Upcycling and recycling is in-trend in the art and design world and many contemporary furniture designers are embracing the trend wholeheartedly. As we become more eco-friendly and environmentally aware as a nation a greater emphasis is being put on creating new products from the old to reduce carbon emissions and save natural resources. Not only is upcycling great news for the environment it’s also great for our wallets as well. In a time when we’re all counting our pennies and tightening our purse strings upcycling old items into new ones is a great way of getting a unique new piece of furniture for less.
Here are five of our favourite homeware and furniture designers who create fashionable, stylish and quirky products using old recycled items.
DreamWeavers – At Contemporary Heaven one of our best-sellers are the uber stylish and bohemian Dreamweavers rugs and Dreamweavers cushions. These beautiful cushions use recycled fabric to create high quality, vivid and unique cushion designs. The cushions come in a variety of colours; each design is as vibrant and rich in colours as the last. The fabric has been crafted into a three dimensional design on the front of each cushion to create truly unique designs.
Fantasized – Belgian designer Sep Verboom created the company 'Fantasized' to sell his fun and fashionable contemporary lampshade designs. Each of his colourful lampshade designs is made using old recycled fans that he purchases from junk shops. His designs come as either pendant lamps or floor lamps and also feature colourful woven material around the light and within the fan to make irresistibly attractive designs.
Studio Levant – Studio Levant specialises in creating quirky, fun and practical furniture using old recycled shipping pallets and recycled plastics. Specialising in desks, the furniture designed by Studio Levant looks great when placed in creative studios and working spaces.
Ashwin Art Studio – Contemporary furniture designer Ashley Baldwin-Smith of Ashwin Art Studio specialises in transforming industrial steel tubing into contemporary chair designs. His unusual upcycled designs are made from steel tubes that have been welded and sculpted together to create seats that look great either indoors or outdoors.
Reestore – The Managing Director of Reestore Max McMurdo may seem familiar to you. He first appeared on the Dragon’s Den where his upcycling and design skills impressed Deborah Meaden enough for the stony dragon to agree to invest in his work. More recently Max’s imaginative upcycled designs such as the shopping trolley chair, the bathtub sofa and the washing machine drum coffee table appeared on Kirsty Allsopp’s TV series ‘Fill your House for Free’. The furniture and homeware designed by Reestore is colourful, fun, practical and unique.
"Upcycled products don't need to be compromised in terms of aesthetics, quality and desirability, if anything they should be more beautiful than new soulless items" – Reestore website.