Old to new - tyre something new at your place

We all remember the ubiquitous tyre swing and that staple of 1970s front yards, the tyre swan, but there are hundreds of other ideas that take the humble black doughnut to a new level of usefulness.

Stack two tyres on top of each other, paint them and buy a suitable sheet of glass to make an outdoor coffee table guaranteed not to blow away in the wind.

Or why not go the whole hog a create a complete outdoor setting by topping more painted tyres with round cushions.

Tyres also make a great raised garden bed, especially when painted in a rainbow of colours and terraced.

An unusual coffee table can be created by adding castors to the bottom of a tyre and glass set into the centre on top.

(Make sure you buy appropriately toughened glass.)

Then there's the option of disguising the tyre by screwing a circle of ply to the top and bottom then hot glueing rope to the entire thing.

Start at the centre of one ply disk and keep snaking the rope around itself, glueing as you go, up the sides.

Start again in the centre of the other ply circle and finish with a coat of clear exterior finish for an ottoman whose origins no-one will guess — unless you decide to share your secret.