7 Upcycled Products and DIYs You Can Totally (Re)live With
April 17, 2015
Looking to give your home – or yourself – a bit of a makeover? It’s time to get your upcycle on.
For the uninitiated: Upcycling is similar to recycling, except that instead of being sent off to processing plants, unwanted items are given new life and new function with a bit of crafty know-how. Check out some of our favorite products from a growing number of eco-conscious companies — plus some hip projects to tackle yourself.
1. BIKE-FRIENDLY MESSENGER BAGS: Do you spend much of your time whizzing around the city on two wheels – and therefore much of your time in search of durable,
bike-friendly gear?
Green Guru Gear has the solution. The eco-friendly company produces a line of sleek, urban-appropriate messenger bags, wallets, and other bike accessories, which just so happen to be made from cast-off bicycle tubing. Bikeception!
Image courtesy of Green Guru Gear
2. COFFEE SACK COMPUTER GEAR: If you're the kind of person who loves coffee – and who spends a lot of time online – then (a) we should be friends, and (b) you'll probably want to know about
Presso Design. The company's chic, upcycled products, like their tablet sleeves, laptop cases, and bags, let you stow your digital wares securely – and, given that they're made from ex-burlap coffee sacks, in java-inspired style.
Image courtesy of Presso Design
3. PALLET COFFEE TABLES: It's time to stop eating dinner on the sofa...or off that cardboard box you've had since moving into your apartment. Instead, invest in a one-of-a-kind piece with character, like the pallet coffee tables available from
Evereone. These upcycled pieces make use of discarded shipping pallets to create something totally new – and totally flattering.
Image courtesy of Evereone
4. WALLACE DETROIT GUITARS: Whether you take your guitar on a tour of your city's open mic nights – or just enjoy a bit of at-home strumming – your instrument can get in on the upcycling action too, thanks to
Wallace Detroit Guitars. Their axes are made from reclaimed wood from Detroit buildings, which ensures that they've got Motown music history written into their DNA.
Image courtesy of Wallace Detroit Guitars
5. HOME ACCESSORIES: Coffee tables made from whiskey barrels. Reusable tote bags crafted from fire hoses. Clocks fashioned from old circuit boards. Whatever home accessory or quirky gift you're after, you're bound to find a cool, upcycled version at
Hipcycle. This online store is a huge repository of pieces that will lend your home that certain
je ne sais quoi...all while craftily reusing cast-off materials.
Image courtesy of Hipcycle
6. DIY SUITCASE TABLE: Bitten by the upcycling bug yourself? There's no shortage of DIY projects out there for those looking to unleash some Optimus Prime-grade transformations on their own leftover bits and pieces. One of our favorite projects is the suitcase table.
It's simple enough to do at home, and requires just a vintage suitcase, a few hardware supplies, and a bit of craftiness. Now you're really going places! (Or, um, staying at home...in style.)
Image courtesy of
Scott Valentine/Flickr
7. DIY BOOK LAMP: Grabbed a stack of promising old tomes at the flea market, only to discover they were, well, not exactly fun reading? Here's where judging a book by its cover pays off. This
DIY book lamp tutorial will breathe new life into stacks with snazzy spines (and not much going on inside). Alternatively, if you don't trust your way around a power tool, specialist seller
Typewriter Boneyard has produced some pretty nifty versions.
Image courtesy of Typewriter Boneyard
1. BIKE-FRIENDLY MESSENGER BAGS: Do you spend much of your time whizzing around the city on two wheels – and therefore much of your time in search of durable,
bike-friendly gear?
Green Guru Gear has the solution. The eco-friendly company produces a line of sleek, urban-appropriate messenger bags, wallets, and other bike accessories, which just so happen to be made from cast-off bicycle tubing. Bikeception!
Image courtesy of Green Guru Gear
2. COFFEE SACK COMPUTER GEAR: If you're the kind of person who loves coffee – and who spends a lot of time online – then (a) we should be friends, and (b) you'll probably want to know about
Presso Design. The company's chic, upcycled products, like their tablet sleeves, laptop cases, and bags, let you stow your digital wares securely – and, given that they're made from ex-burlap coffee sacks, in java-inspired style.
Image courtesy of Presso Design
3. PALLET COFFEE TABLES: It's time to stop eating dinner on the sofa...or off that cardboard box you've had since moving into your apartment. Instead, invest in a one-of-a-kind piece with character, like the pallet coffee tables available from
Evereone. These upcycled pieces make use of discarded shipping pallets to create something totally new – and totally flattering.
Image courtesy of Evereone
4. WALLACE DETROIT GUITARS: Whether you take your guitar on a tour of your city's open mic nights – or just enjoy a bit of at-home strumming – your instrument can get in on the upcycling action too, thanks to
Wallace Detroit Guitars. Their axes are made from reclaimed wood from Detroit buildings, which ensures that they've got Motown music history written into their DNA.
Image courtesy of Wallace Detroit Guitars
5. HOME ACCESSORIES: Coffee tables made from whiskey barrels. Reusable tote bags crafted from fire hoses. Clocks fashioned from old circuit boards. Whatever home accessory or quirky gift you're after, you're bound to find a cool, upcycled version at
Hipcycle. This online store is a huge repository of pieces that will lend your home that certain
je ne sais quoi...all while craftily reusing cast-off materials.
Image courtesy of Hipcycle
6. DIY SUITCASE TABLE: Bitten by the upcycling bug yourself? There's no shortage of DIY projects out there for those looking to unleash some Optimus Prime-grade transformations on their own leftover bits and pieces. One of our favorite projects is the suitcase table.
It's simple enough to do at home, and requires just a vintage suitcase, a few hardware supplies, and a bit of craftiness. Now you're really going places! (Or, um, staying at home...in style.)
Image courtesy of
Scott Valentine/Flickr
7. DIY BOOK LAMP: Grabbed a stack of promising old tomes at the flea market, only to discover they were, well, not exactly fun reading? Here's where judging a book by its cover pays off. This
DIY book lamp tutorial will breathe new life into stacks with snazzy spines (and not much going on inside). Alternatively, if you don't trust your way around a power tool, specialist seller
Typewriter Boneyard has produced some pretty nifty versions.
Image courtesy of Typewriter Boneyard
