Recycling: Not Just for Empties (Part 1)

By Marni Elyse Katz
July 22, 2011

While most of us have been trained by now to separate glass bottles from tin cans and to tidily stack the newspapers so they can be picked up by the neighborhood recycling center, others have taken the concept of recycling a beautiful step further. Creative re-uses of items that may otherwise have been discarded, from splintered shutters with peeling paint to actual metal scraps from the junkyard, have been appearing in even the most refined homes.

Though some may call this creative re-use "upcycling," definitions of the term vary (others argue that "upcycling" only occurs when a material gets pushed back up the supply chain, allowing it to be re-used for its original purpose). While we won't get into the eco-argument of recycle versus upcycle here, over the next two days, we will show you 15 furnishings and accessories that have been created from salvaged materials. See half of our recycling examples below, and check back Monday for even more. After all, what matters is how you use it; not what you call it.

Pallet Bed

Pallet Bed

Pallets are turning up in all sorts of hip décor. Ashley of Ashley Ann Photography turned a wooden pallet into a comfy reading bed in her daughter's nursery.

Vintage Door Headboard

Vintage Door Headboard

Blogger Maria Carr of Dreamy Whites, has transformed her ranch house (yes, she lives on an actual ranch), into a shabby chic wonderland. She told us, “I use architectural salvage throughout my entire home.” In the master bedroom, she propped vintage doors behind the bed to create an interesting headboard and a textural stage for the delicate linens.

Doors, Transformed

Doors, Transformed

Carr used an antique Spanish window as a backdrop for her French desk. It adds interest and provides a place to tuck mementos. She adds, “I recently redid my daughter's room and used antique French shutters to fill in dead wall space to the side of her bed. I also turned an old French door into a table for outdoors, just by putting it on top of saw horses.”

Cork Board Jewelry Case

Cork Board Jewelry Case

Blogger Alissa of 33 Shades of Green shares upcycled and quite practical DIY recycling projects on her blog regularly. One of our favorites: Cork board jewelry organizers. The cork has a modern feel and its neutral tone shows off the bursts of colors nicely.

Wicker Basket Lampshade

Wicker Basket Lampshade

Scandinavian stylist Annaleena Karlsson turned a wicker basket, which she painted black, into a lampshade over her dining table. It’s an easy, and even statement-making alternative, to expensive, over-the-top light fixtures.

Fish Net Window

Fish Net Window

Shanan Campanaro, founder of Eskayel Home photographed this window shrouded in old fishing net in WellNEST, a contemporary design shop in Sag Harbor, NY. She says, "I love the combination of old, found objects with new fresh concepts." Tip: Make sure you wash a fish net before hanging; could be smelly!

Ice Box Storage Unit

Ice Box Storage Unit

Interior designer Deborah Duke Chatfield of Chatfield Design in Rockport, ME refitted a turn of the century icebox to hold recycle bins and computer equipment in the mudroom of an old New England home. It looks like custom cabinetry, but only the far tall cabinet to the right is new.

Church Pew Porch Seat

Church Pew Porch Seat

Blogger Dana Miller of House*Tweaking has reused and recycled many pieces in her home (and blogged about them), from fence boards from an old family farm that she and her husband upcycled into a headboard, to an old church pew that they transformed into seating for their front porch.