Making Upcycling A Feature of Your Interior Design

 

Making Upcycling A Feature of Your Interior Design

Upcycling is not a new concept but one that has found immense fame in recent years thanks to more and more attention paid to the increasing pollution and ways to reduce it. Upcycling in simple words is a way to use waste material in a useful manner by converting it or using it in a unique way. I will suggest a few ideas on how to include upcycling into interior design by creating different furnishings and décor from repurposed items in this article.

Shutter Headboard:

As unlikely as it sounds, shutters can be upcycled to make a quirky headboard that can add character and a visually pleasing feature to your room. The great thing about this is there isn’t a lot of assembly or work required and it will also help your home stay organized.

1. To give your shutters a new lease of life paint them any color you desire. Painting them the same color as the rest of your room can be a good idea if you want them to blend into the overall appearance of your room or if you want them to be the centre piece of your room, opt for a bold or contrasting color to your room to make them pop.
2. Line the shutters up behind your bed. You can overlap them or line them up neatly depending on the effect you want and then simply push your bed up against them to keep them in place.

This is an easy and unique way of upcycling shutters that you would otherwise throw away and turning them into a creative piece of furniture.

Newspaper Wine Bottle Vase:

Upcycling a wine bottle to turn it into a stylish and cute vase is as simple as it sounds. Not only is it a simple upcycling idea, it’s also very versatile and can be done with any shape of wine bottle or size etc.

1. Tear sheets of newspaper into shreds. You can do it precisely so you have whole headlines and articles cut out or you can cut them into any which shape and size randomly.
2. Get an empty and clean wine bottle and cover it in glue. Stick a base layer of newspaper cuttings on it and smooth it out.
3. With a little bit more precision and care, stick another layer of newspaper cutting to the case, filling any gaps and smooth it down.
4. Add a thin layer of waterproof glue over the top of the newspaper to give it a shine and protect the paper from water and damage.
5. Fill with your choice of flowers.

The great thing about this upcycling idea is there really aren’t any rules or limitations. You can make wine vases by painting the bottles, sticking gems to them, gluing glitter to them etc. This is a fun and easy way of sprucing up any room or window.

Glass Jar Light:

One of the easiest and coolest ways to upcycle glass jars is to repurpose them into light. Not only are they cute to put outside in your garden, on your windows, in your room, they are very cheap and quick to make and can save you a lot of money and electricity.

1. Get a clean jar with a lid and turn it upside down. Any shape, size or colored jar works well for this and using a variation of jars will give a good effect when you place them around your home and garden.
2. Stick embellishment of your choice onto the glass in any pattern or design that you like. You could use anything from glass beads, glitter, gems, sequins, caviar, pearls, etc. on your jar. Stick a variation of things onto the jars and making some of them different and some of them the same will add character to them. Be sure to not glue the lid to the jar and ensure it can be easily screwed off.
3. Stick a button or solar powered LED light, battery votive or any battery operated light to the lid and screw the lid back on. When you want to use the light simply remove the lid, put on the light and screw it back on if it isn’t a solar powered one.

This upcycling idea can be used to repurpose a range of different jars and containers and costs very little to make. It is a fun and quick way of getting a customized light and the design possibilities are endless. You can get some amazing ideas online here and sites like Pinterest.

Upcycling has become very popular in the last few years and is a great way of saving a lot of money and reducing the amount of waste you produce. Not only can upcycling be super easy and fun, it is also good for the environment and allows you to create unique and personal furniture, artwork and accessories for virtually nothing in minutes.

 

This article is a guest post by John Miller. With a passion for writing about interior design and home improvements, John Miller is a regular contributor and feature on a range of different websites and online publications.