De bric et de broc

When Alain decided to build a chicken coop, he insisted on using only “recycled” materials - which turned out to mean whatever he found in his garage. The roof was an old car hood, the walls were made of mismatched cupboard doors, and the ramp was a skateboard from 1998.  The chickens looked mildly alarmed but adapted quickly.  His neighbor just stared and muttered, “Un vrai chef-d’œuvre… de bric et de broc.”
The French expression de bric et de broc means a mix of odds and ends, something assembled from various, mismatched elements. It typically describes something that is cobbled together, like furniture, a plan, or a story made from leftover or second-hand pieces.  The expression typically conveys a mild tone of mockery, in that it implies something lacking coherence or refinement.  However it does not  extend to outright disparagement.  It states a fact rather than expressing a judgment.

Origin

The phrase dates back to the 19th century. The words bric and broc themselves are a bit like linguistic odd socks - old, whimsical, and vaguely onomatopoeic.  They don't have standalone meanings in modern French, but they're derived from older French or regional dialects referring to fragments, scraps, or bric-à-brac (which itself is related).  Bric-à-brac is an older term (18th century), referring to a charmingly cluttered collection of miscellaneous knickknacks, usually the sort of thing that gathers dust on a grandmother’s shelf.
The phrase De bric et de broc likely evolved from that idea, evoking the disorganized, patchwork quality of something assembled with more enthusiasm than planning.

Examples

Il a monté une étagère de bric et de broc avec des planches récupérées.
He built a makeshift shelf out of odds and ends with salvaged planks.

Leur décor était fait de bric et de broc, mais il avait un certain charme.
Their decor was put together haphazardly, but it had a certain charm.