Upcycling - from old make new
In today’s throwaway society, finding ways to reduce our consumption of new materials is increasingly popular. With upcycling you can revive old or discarded items yourself and turn them into treasure. From indoor and outdoor furniture to fashion and even home decor, the possibilities are endless. Get DIY ideas and instructions here.
You don't have to throw away everything that you no longer need. In today’s throwaway society, it is particularly important to think about how you can prevent wear and tear and breathe new life into old things. This is precisely what upcycling is all about. Unused and discarded items are repurposed and transformed into new things. It gives a new lease of life to things which would otherwise end up in landfill or an incineration plant. The possibilities of upcycling are endless and ideas range from indoor and outdoor furnishings to fashion and even small decorative items.
Om! Get balance back in your life with DIY
Using fewer resources is not the only reason to transform old materials into usable objects. You will also save the cost of shelling out for new things. Of course, it does require a bit of more of your time. Luckily you can determine the amount of time for yourself depending on the complexity of your upcycling ideas. You can also give your creativity free rein. Every upcycled item is unique and an expression of your individuality. DIY upcycling provides a good balance to an office job. You can make something simply by hand and express your own ideas. Below we have compiled some upcycling ideas for you and picked out a few specific upcycling projects. Perhaps you will even discover a new hobby.
Indoor and outdoor furnishings
There are thousands upon thousands of upcycling ideas for inside your home. Wooden pallets are very popular upcycling items. You can find old pallets easily online at Ricardo.ch or ask in your local builders' merchant. For example, you can use pallets to make a creative kitchen shelf. It is not only stylish, but also functional: spices, wine glasses and hand towels will always be within easy reach. The sky’s the limit for pallet furniture in outdoor spaces too. For example, build yourself a stylish seating area, which even your neighbours will envy. There’s enough space for the whole family, it's robust and can withstand all weathers alongside other garden furniture. For a slightly smaller garden or balcony, a snowboard bench would be the perfect addition. Folding metal bench legs can be used to support your old snowboard. Your hip, new bench will give your outdoor space a youthful and unique feel.
Create an upcycled coat rack in no time
A lot of things can be made using leftover wood, like this trendy coat rack made from clothes hangers from the DIY Academy (see image below). Not much is required:
- 1x 2cm thick wooden board
- 5x clothes hangers
- 1x circular saw or wood saw
- 10x min. 40mm long screws
First, mark all five coat hangers on one side about 5 cm from the centre. The hooks need to remain attached, because they will be used later as the coat hooks. Now using a small circular saw, cut off the coat hangers at the marked point. Next, mark where you want the drill holes to be on the wooden board, each hanger requires two holes one above the other. Leave enough space between each hanger to hang jackets and bags. Now you can see how long the wooden board needs to be in order to space out the hangers evenly when you attach them later. Cut the wooden board to this length and sand down any sharp edges to avoid injuring any future guests, you don’t want to put them off coming back! Now you can drill the holes through the wooden board. If desired, you can also decorate the wooden board. You can either paint your chosen pattern on with a brush or use a pyrography wood burning tool. Decorations could even be engraved into the wood. Now you just need to screw the sawn-off hangers onto the wooden board and your coat rack is ready to be hung on the wall.
Eye-catching upcycled home decor
We’ve put together a few tips to help you brighten up your home or simply make a few changes in your life. For example, we’ll show you why you don’t have to throw away your old burnt frying pan. In fact, hidden behind the worn-out surface lies a true gem. After measuring, sanding, drilling and spraying, your once unused junk is transformed into a true designer item. You won't just save yourself lots of money, you will also be bringing an item of emotional importance into your home. Combining aesthetics together with memories. Watch this video for the instructions.
Turn cans into flower pots
You can also easily make unique plant pots out of old containers. Tin cans are well suited to this. Everyone has them at home. Once empty, they are normally literally trampled underfoot. But give them a bit of attention and a splash of colour and you can experience a metamorphosis. After the drying time, or the cocoon phase, the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Choose your colour pallet depending on the types of plant that you are planning to use. Lots of useful accessories can also be made from your supposedly old clothes. You can make a rucksack out of an old t-shirt or an iPad cover from an old pair of jeans.
At Zebrabox, we are sure that you will come up with lots of your own imaginative ideas to transform old items and turn them into something new. We hope we have inspired you and that you’re now bursting with new DIY ideas, the sky really is the limit.
External storage space
We’re here for you
If, while searching for materials for your upcycling projects, you come across things that are simply taking up space but you want to keep, external storage can be an option. Zebrabox offers you storage space of any size and for anyone.