Caring for the items you love around the home is easier – and more rewarding – than you think. In his first book, The Repair Shop‘s resident woodworking expert Will Kirk takes you on a tour of the basics of wood care and restoration, from first steps and quick fixes around the home to getting stuck into larger projects over a weekend.

Whether you are fixing something you have had for years or upcycling something new, Restore shows you how simple and joyful woodworking can be, from fixing knicks and stains and making small repairs, to everyday hacks you can use to help care for your furniture.

Restore teaches us how to save pieces of furniture from the scrap heap and appreciate the craftsmanship behind the objects we use every day. Encouraging us all to slow down and appreciate the beauty of woodcraft through easy, accessible projects – which anyone can start working on at home!

In today’s throwaway culture, there’s a counter movement growing that urges us to ‘make do and mend’. The BBC’s The Repair Shop has brought this waste-conscious message to an even wider audience, with its regular viewing figures of 7 million in the UK alone, cementing itself as a classic series in the vein of Antiques Roadshow.

This new book concentrates on the show’s much-loved experts, including woodworker and furniture restorer Will Kirk, clock restorer Steve Fletcher, metalworker Dominic Chinea, silversmith Brenton West, leatherworker Suzie Fletcher, upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary, and seamstresses Julie Tatchell & Amanda Middleditch – aka The Teddy Bear Ladies. Each of the experts shares their own stories and their repairs, capturing in the process the magic and ethos of the barn. Includes quotations and Q & As from the experts as well as Jay Blades on some unique restoration collaborations.

With the focus on the experts themselves, readers will feel as though they’re stepping straight into the ‘workshop of dreams’ and experiencing first hand the magic of the barn.

Even if you’ve never put up a shelf, repainted a room or fixed a dripping tap, you’ll soon have the confidence and skills to tackle these DIY jobs and many more with Jay’s help! With tales of his own do-it-yourself escapades and plenty of inspiration from his favourite home fixes, this accessible and entertaining guide will give you all the knowledge you need to choose the right wall plugs, revamp those old dining chairs and give your bathroom a whole new lease of life without breaking the bank.

DIY with Jay is a room-by-room guide to doing it yourself: from laying new kitchen flooring and building your own BBQ to making new sofa covers and choosing the right bedroom vibe for the best night’s sleep. Based on his own many years of experience as a furniture restorer, this manual provides tips and problem solvers for anyone hoping to embark on a new DIY journey. With tools, terms and expert advice, you’ll be able to give new life to your home for years to come.

In this fascinating book, you’ll step inside The Repair Shop’s Workshop of Dreams to explore some of the most moving family stories from the hit BBC series. From a glamorous sequinned dress that belonged to a popular travelling circus performer to a pump organ that was brought from Jamaica by a member of the Windrush generation, each family item is brought vividly to life – and lovingly restored by the team of Repair Shop experts who also contribute to these expanded stories. With a foreword by Jay Blades, Tales from the Workshop of Dreams is a heartfelt love letter to our collective past, and a fascinating slice of social history.

This book features items fixed by Repair Shop experts Steve Fletcher, Will Kirk, Lucia Scalisi, Suzie Fletcher, Kirsten Ramsay, Dominic Chinea, Brenton West, Tim Gunn, Sara Dennis, Chris Shaw, Matt Nickels, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell. With great care and attention to detail, the Repair Shop team resurrect priceless pieces of family history and breathe new life into the stories they hold.