Up-Cycling: It is the process of re-inventing waste materials and transforming them from useless items into renewed products of better quality and environmentally friendly.
In today’s hyper consuming society, far too many times we see furniture being dumped out on the curb of homes, apartments buildings, etc. Adding more and more clutter and waste for our Earth to digest and figure out ways of decomposing if at all possible. Making it harder for us and the next generations to enjoy the many benefits of this gorgeous earth we live on.
I therefore ask myself before purchasing a piece of furniture, do I really need it? Will it really last me for x-amount of years? Do I really love it so much so that I am willing to invest my pennies in it? I answer yes to all of the above.
A few years down the road, let’s say 3-5, I get bored with it, or it gets damaged, or out of style and all that I can think about is that: “It has to go, I cannot stand it or the way it looks” and BAM – it ends up on the curb and who knows where after that. More and more waste is added on a daily basis, the materials the waste is made of are more and more resilient to the “elements” which makes their dis-appearance almost impossible.
Here is a thought however, when something gets broken or worn out, or old looking or you get sick and tired of looking at the same piece day in and day out. Innovate, yes close your eyes and innovate, imagine this old raggedy piece getting a face lift and totally changing. What would you like it to be? How would you like it to look like, what would you like it to function as?
Before you open the door and give it the boot unless absolutely necessary – look into magazines, read useful articles about recycling and Up-Cycling, get your imagination to run wild, and see what you could do to keep this piece of furniture and rejuvenate it.
Got an old desk, chair, armoire, bed, table – whatever it is that you feel you need to get rid of, look at it and see its potential under a different face, let’s say with a coat of paint, you could turn a classic piece into a contemporary piece of art, go wild with colour, make it bold, make it the statement of your room.
Be even more daring and use the green line of paints – many of today’s paint manufacturers have a wide selection of environmentally friendly paints, it is hard not to be able to select the one that truly appeals to your idea.
If you will re-upholster, look for earth friendly materials, use recycled foam for instance, and natural fabrics, such as pure cotton, linens, raw silk etc – go crazy our earth has so much to offer.
Put your idea together, when it comes to up-cycling and soon you will become so hooked that you will want to update your entire place all over again…it is just like falling in love all over again, and how wonderful is this feeling.
Enjoy up-cycling and if you need help and ideas please contact me, I will be more than happy to help you innovate and see the new potential in your old space and furnishings.
