Upcycling Outdoors

4.5 Stars!! Such cute ideas in this book! I have a few things I want to try! The instructions are easy to follow & the photos are really helpful! Towards the back of the book the author has tips & techniques and a glossary of different tools. Very informative & easy to follow!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*

This is a really good book with some great hints and tips. I love the pallet tent and suitcase planter, I'd like to try these myself. The photographs really help you to see how the finishes product will look and the instructions and tips are all really helpful throughout.

Some lovely ideas in this book and all the instructions were very clear. I have my eye on the pallet play house and I'm hopeful that I will get a bit of help from my husband to make one this summer.

There was apart at the end about finishes, Varnishes and weatherproofing that I found very helpful some very simple tips that can make the world of difference when finishing off an item!

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book through Net Galley. I really enjoyed it, but found it had limited use for me personally.

Pros:

There are really cool projects in here. Some of my favorites were the toolbox barbecue, bicycle picnic set, pallet play tent, three door potting shed, and the giant domino set.

It is FULL of detailed instructions and full color photos.

The author is knowledgeable and really likeable. His voice comes through in the projects and his enthusiasm is contagious.

I love the focus on reusing instead of buying new. Not only does this keep old items out of landfills, but it reduces our need for mass marketed new items that use up resources and saves money (often).

The projects are whimsical and attractive. The three-door potted shed alone is worth the cost of the book if you're handy enough to make one (and he helps you be that handy pretty easily).

Cons:

You'll still need to source the materials, which went against what I was specifically looking for. For instance, he has a hanging gutter garden that's really sweet, but he tells you where to buy the gutters and end caps and then you need to fill it with specific types of plants like succulents. Is it a darling project? Yes. Do I have any of the items needed in my overfilled house or garage? Nope. Do I want to go buy more stuff to repurpose it? No.

A lot of the projects are just too high of a learning curve for me. I love that he teaches you how to do them, but I'm not looking to master that much construction skill personally. I'm looking more for simple inspirations to reuse things with pretty minimal skills (painting, sanding, screwing, tying, nailing, sawing wood but not necessarily copper pipe and such...).

The projects tend to be a fair amount of work. Are they worth it for the end result? Probably for sure. But as a working, homeschooling mom of 5, I don't have that much time to spend making projects even if they're awesome projects. I personally am more interested in much more short, easy projects and information on how to make those items weatherproof for outside.

All that said, it's still a fantastic book. The projects really are brilliant and fun, and the author is a delight.

I have watched Max McMurdo often on British television, and love the recycle project he come up with - some of which are extremely clever and require great deal of time and skill. This book is written in his very engaging style, simple projects, but something for everyone to get stuck into to.
There are step by step photos that accompany the explanation for each project, a little less that will end up in landfill, and a fun result.
The last chapter is about tools and tips and tricks about upcycling outdoors which I found really good. Looking forward to more books from this very talented man

Brilliant coffee table book, I can see myself making a lot of these wonderful items particularly the pallet teepees and dominoes.
Really excellent photos and very easy to follow instructions. I loved this book.

Great collection of up cycling projects. Ranging from easy to hard projects, overall I think the content was written well, the pictures were extremely helpful, and the projects were intriguing and overall pretty unique.

Upcycling Outdoors by Max McMurdo is a very cool book of things that you can use and give new life to in your yard. Lots of ideas for making decor, furniture, games, and more. Each project includes full color step-by-step photos.

This book jumps right into the projects. I really like that. It saves the tools, techniques, and supplies for the end. Non of the projects are earth shattering, but they are laid out in nice easy to follow instructions. It’s a shabby chic type of decorating your yard and it looks lovely and inviting.

Upcycling Outdoors is a new DIY book from entrepreneur and style guru Max McMurdo and published by Quarto Publishing - Jacqui Small. Available in hardcover, it's very well illustrated with clear photography and step by step construction tutorials.
It's a relatively short book, 144 pages, but manages to pack a lot of content inside. There are 20 complete projects included in 5 categories: planters & containers, structures, eating & entertaining, furniture, and lighting & accessories. The tutorials cover materials, construction techniques and tools. There's a fair bit of background design info on the projects as well, to allow for flexibility with available materials.

The projects range from the whimsical - (outdoor hanging fairy lights in a birdcage) to the slightly odd(?) - (a bicycle frame mounted portable picnic basket). Some of them are sublime (hanging planter made from a ruined boat float), they're all very informal. If your outdoor spaces are strictly formal, there's much whimsy and humor to be found here, but not much formality.

Roughly 30% of the page content is devoted to general techniques, sourcing supplies and finishing techniques. The finishing supplies and tools are accessible and easily acquired.

I was impressed by the fact that most of the projects look really attractive and not like recycled items that belong in a landfill. There were, of course, some which were over the top for my taste personally (a suitcase with legs converted to a planter for example), but a surprising number are spot on (the firepit and lawn dominoes are really cool ).

