- © Verschnitt Holzdesign *
When you picture recycled furniture, does a bench made from shipping pallets or a wine bottle turned candleholder come to mind? That’s a fine starting point, but recycling can do so much more. Here’s how stylish and modern recycled furniture can look, and where to find the latest recycled designer pieces.
By Saskia Ruttmann
Nothing is more sustainable than reusing what already exists and turning so-called “waste” into something new — and the furniture industry has taken notice. More and more manufacturers are specializing in furniture built from leftover wood, plastic, or fabric. The wood from an old boat becomes an elegant chest of drawers; sawmill offcuts become sturdy bed frames; used PET bottles become cool lampshades.
This process, known as “upcycling,” turns old, used objects into something entirely new. Accomplished designers are creating one-of-a-kind pieces that are stylish and practical while also keeping waste out of landfills — and often, you’d never guess their past life just by looking at them. When traces of it remain, it’s usually deliberate, lending the furniture a distinctive charm all its own.
High-quality, contemporary recycled furniture is now available from a number of manufacturers and online shops. Here are our favorites.
OS2 Designgroup
“No tree needs to be felled for my furniture,” says Oliver Schübbe, recycling designer and graduate interior architecture engineer.
Oliver Schübbe crafts handmade, one-of-a-kind pieces shaped by whatever old furniture happens to be available, sourced from recycling centers and secondhand stores. Every piece is made entirely from recycled materials.
Products: tables, armchairs, shelving, lighting, sofas. Find them at https://www.os2-designgroup.de/
Room in a Box
Room in a Box’s furniture is made from cardboard — a choice that’s good for indoor air quality and for noise levels too, since cardboard has natural sound-dampening properties. The environment benefits as well: the cardboard is 100% recyclable. For every product sold, Room in a Box plants a tree, and shipping is carbon-neutral.
Lockengelöt
Quality made in Hamburg: for 15 years, the family-run company Lockengelöt has been crafting recycled furniture from oil barrels sourced from Hamburg’s harbor — barrels that never actually held liquid. The company ships its products in plastic-free packaging, and its workshop runs on power from its own solar installation.
Verschnitt Holzdesign
“Our pieces never were and never will be perfect — we lean into the imperfections, and that’s what makes our work distinctive,” says designer Dennis Disterheft.
The furniture (found at https://verschnitt.de/) is made from sawmill offcuts sourced from a friend of the designer’s own sawmill. Each individual piece is crafted from whatever wood the sawmill happens to have on hand at the time. The “Albatros” lamp even won the Green Product Award in 2016.
Products: tables, stools, beds, lighting.
