Check out these amazing items made from recycled materials, courtesy of Kalyani Bansode and Green Diary. Impressive!

Various furniture designers across the globe have proved that recycling is very interesting and is not reserved just to stuff cans, cardboard, and bottles in the containers. A ‘shopping cart chair’ and ‘bathtub couch’ are definitely some out of the box ideas. You never know you might just get inspired and create some new stuff using the older stuff lying around the house.

So read further to check the seven stunning home decor items made using recycled materials.

1. Shopping Cart Chair: This creative Shopping Cart Chair is definitely not designed considering the body ergonomics. However, this adaption of a shopping cart into a comfortable chair is worth a look. It is a well detailed chair, which sports a structurally-sound seat. You can bend the chair slightly. The soft cushion on the back and the arm rest is surely useful. It also adds plush appeal to the overall look of the chair. You can use these attractive and funky chairs during your BBQ parties.

2. Crushed-Can Chair: These crushed can furniture pieces are simple and vibrant. Of course they won’t blend with all interior design schemes, but are robust. You can use them as outdoor furniture, they will go well with the rugged environment. Don’t worry no one will really notice the rust on the chairs!

3. Old Sports Equipment Chair: Are you a sports freak, or anyone else in your family loves sports? Then it’s certain that you might have a collection of some old sports equipment. Here is a simple way to use old sports equipment. You can cleverly reuse them and create funky furniture. It may not suit your current furniture style, however you can also design one and gift it to one of your friends who is a sports fan. He or she will indeed love this sporty yet personally recycled furniture present!

4. Dishwasher Drum Table: Have you ever considered a dishwasher drum to be reused as a furniture piece? Take a look at this recycled dishwasher drum table. It works well as a side table. Once transformed, the odd object suits its new roll. It works well as the base of a cylindrical table. You can also add some interesting lighting patters with it. In addition the hollow center makes the table a light and versatile furniture.

5. Old Bathtub Couch: If you are planning to remodel your bathroom and are wondering what to do with that huge and awkward old bathtub, check this out! You can transform your big bathtub into a useful couch. With some simple modifications, you can design a romantic love seat or a kitsch creation. There are numerous options, so think of one that suits you.

6. Old CD Chair: With the developments in the IT industry, everything related to computers and laptops is getting smaller and fewer. People used to use lots of CD’s. Some of the simple reuses for CD’s are coasters and decorations. Why not use the old CD’s in designing a creative chair? Of course it is a pretty efficient way for reusing loads of CD’s all at once. However, you have to wonder whether the CD chair is going to be comfortable!

7. Cycle Spokes Table: Don’t throw away that smashed and bended bike wheel. You might be wondering what to do with it, so here is a cool solution. You can put together the broken pieces into various useful and attractive furniture pieces. As shown in the picture you can design some eye-catching center tables and side tables.

If you’ve got some old books lying around, check out some great crafts to reuse them for great home decor from Earth 911. There are some great ideas here…in fact you may just have to head to the Goodwill to get some books!

by Jennifer Berry
Published on January 17th, 2011

Literary purists be warned: We are about to destroy a few books in the name of home decor. Woe unto us! But it’s all for the greater good, and we’ve got some projects that will knock your spectacles off.

You have to admit that, no matter how much reading is a part of your life, there are probably a few titles sitting in the closet that haven’t seen the light of day in eons.

While book donation is always an excellent option for letting those old tomes find a new home (there’s probably a local charity, library, shelter or school that could use them), the cold winter months might give you an itch to craft while you’re stuck inside.

Sit back, grab a cup of tea and check out our top-five favorite ideas for reusing both hardcover and paperback books.

Vintage Paper Vases

These smart vases add a cool twist on a traditional piece of home decor. Photo: CountryLiving.com

“A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words can create a pretty picture, too,” writes Bethany Lyttle for Country Living, where we find our first project. “That’s what stylist Paul Lowe set out to celebrate when he determined to make artful use of books and letters that, too often, end up in the trash.”

Well, you can’t put water or flowers in these vases, but they’re lovely enough to hold their own. This simple craft by Country Living requires a book, a pencil, scissors, cardboard, hot glue and some mad skills with a craft knife.

By essentially creating an outline of a typical vase shape and cutting it into a book whose covers have been removed, an “accordion” of paper forms the rounded shape.  It’s a simple, four-step process that might even have this novice crafter getting out the hot glue gun.

Following Country Living‘s example, try varying the size and shape of the vases you create for interesting arrangements and versatility.

Whimsical Wreath

These wreaths require only a few simple items and some time to create a. Photo: LivingWithLindsay.com

Don’t panic: Yes, the holidays are over, and no, this wreath isn’t wintry in the slightest.

This beautiful project comes from the creative pages of the DIY home decor blog, Living with Lindsay. She was inspired to make her own, thrifty wreath design after seeing similar wreaths priced at $40 a pop at a city-wide garage sale.

