More upcycling ingenuity

So many of you have said nice things about last week's 'Reuse, recycle, reclaim' post, featuring brilliantly creative ideas from stylist, Jasmine Orchard, that I thought I'd post up some more overs from the piece I wrote in the Independent on the topic. But this time from bar owner, Ferdie Ahmed.

Ferdie owns – and designed – the Latin American tinged London bars, Barrio North and Barrio Central. And it was the Islington branch that gave me the idea for the piece in the first place, when I went to a party there before Christmas. The bar is bursting with unusual, resourceful and affordable decorating ideas, from umbrellas and builders' buckets for lampshades, to tiles put on back to front. Some of it might only work in a bar context, maybe. I don't know. Either way, I thought it was very inspiring. Here are some visual highlights...

Ferdie was inspired for the decor by his travels in Latin America and "the ingenuity people showed in reclaiming, reappropriating and reusing stuff found on the street – scrap metal or colourful old food cans to build shelters or beach carts – and how they made them look cool without a big budget.".

The tiles on the right-hand side of the picture above are, in fact, all from the discount bin and none of them match. They blend together because they're attached to the wall back-to-front, meaning a patchwork of earthy tones and good texture. Ferdie also encourages guests at to personalise a tile. "Some bars have Polaroids, I thought it'd be a bit different."

You can also see the bucket lampshades above the bar, the umbrella ones to the right, wall panels made from old doors and scaffolding planks and suitcases as wall decor.

The tables were made from old pallets. The coloured planks are simply from coloured pallets, rather than painted afterwards. Love the way theyre used diagonally on the walls, too.

Ferdie bought this caravan on eBay and turned it into a little nook for private parties in the bar. It'd be a great idea in a huge, warehouse-y style open plan flat, too.

The cosy, brightly decorated caravan closer up. Love the donkey at the door.

The boat-like ceiling came with the caravan and had been installed by its previous owner.

More pallet coffee tables as well as some stools, too.

This tile-tastic nook is slightly off-brief – but it was too stunning to leave out.

A better look at the back-to-front wall tiles and umbrella lampshades.