Scavengers, trash-pickers and dumpster-divers know the value of cast-offs.  A wayward piece of wood or discarded sofa may appear to be junk to one person yet yield unlimited potential to another.  Deconstructing, refurbishing, and reupholstering used furniture, Wary Meyers’ Tossed and Found: Unconventional Design from Cast-offs by John and Linda Meyers takes ordinary junked furniture and gives it a new life in fun and inventive ways.  Forty-five projects line the pages of the full-color, instructional book recently released by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams Books.  Featuring projects in five different categories — Seating, Tables, Storage, Lighting, and Decorative, readers learn how to create a Chaise-burger, which is essentially an over-sized chair made out of stuffed pieces of silk constructed to resemble a hamburger, an Eiffel Mantel, and Lip Print Glasses.  Bordering from basic to complex, the tutorials contain step-by-step pictorial instructions that can be recreated over and over again.

Proving that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” design team and authors Linda and John Meyers know their stuff.  The duo have successfully had their projects featured in The New York Times, Interior Design, Interior World, Vogue, Domino, O at Home, and Time Out New York, which featured their column “Tossed and Found.”  Through that experience, the two found inspiration for the 208-page coffee table book by the same name.

The hefty tome promises something magical.  With a lightning bolt embellished chair gracing the front cover of the book, do-it-yourself dudes and divas can’t help but attack the book with vigor.  Retaining some of the furniture’s more rustic elements, the Meyers do not refurbish all of their projects completely.  Instead, they alter only a small section of a chair or dresser.  This accomplishes two things: One, it demonstrates to the book’s readers that there is hidden beauty in scavenged materials. Two, it keeps costs down.  Anyone on a budget and with some spare time on their hands can find plenty of inspiration within the pages of Wary Meyers’ Tossed and Found.

Being a fairly resourceful person myself, I found some of the projects too complex for my liking.  For example, the typography-inspired chess set requires a scroll saw and a steady hand.  I, for one, do not have access to these materials, nor do I have any experience using them.  I was also disappointed in the Half-Painted Dresser.  Although it does have its charm, the perfectionist in me felt uneasy looking at the unpainted portion of it.  In my opinion, the 1930s dresser would look far better painted.  Other than these two projects, I fully believe that your average individual could complete the projects in this book with ease.

Retailing for $27.50 in the States and $35.95 in Canada, Tossed and Found is fun, challenging, and insightful.  Before tossing out that old basketball hoop or plastic planter, consult the book for new ways to use that item.  You would be surprised to see how much refuse can be reused.