Yeah, so I’m slightly out of touch.

So says my 12-year-old son, 7-year-old daughter, and even my (not going to mention her age) wife.  And who can blame me?  Life’s a little hectic.  Navigating our 40+ year family business through the nuttiness of the US economy, raising young kids in hopes they will be halfway decent people, my wife’s and my parents/family members getting older, and just dealing with a lot of different personalities on a day-to-day basis.  Jeesh, as a friend once reminded me, ” yeah, life’s getting real “.  Yup, I guess so.

So, when I’m introduced to the word upcycling while visiting my nephew at Cal Poly SLO, I’m thinking,” What kind of Millennial/GenZ idea is this?”  But before I go on an old guy rant, I decided to look the word up.

I found this:
Upcycle: to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item
Then I Google alternative words for upcycle:
furbish refurbish
refinish repaint
redo transform
refurnish variegate
reskin reinstall

Well, I’ve been doing this fancy-shmancy upcycling thing for years:
I have a 1956 Willys Wagon. I put a lift kit on it, installed new suspension, and got bigger tires- now I can go over obstacles the size of small elephants – UPCYCLIN’

And don’t get me started on the items I’ve refurbished, reskinned, and transformed with a little duct tape – UPCYCLIN’.

Getting serious though, we have been doing this at Patio World for decades.  Upcycling isn’t just trendy with the younger generation, we have been helping customers refurbish older furniture by offering ways to repaint, repair, and clean frames or by making new custom cushions and replacing slings*.
Fixing, refurbishing, transforming, or Upcycling has always been a great way to extend the life of your existing furniture and Saves Money as compared to buying new (especially important in these inflationary times).  Another advantage, you can create a brand-new look by choosing on-trend fabrics and new & unique colors. Also, in this “throw-away” society, you are breathing new life into very large items which would normally go to our landfills.
Have you refurbished your outdoor furniture or repurposed it?  What did you do and how did it turn out?  Send us some photos. Tell us about it, we’d love to share it with our community.
OR
Are you considering this for the upcoming season.  Check out our page on Replacements and Repair. This will give you “a snippet” of what is available.  As always, you can also contact us with any questions and see if this is the right solution for you.
Upcycle – New word for me, but a proven technique to help you enjoy the outdoors.
Take care,
WR
*What are slings?  How do you re-sling furniture?   Questions we often get.  This material has been described as “webbing” or “mesh”.  Believe it or not, it is replaceable and is not expensive to do.  We will share more on Slings in a future post.  Again, if you have immediate questions, please give us a call or shoot us a message.

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