AN OLD and worn-out Victorian sofa with cracking leather upholstery and sagging seats hardly sounds like a likely impulse buy for anyone, much less style guru and fashion producer Daniel Boey, but last Christmas, this was exactly what he bought. 'I told myself it was because I wanted it to match my gold Christmas tree, but I think it was the other way around - I wanted the sofa, so I bought the tree as an excuse!'

THE PURPLE INK

Chair from the Kowloon collection. Jessica Tan buys second-hand chairs with handsome woodwork, and upholsters them with fabrics 'from regional countries where the choice of materials is more extensive and quirky'

Of course, it was to be restored in a suitably stylish manner, and his dealer, Lorgan Wong, owner of well-established local furniture retailer Lorgan's Design Source (www.lorgansdesignsource.com), had the perfect upholstery for it, in a striking shade of champagne gold. It was an easy decision for Mr Boey, an avid vintage furniture collector who has already amassed a number of classic pieces like the Sputnik lamp and Globe chair over the past 10 years.

'I think old pieces from the '50s to the early '70s have a great design sensibility that is lacking now,' he says. 'I bought this sofa as it was tasteful and well designed, and because it was reupholstered in gold, it looked contemporary and served as a statement piece for my home.'

Discarded furniture might normally be associated with the dingy or dowdy, but these days, it is also a byword for hip, when it comes in the form of handsomely reworked chairs or cleverly put together fixtures salvaged from scraps of torn-down buildings. Influenced in part by strong Victorian influences in international design trends, and embraced for its environmental friendliness, designers and homeowners alike have discovered blank canvases in vintage cast-offs, creating a whole new market for new-old furniture.

For interior designer Kelly Woo, it started when she found a good looking but scruffy chair discarded in a back lane in 2003. 'The initial impulse was to take it apart and to see if it could be salvaged, and the rest progressed naturally from there,' she explains. An architect by training, she learnt to restore and upholster old furnishings, and eventually started her interior design firm Hunter Gatherer (www.huntergatherer.com.sg), whose signature style involves the reworking of old and found pieces to complement a home's character.

HUNTER GATHERER

Old dining chairs (above) which have been reupholstered and refinished take pride of place in a modern apartment. 'The final look is not retro at all!' says designer Kelly Woo

Ms Woo attributes the growing phenomenon of refurbishing furniture down to urban renewal and the recent en-bloc phenomenon. 'People value old spaces such as shophouses, the Tiong Bahru flats and old apartments more,' she observes. 'These spaces can be set off with vintage furniture and clients who appreciate these spaces frequently look out for opportunities to rework old furniture and even building parts like old grilles and doors.'

As opposed to just old furniture, the focus is on new designs fashioned out of cast-offs, or vintage material that might otherwise have little resonance in today's interiors. Stuffy period pieces redone in the season's colours, or plain fixtures jazzed up with striking surface treatment can be found at Like That One, a new shop specialising in reconditioned vintage furnishings in a loft-warehouse in Bukit Batok. Co-owner and stylist Belle Waring hand-decorates each piece herself by painting or decoupage, to add a fresh touch to the old designs sourced from second-hand furniture dealers and garage sales.

She explains: 'More people are interested in older furniture, but often with a twist. That may mean covering a familiar shape in a new fabric - few people are eager to completely recreate a room from the '50s.'

Reworked pieces also represent an opportunity for homeowners to customise designs to their own specifications, by putting together their preferred style and finish. In many cases, the starting point for most homeowners is when they want to convert unwanted old furniture from their old homes or even pieces picked up from the dumpster. They then approach restorers or furniture companies to update it for them.

For freelance journalist Jessica Tan, renovating her own home caused her to discover a passion for redesigning unwanted chairs. She has launched two collections under her company The Purple Ink (www.thepurpleink.com) since last year, and says that there is a growing demand for customised furniture. 'People want to have something that's not only different but also reflects a little of who they are on the inside - a chair's design communicates a little about its owner as well.' Her latest series, Kowloon, consists of chairs that 'interpret the richness of life set in Kowloon - unassuming, yet bursting with personality and character'.

At Pluck (www.pluck.com.sg), a lifestyle boutique-cum-cafe that also sells refurbished old furniture, a new range of customised chairs illustrated with hand-drawn art has just been launched to cater to customers who specifically go to them for one of a kind pieces, says manager Aisah Omar. Created in collaboration with local artist Mas and titled Pluck x Mas, two designs, titled Vertebrasion and Fungi Fun, are created from plain old dining chairs embellished with playful and elaborate line drawings that resemble flourishing wildlife and mythical animals, giving them new and distinctive personalities.

Although designs can be worn-out and imperfect, it is not a major concern for collectors, who accept flaws as part of the piece's character and beauty. Lorgan's Design Source even takes this further by accentuating flaws through burning selected pieces of furniture, a la Dutch designer Maarten Baas's 'Smoke' collection, which is manufactured by high-end Italian-owned brand Moooi. The charred result is sealed with epoxy paint, which gives it a sleek finish.

LORGAN'S DESIGN SOURCE

Furnishings here are mostly customised upon request, but some refurbished pieces are on display, such as the chairs and table repainted in popular white

'It works well with the older and damaged pieces, and some customers like it,' says Lorgan.

Artist and furniture-maker Nathaniel Walters from the collective Little Red Dots (www.little-red-dots.com) has similarly created his Burnt Black table by burning wood to achieve a smooth and unique finish. Made out of salvaged items such as fallen tree branches and doors discarded from a colonial house, the building materials were practically free.

That's the plus point about this trend: with the humble origins of many designs and a sea of potential open to redesigning, all you need is a good eye to pick up a potential piece at the flea market, or from grandma's storeroom. Or for that matter, anywhere.

'Some materials we source, and some are serendipitous discoveries,' says Mr Walters. Take Driftwood Table, a design that was shown at the last Singapore Design Festival: it is made of wood the artist found up on the beach, 'while playing fetch with the dog'.

This article was first published in The Business Times.