Green Interiors: How to Turn Junk into Home Decor
With Earth Day coming up, my thoughts turn to finding ideas for being more responsible about the earth we live in. Beyond recycling glass, plastic, and paper, what could homemakers do to lessen their impact on the environment? The answer might be found in adding some junk to the home.
You see, junk doesn’t always equal clutter. In fact, junk, is defined as “Discarded material, such as glass, rags, paper, or metal, some of which may be reused in some form” (Free Dictionary). If a piece of junk is reused effectively and creatively, it can contribute to storage, organization and even home decor. Plus, it recycles items that will otherwise end up in a landfill.
Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer, of Junkmarket Style, offer these tips for decorating with found objects:
* Use recycled junk sparingly. Add one item at a time and work with existing furniture and decor.
* Identify your decorating goal (eg., more storage) before going shopping.
* Don’t be afraid to experiment with paint to achieve the look you want.
If you find an item you really like, consider how it will be used and whether you can alter it to fit what you already have.
* You can find great junk at flea markets, garage sales, antiques stores, rummage sales. If you’re willing to drive outside your city, you’ll be able to find lower prices for similar items.
For some concrete ideas and examples to make beautiful junk for your home, Sue and Ki’s two books are great resources:
* Junk Beautiful: Room by Room Makeovers with Junkmarket Style
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4 opinions for Green Interiors: How to Turn Junk into Home Decor
Peggy
Apr 4, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Wow, I was going to talk about this book on Junk Creation, but you saved me the trouble. : ) I’ll link to you. This is an awesome book.
Thanks for doing a post for Tree Hugging Family.
Junk Lovin Links
Apr 5, 2008 at 8:04 am
[...] Maricar at Keeping the Castle is reading my mind. I recently bookstore-adored a junk book she’s discussing in her post for Earth Day. That means I didn’t buy the book, but cruised through it in the store. : ) The book is called Decorating Junk Market Style by Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer. A couple of reuse projects the authors discuss include using old carpenter levels as wall shelves for photos and attaching a plain metal cheese grater to the front of a standard night-light to diffuse the light. Check out Maricar’s post about turning junk into home decor. [...]
Greening Home Decor
May 20, 2008 at 8:45 pm
[...] * Recycle or re-purpose products. You can even turn junk into home decor. [...]
Green Your Spaces, with this fast and easy guide | Recycled Frockery
Jun 7, 2008 at 6:43 am
[...] Green Interiors: How to Turn Junk into Home Decor [...]
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