“The vendor told me that she made them sitting in front of the television,” she writes. “That’s my kind of crafting.” That’s our kind of crafting, too!

For a change on the project, Lindsay recommends trying magazines or sheet music as well, which would look equally enchanting. Like the project above, simple items like a glue gun, foam wreath ring and a bit of a craft paint make this project a snap.

Check out Lindsay’s tutorial, which has both written and a video tutorial.

Pretty Purse

While these little purses may not work for the everyday grind, we love the idea of taking them out for a strol…once the weather warms, of course. Photo: CountryLiving.com

As many of the projects in this story deal with the actual pages of a book, we thought it best to toss in an idea about how to reuse the covers as well. Brought to us again by the creative minds of Country Living, this purse tutorial is one of the best out there.

Ranking at more of an intermediate level, this craft will help you create a cute clutch in 11 steps or less (or more, if you’re this writer…), according to writer Barbara McNamara, whose easy guide will have you with a new bag in hand in no time.

We recommend having a book in mind before you go out to buy the handle kit and liner fabric, as you will want these items to coordinate through patterns or colors. Don’t forget to have your iron handy as well, to help the fabric lay straight as you cut and measure.

Also, larger, hardcover books will work better to provide space for all the various and sundries you’re bound to toss into this particular purse.

Literary Table Legs

Take your craft skills to the next level and revamp your sitting room table. Try finding old encyclopedias for an easy way to collect more uniform books.Photo: Instructables/Jessyratfink

Before you even have to ask: Yes, you will need a tabletop for these legs as well. That comes separately.

But, before you dismiss the project, just take a look at how cool (read: cultured and enlightened) you will look having a table built, literally, out of pure knowledge.

This project brings in the heavy machinery: drills, goggles and steel rods are a few of the items you will need to build the foundations of your new table.

Instructables pro Jessyratfink writes that the number of hardcover books you need will be determined by how tall you want the table, and it’s best to have similar sizes throughout.

“Once you know how tall you want them to be, try to get an average thickness on the books you’re considering and buy just a few more books than you’ll need,” she says. “Once they’re compressed you might find you need an extra book to help them line up!”

Super Secret Hideout

You never know when a secret stash of cash or treats will come in handy! Photo: How To Do Stuff/Aud1073cH

Hey, we saved the best for last. No matter if you are 8 or 80, everyone needs a secret place to stash valuables, candy, data, childhood objects and the like.

Hardback books work best in this scenario to provide support for your belongings and a rigid cutting surface.

Also, if you have in mind what you’d like to stash in said hideout, take a moment to select a book that will fairly accommodate these valuables. You won’t cut out all of the pages in the book, so keep that in mind as well.

The How to Do Stuff tutorial gives step-by-step instructions that look relatively easy to follow – just make sure to allot time for various drying cycles throughout the project.

Which one are you going to try?

All I can say is WOW!!! These are Super Cool!!

by Alexis Petru
Published on October 18th, 2011

Jake Harms recycles the iconic original iMac computer into aquariums that he sells online. Photos: Jake Harms

Find your local recycling
solution for computers

Before the sleek and portable MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad, there was the original Apple iMac, released in 1998 and available in an array of vibrant colors or “flavors” like grape and strawberry.

When Jake Harms was faced with disposing of an old iMac at work, he felt there had to be a better use for the iconic colorful computer. Inspired by a photo of a Macquarium – a fish aquarium built into an old Mac computer – he spent several years developing the perfect curved fish tank to replace the iMac’s curved cathode ray tube screen.

Harms now sells his iMacquariums online to Apple fans and fish enthusiasts looking for a unique, “retro” way to house their finned friends.

Harms obtains the dead desktop computers from local recyclers: The recyclers donate working iMacs to schools or families and send the non-working models to Harms. He spends about two hours polishing each iMac with a high-speed buffer to remove any nicks and marks, making the computers look shiny and new.

After the cathode ray tube screens are removed, each iMac case is fitted with a 3.5-gallon tank with a built-in filter and lights.

While the iMacquarium’s tank is too small for typical goldfish, it’s spacious enough to accommodate 1-3 betta fish, fancy guppies, dwarf frogs, red claw crabs or other small tropical fish.

The recycled aquariums are priced at $250, including U.S. shipping, and, of course, are offered in an assortment of fun colors: blue, aqua, white, smoke, red, flower power and blue dalmatian. International shipping is also available.

Have a broken iMac and feeling crafty? Harms now sells a $175 make-your-own-iMacquarium kit, complete with fish tank, hardware and video instructions, to help anyone recycle their old desktop into a distinctive home for your aquatic pets.

However, Harms recommends that DIYer’s have a professional remove and dispose of the cathode ray tube screen, which contains hazardous chemicals and thousands of volts of electricity.