repurpose + reclaim Archives - Improvised Life

Kintsugi Repair as Metaphor

Artist ciriacaerre made a video of repairing a smashed vase using kintsugi, the Japanese art that celebrates the scars and breaks. She, and other artist, eloquently describe its greater meaning…

My Secret Weapon for Home and other Projects UPDATE

Years ago painters left behind some sanding sponges they used to achieve a perfect finish in the high gloss surfaces. Something made me pick one up to try sanding an ugly heating pipe coated in green enamel. The ease-of-transformation was a revelation. I’ve been using that perfect sponge ever since for all sorts of fixes and projects around my house.

Yoko Ono’s Instruction for Mending (Cup, Self, Family, Earth…)

Yoko Ono’s 1966 lovely “Mend Piece” is a participatory installation that, like many Ono works, comes with instructions designed to resonate personally, meaningfully, expansively…

Bring a Little Piece of Nature Into the Home, Heart, Day (Yoko Ono, Max Lamb)

It usually takes just a shift of orientation, or your usual route to work or the store, to work some living trees into your day and heart. Here’s some inspiration from Yoko Ono and Max Lamb…

Chandelier from 1980’s Berlin and Alexander Calder “On the Cutting Edge of Architectural Experimentation”

We found this divine, completely original and inspired chandelier buried in MondoBlogo’s riff on 1980’s interiors. It’s right up there with this ceiling light Alexander Calder fashioned for his friend Miro.

Lemon Amplified and Seen Anew (Pablo Neruda)

Stumbling on a picture we took a decade ago, we were reminded of the simple, elemental brilliance of friend’s impromptu invention, amplified by Neruda’s Lemon Poem.

A Messy Scrap Ribbon Collection Inspires Delights and Inventions

By saving bits of ribbon and string, I’m not just recycling them to use on other gifts; I’m collecting a beautiful materials to use for all sorts of applications…

Annals of Everyday Invention: Bra Knee Pads

An ever-inventive friend recently mentioned her solution to a difficult floor repair she was in the middle of when she realized she needed knee pads to protect her wonky knees.

Re-envision Broken Things As Newly Useful Ones with Memories (Su Tung Po)

Some of my favorite tools are broken ones that I’ve re-envisioned, turning their flaw into an often-cool looking virtue, with memories.

Makeshift Mortars and Pestles Make Sublime Walnut Pesto (and Other Delicious Things)

Although a real mortar and pestle is a lovely tool to have, you can achieve their rounded flavors and elemental textures with makeshift ones. Take this Walnut Pesto, for example…

How to Stretch Those Too-Tight Shoes You Love (Really Works)

I got so many raves about my tried-and-true method of stretching too-tight shoes, that I’m publishing it again, five years later.

Draped Linens and Drop Cloths Transform Furniture in a Chateau (and Your House as Well)

For need-of-a- refresh sofa or chairs, we take a cue from this chill 12th Century château in France transformed with the artful use of draped cloth.

Irritation is the Message: Turn Ugly Shopping Bags Inside Out to Make Them Beautiful

I pondered the maxim “Irritation is the message” a long time before understood that the things that irritated me were the things I sought solutions for. I started transforming ugly shopping bags.

Ideas from Artists: Gift Boxes with Jazzy Interiors

Over the past 25 years or so, a number of artists have taken to embellishing the INSIDES of ordinary cardboard boxes to great effect. Barbarians that we are, we take their work as inspiration for novel holiday gift boxes…

Sugru Will Fix Your $300 Headphones + Other Stuff You Love

After trying a number of materials, the truly miraculous (and fun!) Sugru proved the only one to fix the $300 noise-cancelling headphones I rely on to calm my super-sensitive nervous system. It has become a staple in my arsenal.

Two-Tone Half-Painted Optical Illusion Chairs

Lately we’ve seen some classic old second-hand store chairs transformed with paint in a way we hadn’t considered, to very cool effect.

Laura Handler’s Computer Printed Headboard

In Houzz’s extensive article about our friend Laura Handler’s Harlem renovation, our favorite idea among MANY is Laura’s solution to the problem of “headboard”.

How a Toilet Paper Holder Turns into Sculpture

In the bathroom of the Van de Weghe gallery, where we saw Devir, Enrique Oliveira’s massive tree sculpture, we were struck by the strange, very sculptural toilet paper holder with its bold statement of HERE I AM. Then we looked more closely…

Anthophilous? Explode a Big Bouquet into MANY Joys

Whenever I receive a flower arrangement, I use this trick to expand its effect throughout my space. Its a great way to deal with not-great bouquets as well, whether from a florist or deli.

A Cheap Chic Black Bag to Rival Ikea’s and Balenciaga’s Tote

After the designers at fashion house Balanciaga knocked off Ikea’s iconic big blue 99-cent tote (in leather for $2,145), frequent contributor Susan Dworski jumped into the fray with a chic, cheap black bag that we hacked to perfection.

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