All in all, a worthwhile philosophy and lovely design sense.

Four stars

Brilliant book. Great new ideas. Just the type of thing everyone is into at the moment. im sure it will be a huge hit

What a fantastic book for ideas. I am a big fan of up cycling and this didn't disappoint. Plenty of photographs and instructions. I particularly like the giant dominos and the lamp shade tree decorations. Even if you did not make anything in the book it might spur you on to try some type of up cycling.

Wide assortment of upcycling projects for your back yard. Tons of pictures with clear explanations underneath. Lots of information about what makes a good upcycling material. There’s something for everyone. Projects range from easy to challenging. Love all the pictures. It gives loads of inspiration and ideas. I enjoyed looking at this book. It would be a great coffee table conversation/brainstorming session starter.
I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn’t really stop to consider that ‘upcycling outdoors’ is a thing, but Max McMurdo explains the concept and inspires you to try it yourself. In his explanation, McMurdo notes that “traditionally speaking, products for the garden have been less design-led and more functional and practical.” I would tend to agree, which is why I love his follow-up thought: “Placing items in the garden usually used exclusively inside our homes has also become popular, and this can create a very magical, fairytale look to our outdoor space.”

McMurdo’s approach to upcycling for the garden has encouraged me to think beyond the obvious. Instead of re-establishing an existing garden item as a new and improved version of itself, the upcycling concept here is to take an item and give it a new purpose.

Think about building a planter out of a suitcase; a firepit from a bicycle wheel; a lawn version of dominos from scaffolding boards; a light from a birdcage. McMurdo walks you through creating each one. I was particularly inspired by the three-door potting shed. Each project is supported by a series of pictures and instructions. Overall, the photography is gorgeous. Frame-by-frame, you get to see each project come together in logical fashion. The written instructions are also logical and easy to follow. For several projects, McMurdo even suggests where you might find the materials.

If you have a craving for inspiring ways to elevate the look of your garden, I highly recommend you take a look at this book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Great book full of tips and ideas to make furniture and useful household items out of recycled materials.
A definite purchase for the home handyman who likes to tinker in the shed.
Well photographed and great information

If you're a DIY hacker, bored with the same-old, same-old in your yard and garden, you'll be happy to pick up this book. It's summer, and project time! I flipped through it and wished I'd found it 20 years ago, when I was still pulling together out-of-the-box creativity for yard and home.

It's a fun complication of 20 easy project ideas that use common or found materials for creative solutions. I recommend it if you have time on your hand and need a boost to find your own solutions and get your mind whirring with possibilities. Have fun!

Great ideas! Great photos! Looking forward to trying some of these ideas. We enjoy recycling and this is a fun, creative way of doing this. Some of these projects are wonderful fun for the family that I'd love to try and make our own. Great way to make memories too.

With all of the unnecessary items going to the landfill, it is helpful to have books like Upscaling Outdoors: 20 Creative Garden Projects Made from Reclaimed Materialsto help you repurpose some of those items.

There are several introductions to this book starting with For The Love Of Design. Here the author wants to encourage people to reuse, repair, or recycle the items they have before they forever condemn them to the landfill.

Next comes Why Upcycle Outdoors? Here the author discusses how natural it is to upcycle your items for the great outdoors. Working Outdoors covers what needs to be considered when making a project that will be exposed to the weather 24/7.

Finally, Scavenge Like A Pro – offers tips and ideas regarding the best options and tips for upcycling.

Project chapters include:

Planters & Containers
Outdoor Structures
Eating & Entertaining
Furniture
Lighting & Accessories
Tools & Techniques

Each chapter includes four projects, with the Tools & Techniques chapter offering information you will need to create projects. It includes information like what to keep in your toolbox, tricks and techniques for outdoor upcycling, shortcuts, tips, measuring, cutting, marking, finishes, varnishes, weatherproofing, fixing, and joining.

Too Specific

The book does have some lovely little items to create if you have the required materials on hand. Otherwise, one would have to go out and purchase the materials, which defeats the entire purpose of the book.

These are very specific projects for very specific materials. I would prefer a general “how to take something and make it something else” kind of inspiration. Few people will have the same materials on hand lying around that he has. It is unlikely that these projects will work for most people. Unless you buy the materials.

Overall the projects are excellent and worth the time to create. A more general “How To” guide would have been more helpful.

Reviewed for LnkToMi iRead in response to a complimentary copy of the book provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.

Pretty nifty! Home handymen will enjoy this book, especially if they or their wives enjoy the great outdoors Lots of fun and inexpensive projects to dress up the yard. Practical and whimsical! I'm not that handy, but even I can do the lighting!

The garden is an underused crafting space, but this book fixes that! Not only are the projects fun to make, they are also useful and help the environment. There are tutorials on how to make drain pipes into hanging planters, armchairs into planted sculptures and even garden games. The projects do require more power tools than usual craft projects, but I think that's half the fun. A great book for creating an unusual crafty garden.