Creative recycling is not just a fun and original practice but is, to all intents and purposes, part of the actions that aim to protect the environment, thanks to the possibility of reducing the amount of scraps and waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.
In addition to this, creatively recycling materials and objects of a different nature allows you to create something new at no cost, whether we keep the result for ourselves or decide to make it a gift.
Part of this “artistic movement” is the creative recycling of furnishings and furniture that allows you to personalize your home by reinventing pre-existing elements and, at the same time, enjoying considerable savings. Creative recycling of furniture: aesthetic changes
We know what you are thinking. Don’t worry, we don’t want to convince you to ruin a valuable antique furniture … but you won’t have only those at home, no
We want to share with you a couple of original ideas for creatively recycling furniture – those you don’t use or that no longer match rest of the furniture – through a fun method with a thousand possibilities.
Ideal for giving new life to elements such as chairs, tables, chests of drawers or wardrobes: we are talking about the decoupage technique . Very simple to make, and applicable to almost any object, including furniture.
By taking advantage of newspaper clippings and all kinds of illustrations, it is possible to transform an old furniture into a completely new object. Each piece is glued and covered with several layers of vinyl glue or lacquer, so as to restore greater depth to the cutouts. The result will be a piece of furniture full of images that will seem painted directly on it.
First of all, you will have to carefully choose the protagonist of the change.
Once identified, proceed to completely remove the old paint by smoothing the surface of the piece of furniture, then clean it all up, and then move on to the organization of the work: then do a general test by positioning the various pieces where they will be glued, to get an idea of ​​the final results.
At this point, it’s time to decide if you want to keep the original color or if you want to paint the base where you are going to glue the cutouts.
Decoupage can be made with many types of paper: tissue paper, gift paper, postcards, magazines, rice paper but also pieces of fabric, the important thing is that it is very thin.
With a brush, proceed to pass one or more coats of vinyl glue until the paper or fabric adheres perfectly to the surface of the furniture. To finish the process, spread some clear varnish on it.
Here, then, is a first idea that transforms an old chair into a new floral-themed furnishing accessory, perfect for a shabby chic style home.
A second example concerns the reinterpretation of aold chest of drawers : once smoothed and painted white, it is possible to treat the front part with the decoupage technique, using geographic maps to brighten the surface of the individual drawers, rather than a geometric pattern with colored circles. Creative furniture recycling: functional transformations
Up to now we have considered creatively recycling old furniture while maintaining the original functional aspect. So let’s see some examples that have objects as protagonists which, once transformed, perform a new task, different from the one for which they were created: furniture. If you have old keys
somewheredating back decades that are making dust, you have a moral obligation to take them out. Vintage is now a perennial trend and so, among the many ideas to revive these objects, a very simple but impressive one is to repaint them in the same color as one of the walls of the house (whether it is white, beige or a pastel), and then hang them on the wall, even better if combined with small squares. In this way, you will get a nice vintage effect, even more if you decide to use similar keys to decorate some of the neighboring frames.
You do not have antique-like keys but only useless keys, with basic lines.In
this case, you can use them in a nice way to create a wall keychain to hang in the entrance.
You just need to buy a small wooden plate and, with the right tools, proceed to bend the lower end of the hook wrenches. Once done, nail them symmetrically to the plate and you will have less chance of losing your keys lying around.
How many shirts or sweaters have you given away, with extreme regret, for perhaps a minimal defect
All you need is some cutting and sewing bases to creatively recycle these garments, transforming them into delicious covers for your sofa cushions. In the case of shirts, in particular, the first job to do is to cut and tear at the seams, also eliminating the collars. Take the measurements by placing the cushion concerned on the fabric and proceed to cut two rectangles (or squares, depending on the shape of the cushion) to size, calculating to keep about 2cm more. At this point, proceed to sew the two lengths of fabric together to create a long strip. Perfect the cut ends on the short side, then lay the cushion on the fabric, being careful to line up the edge with the single seam. Fold the remaining fabric on the pillow,
A simpler alternative to line small square cushions is to cut a shirt starting immediately under the sleeves. Take the measurements by placing the cushion on the fabric (if it were smaller, just adapt the seams of the front buttons), cut any excess fabric from the bottom of the shirt, then sew to close everything. At this point, just use the front opening of the shirt to insert your pillow and the result will be super cute!
One last idea from which to draw inspiration certainly uses used tuna cans, an element that most of us most likely do not take into consideration. In reality, once washed thoroughly and the label removed, this object is a perfect, convenient and functional container.
By deciding to cover the perimeter with wooden clothespins, you will have obtained a nice jar for your succulents, or an alternative candle holder suitable for any space. In reality, the possibilities also in this case are varied and you can for example think of replacing the wooden clothespins with fabrics of any kind, to give an extra touch of color.
If you want to risk it, you can also pierce your candle holder box and hang it with a rope on the wall, placing the candle inside.
We stop here, hoping to have inspired you with the many ideas to creatively recycle old objects and create unique furniture and furnishings, saving money and having fun with DIY. The creative recycling of furniture and furnishings is also a way to relax, a hobby for many but even more a way to help our planet, reducing unnecessary waste.
