Senior Housing Interior Design....Junk It's the New Black
Need some fresh ideas for furnishing or accessorizing? More and more interior designers are focusing their creativity towards re-purposing architectural salvage scrap or vintage items. Don’t be frightened off easily – this is actually very easy to do! Not only could some creative decorating possibly save some money, but it could also show your interest and commitment towards thinking “sustainable design”! Preventing every-day items from going to a landfill or garbage and using them to enhance your rooms is the new “in”. Here are some ideas:
Common Household items
I recently completed a Christmas Tree using nothing more than common household items such as ice skates, silverware, a toaster oven and other items that are just as simple. These items were all used as the ornaments! Think of ways to take your ordinary items and do more than just use them as a basic accessory, but incorporate them into something else – look around at your décor and ask things such as “What else could be used as . . . a candlestick base, a tissue holder, an artwork easel, or a light switch plate cover?
This end table accent piece uses an old fish tank as a simple base for an antique silver candelabrum. The drink coasters are made from old roofing material.
Reclaimed Architectural Components
Recycled Glass: Perhaps there are some local artists who specialize in using reclaimed glass as their medium in their art sculptures. Glass can be very artistic when used as wall pockets for floral arrangements, centerpieces or simply as paperweights.
This bookshelf piece was made entirely from reclaimed trim from an old house an dold drawers from a kitchen cabinet.
Reclaimed Lumber: The more distressed, the better! Nail holes, screw marks, hammer dings; these are all highly desirable to see when using distressed lumber. Use this as a base for table legs, accent furniture or a lamp base. Unique shapes like newel posts are easy to re-use since they already contain unique architectural features.
Tin Ceilings: Snip these into small parts and layer them to create a unique surface for table tops, benches, shelving or column surfaces.
Door knobs: Wow! So many possibilities! Coat hooks, light fixtures, or how about grouping these together to form one unified surface for a coffee table? Just keep color families and sizes grouped together as much as possible as they tend to look better when the massing is consistent.
Metal Mesh from Screen doors: Wrap the mesh around common items to give them a bit more depth, or frame it to use as artwork! We’ve seen mesh doors used in retail stores to be the base on which the store hangs jewelry from. You can build from this concept to use the mesh over the top of an old bulletin board to give it a fresh new look.
Functional components from de-construction such as doors,
window frames, and door frames; I’ve even used parts from an old grain elevator to build furniture from!
Construction Site Materials
Copper wire: highly sought after copper wire is a sharp looking and brilliant material that can be used in many different ways in 3-dimensional art sculptures and wall art or simple things like wrapping candlestick bases, coiled to form coasters, shaped for dining room centerpieces to hold sugar and creamers, the possibilities of using copper is endless! The copper is naturally soft and pliable and is found in many different thicknesses. You’ll see copper used frequently outdoors since it will patina over time beautifully, as seen in water fountain components, rain chains, bird feeder accents, etc. Use a few lengths of wire to form rings or unique touches to your window treatment hardware or wrap it in tight layers around the base of planters to create a bright potted container – essentially it can be used for anything that does not risk exposure to something electrical.
Steel plates: You’ll need a welder for this material. Steel plates can be used for coasters, bookends, anything requiring a flat design to it.
This bench top is created from snipped pieces of tin ceilings.
This table center peice is made from an old shoe form and antique ice skates. The center cip is attached to allow for posted messages.
The overall message here is to start thinking of new ways to use your old "junk" as the "new junk"! Creativity is the key and don't be afraid to take risks!
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