The Art of Upcycling

Upcycling is great. It is an easy, usually affordable way to add a little character to your home and convey a personal style. It’s also a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and use something that we might otherwise throw away or that has lived out its created purpose.

Upcycling requires a little thinking outside the box which can sometimes be difficult, especially when it comes to matters of the home but with a little creativity some truly inspired creations can come of it. 

Some helpful upcycling tips I have learned (in my very limited upcycling career):

• Upcycling can be more work than if you were just buying whatever it is that you are creating
• Upcycling can be more expensive (unless you’re really good) than buying whatever it is that you are creating
• Upcycling can be very rewarding and provide you with a sense of supreme accomplishment
• If you are new at upcycling, start small (like the leather belt frame picture below) and work your way up to a larger scale project (like this floorboard cabinet)
• Don’t get discouraged–if you mess up your upcycling project, just upcycle it into something else (Or a lamp. There are tons of upcycling lamp projects. Almost everything can be turned into a lamp. See.)

For those who are really bad at upcycling, there is always downcycling (look it up). Can’t get that pallet to turn into a sofa? Can’t get that old window to be a coffee table? Turn them into firewood and call it a day.

For some truly inspired upcycling projects and even more information and tips on how to upcycle, check out some of these sites that specialize in this trash-to-treasure art:

Upcycle That

Apartment Therapy 

ManMade

Design Sponge

Got any upcycling tips or projects of your own? Comment or Tweet Me at @BrickNVine