5 Ways to Re-Use Materials in Home Decorating
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Environmental concerns have taken a much higher position in society’s psyche in recent times. It is certainly not the preserve of the hippies as it once was. One reason is that we are becoming much better at appreciating that our behaviour needs to change to address the seemingly irreversible damage that humans appear to be doing to the planet. Additionally, we are seeing much nicer and more creative ideas about how to use recycled materials in home decorating. Here are five fantastic ways in which we can achieve this.
Fabrics
Fabrics are the classic material to be used in recycling. You can take old curtains and make them into anything from napkins to clothes. But there are more uses than this available, I’ve even heard of old sofa leather being used to upholster kitchen chairs. Other options can be to use materials for arts and crafts with your kids.
Leather Belts
There are a lot of different materials that we have seen re-used around the home, but one that is often overlooked is old leather belts. The first thought about a belt is that it’s so small and thin that it’s virtually unusable for anything but its intended purpose. But that’s not the case. Look at these inventive ideas on how to re-use belts, and the beauty of these is that they can wrap around things, be woven to make mats, or used as straps or hangers.
Timber
Timber is the classic reclaimed materials, we can see this as even commercial entities make such high-end items as these fantastic custom planters. But there is a whole range of things you can do with old timber. If you are crafty you can carve kitchen utensils, or put together coffee tables, and even beds. The possibilities are endless.
Hooks & Hangers
Hooks and hangers are easy to make, every home needs coat hooks. We can use a combination of old boards and anything metal from cutlery to old tent pegs to make interestingly rustic cost hooks.
Building Materials
Why not use materials that would otherwise be discarded as building materials. We have already talked about reclaimed timber, but there are many more items that can also be picked up cheaply or for free. Old stone or brick can be used to make garden structures or small walls. We have seen that many insulations can be made with a large percentage of recycled materials, including glass or polystyrene.
The Whole House
We’ve talked so far about little things we can do around the house with recycled materials including the interior and the exterior, but what about a whole recycled house? What do we mean by this? Well, there has been a trend around the world to use old shipping containers and convert them into a home. If your first thought is about how cheap and unsightly this would be, then think again check out these excellent and sometimes elegant examples of what can be done with a shipping container or two.
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