Foraged Homes with Big Personalities • The Home Page

Cost-effective, eco-friendly and packed with personality, these incredible, artful homes show how a little imagination and creativity can make a big impact

Anyone can create a beautiful, creative home by foraging, and salvaging what they find. “It’s amazing what lies around us – and what we habitually overlook,” says author Oliver Maclennan. Whether a discarded old boat or a disused table missing a leg, discarded objects can be restored or repurposed to fill the home with personality. Yet many of us struggle to see potential in such objects, let alone know where to look for it.

At a time when sustainability and recycling have never been more important for the planet, The Foraged Home by Oliver and Joanna Maclennan, published by Thames & Hudson, discovers a wide range of extraordinary homes and their foraging homeowners. Each has a distinct style and is sure to inspire us all to look beyond mass-produced flat-packs.

Here are a handful of our favourites….

Upturned Boat

This extraordinary seaside retreat belongs to French Artist Yves Dussin and his wife Solange. Created from an upturned former crab-catching boat which they found abandoned in a marina, it includes a small double bed, kitchen area and table and shows off their beachcombing finds with their children and grandchildren.

Caravan in Provence

At the end of Ruth Ribeaucort’s garden, under a shady mulberry tree, sits this beautiful renovated caravan that she bought for a steal from Le Bon Coin, the French equivalent of Gumtree. Filled with largely foraged objects, it shows off her love of textiles picked up at flea markets and car boot sales.

Industrial Priest’s House

Dutch-born Auke Dijkstra shows off his love of all things industrial in this old priest’s house in Mecklenburg, Germany. His home shows off his eye for foraging fascinating items from old factories and his style brings them a new sense of peace and tranquility.

Mas in Provence

This 19th century farmhouse, surrounded by orchards, belongs to artist Mike Sajnoski and wife Joanna, a photographer. This carpenter’s workbench was found at the side of the road, while the green market board was from a building waiting to be demolished. Every object tells a story.

Potter’s Studio

This curved building is the studio of potter Ragnhild Wik in central Oslo. Ragnhild loves the patina of old furniture and many of the items inside she found being given away online; foraged leaves, stones and herbs decorate the space; and she creates art with broken bits of ceramics.