Sure, you could build a home from boring old wood. Or, a more exciting option, you could build a home from wood that is literally old, as in timber sourced secondhand from a prior build. A growing number of designers, architects, and builders are catching on to the goldmine that is construction waste, and have started recycling wood, plastic, and metal, and upcycling rubble to create entirely new materials for use in home design. It’s these homes that Australian design writer Penny Craswell explores in her upcoming book, Reclaimed: New Homes from Old Materials, out January 10, 2023, via Thames & Hudson.

Craswell offers some perspective on why we should implement a pre-used palette. In one of her examples, approximately 13 million tons of brick and clay tile debris was generated in the U.S. in 2015. In another, nearly 9 million tons of wood is thrown out in the U.K. every year, she reports, yet 80 percent is thought to be recyclable. If those numbers aren’t enough to inspire your own secondhand build, perhaps the projects within the pages of her new book will. If they do, Craswell provides a list of suppliers globally that can help you get started.

“This book joins the dots for people wanting to take action on climate change, offering inspiration on how to design homes using reclaimed and recycled materials,” says Craswell. “I hope people will discover that these materials can be used to create a whole variety of different looks, from old weathered timber, to white-painted brick, to bright-colored plastic. You don’t have to go in with an aesthetic in mind either, sometimes, the reclaimed material can surprise you and offer something you never expected.”

Here, we share some of the most exciting homes from Craswell’s book, and a few more we’ve featured on the site that make clever use of used materials.

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