There is a lot of upcycle design that makes use of old pallet wood. It’s still quite popular and as a result some designers pretend to be using wood from discarded pallets, instead they are using new ones. And in my opinion that has nothing to do with upcycling.
Okay, they give a new function to something, but it has nothing to do with using waste or old and unused objects. And that’s what upcycling is all about, keeping objects and materials from being dumped on landfill. Hereby reducing the amount of waste.
Storage crates turn into furniture with nice graphics
Why this talk about pallet wood? Well, because today’s featured design is a bit similar to pallets. It’s about storage crates, just like pallets a wooden object to move or store items.
Design studio Autumn Workshop, founded by Daniel Goers, took these discarded storage crates and upcycled them into ‘Crate Chairs‘. They made a set of 4 chairs and a bench with an ottoman.
Goers: “I’ve also made a bed before. But this new set of furniture really morphs the crates into an entirely new and interesting form. The design uses the printed graphics to inform the user how to interact with the storage components of the furniture. Each chair has a drawer in its base, and a compartment in its back. Plenty of room to keep those books, magazines, cat toys… Whatever you need…”
Photo © Phillip Romano
No extra wood was used in the fabrication of these chairs. The original crates were cut down, and the cut-offs were recycled back into the structure. The only new components were a small amount of piano hinges, Masonite for the drawers, and a pin to hold the lid of the back storage in place.
Think this furniture is such a great idea. Specially with the drawers and graphics.