy.

I think she genuinely thought it looked really good.

Either that or she's a very good actor.

THEY LAUGH

When Sarah first met Corinne and Graham,

she discovered their old pine drawers

had more than just cosmetic problems.

The drawers don't work particularly well,

-they're quite sticky, so...

-That is so annoying, isn't it?

I know.

Thankfully that didn't put Sarah off.

-They don't work at all, do they?

-No!

They are supposed to though, aren't they? It's not just...

Yes, absolutely.

Once transformed, Sarah advertised the drawers online and they sold.

She's now travelled near to Guildford

to visit Corinne and Graham but will she be handing over any profit?

-Hi, there!

-Hiya.

-Hello. How are you doing?

-Yeah, good thanks. You?

-Oh, hello.

-Oh, hello, Sarah.

-Nice to see you again.

-Nice to see you.

I said when I saw you at the tip that I would be back in touch

if I'd managed to do anything with your chest of drawers.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-It turned out that we took your chest of drawers

to these fantastic furniture restorers.

They're guys who work in south London called Tom and Johnny.

They had one look at it and decided to give it

a really lovely fresh makeover.

-Wow.

-So I've got some pictures to show you how it ended up.

-Excellent.

-Are you ready for this?

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow! Look at that!

-Oh, my goodness!

No! That's not the same one!

That's excellent, isn't it?

That's fantastic. I can't believe it!

Should have kept it.

-You should have kept it.

-You wouldn't have been able to do that.

-Wow.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah, I really do.

-Very much so, yeah.

Hadn't really got my head round what you would do with it

-or how it would end up looking.

-So, yeah, somebody absolutely loved it

and was really pleased that it hadn't gone to anybody else.

-And I've got a little bit of profit to hand over.

-Oh, gosh.

-After we paid the boys, I've got £35 here...

-Wow.

..to hand over for your chest of drawers. Who gets that?

-Shall I take that? Lovely.

-Graham will take that.

-Thank you so much.

-That's very kind of you.

-Oh, it's a pleasure.

£35. What is going to happen to that?

-Something for the garden, I would think.

-Excellent.

Lovely to see you. Thank you so much for your time today

and that cold day at the tip.

-Definitely.

-Thanks ever so much. Bye-bye.

-See you, bye.

-Bye.

Tom and Johnny charged a total of £290

to transform the sticky drawers.

They sold for £325,

which allowed Sarah to hand over £35 to Corinne and Graham.

Well, Tom and Johnny put bags of style into that old chest of drawers

and I think that Corinne and Graham appreciated all their hard work,

so I'm pleased they liked what we did with it.

Sarah salvaged three unwanted items from the Witley Recycling Centre.

Jeanette's old rusty petrol can has become motor-themed lighting.

Corinne and Graham's pine drawers

went through a thoroughly modern makeover

and Brent's chair received a sympathetic restoration.

Well, handing over money for nothing is a great feeling.

And knowing that we've saved something that will go

and take pride of place in a new home and maybe be loved again,

well, that's even better.