Go Bananas
The biggest name in bananas can also mean the biggest contribution to cardboard waste-if thrown away. Dutch Designer Anneke Jakobs collected discarded cartons in the street during her days as a student at the Utrecht School of Product Design. Ten cartons make up the luxe chandelier. Desktop paper fasteners hold it all together. The look is unexpected, chic, and surprisingly upscale.
Chiquita Chandelier by Anneke Jakobs
Headliner
Inspired by the bundles of newspapers left outside of shops on a Saturday night, designer David Stovell explores the value of old news with these compact salvaged seats. Each stool is a bound set of the same edition, so the composition of several rolled papers creates a view of the full front page. The effect is graphic and eye-catching, and turns yesterday's headlines into way more than a birdcage liner.
Sunday Papers by David Stovell Design
Café Chic
Two swirls in one cup of coffee are about the average life expectancy of a plastic stirrer-unless it's saved by Studio Verissimo. This Portugal-based firm collected hundreds of discarded clear plastic sticks to create a chandelier with an iridescent effect that is as eye-catching and perhaps even more striking than your classic crystal.
Spoon Lamp by Studio Verissimo
Sculptural Lights
The coil of the compact florescent bulb has become an icon of the green movement-one worth celebrating. Playing on symbolism and the swirling form, this light bulb-cum-lamp is one you won't want to cover up with a shade. Exploring the freedom of working with a tubular material, the light was conceptualized in four main forms: twist, freeform (shown here), ribbon, and ball. Look for the products on the market in early 2009-they have also been selected as part of the permanent design collection in New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Plumen by HULGER
Woven Waste
The RD (Roughly Drawn) Legs Limited Edition chair turns excess plastic into innovative art. Without the use of glue, this chair is crafted from 100 percent domestic recycled plastic waste. The stretched and hand-woven plastic creates a look that is at once chaotic and beautifully organized. Only 50 pieces were made: 25 black and 25 green.
RD Legs by Cohda, limited edition
Posh Plastics
Perhaps the most exquisite use of plastic bottles we've seen, this dramatic, floor-to-ceiling chandelier catches light and exudes an elegance that surpasses even the most expensive materials. It's made from the cut bottoms of clear bottles strung together and hung in a circle; artist Michelle Brand lets the beautiful shapes speak for themselves. En masse, the look is one of softly falling crystal flowers.
Recycled Cascade Chandelier by Michelle Brand
Eight-Dollar Furniture
In an attempt to inspire people to create their own furniture, designer Oscar Lhermitte crafted this piece from three parallel strips of metal and 334 newspapers collected from the street. Lhermitte created the curved lines by bending the wire around a tree trunk. Then he punched holes in the papers and pushed them through until the structure was solid and strong enough to hold up to five people-all without using glue or a single screw. Total cost: £5, says the designer-just over US $8.
334 Bench by Oscar Lhermitte, X Days Project
Scrappy Style
These unexpected chairs are made from scraps that the designers found and layered together. The plywood version (on right) is the latest addition to the line, following newspaper and cardboard models. A super-smooth finish and horizontal lines give this chair an anything but trashy look.
Scrap Chairs by Graypants
Under the Sea
These lamps were crafted by British designer Julia Lohmann as an experiment testing kelp as a sustainable resource. Made from Irish and Japanese kelp, Lohmann's wares are dried, re-hydrated, stretched, and then left varnished or unvarnished, for varied effects. Here, the Irish kelp is twisted into sculptural curlicues to make an offbeat and highly renewable chandelier.
Kelp Constructs Lamp
Mail Muse
Constructed from junk mail and old greeting cards, this striking portrait is a clever way to keep old pamphlets out of the trash. Hundreds of paper tiles give this original mosaic texture and depth. The artist let the ink run on certain tiles, making Les Notes Apres Le Pluie (cards after the rain) a particularly apt title.
Les Notes Apres Le Pluie, 24" x 30", $4,500
