hip houseWould you like to give your interior a new look? Then you could use some inspiration. In the ‘Hip Huis’ series, therefore, the latest living trends every week. This week: upcycling.
If you want a new sofa or lamp, you may not immediately think of a thrift store. Yet there is a lot of dynamism in the second-hand market. More and more people have realized this in recent years. Take a look at the annual reports of thrift giant Het Goed: in corona year 2020, almost 32,000 tons of stuff came in, for about 2 million paying customers. Every self-respecting village has its own thrift store.
With upcycling you make optimal use of those discarded objects. A new color can do wonders for a dusty garden set, for example. But you can go much further into it. An old surfboard turns into a table top, oil drums turn into trendy chairs and Grandma’s old teapot turns out to work great as a planter. The more creative, the better.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important
The interior trend fits in well with a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Where in the past it may have been a taboo to have cast-offs in your house, nowadays you can make a positive statement with it. Sebastiaan van Dulken, owner of upcycling company Ruig & Geroest, says that he already has many companies as customers through this route.
“For example, I am asked to furnish a canteen or meeting room,” says the designer, who makes hanging lamps from old boilers, among other things. “They want to show their customers that they work sustainably and circularly, so that also radiates through to their own environment. For a grid operator I made pendant lamps from their own glass insulators. Very scarce material, so unfortunately I can’t make more of it myself.”
,,I try to make as much serial work as possible”, continues Van Dulken. ,,That way you make the most impact on the environment, and it also just takes a lot of time if you have to design a new table or lamp every time. I have now built up a good network, with people who, for example, store perfect boilers on scrap for me.”
View more at vtwonen inspiration for upcycling and recycling.
‘Nowadays such a fast turnover in products’
Designer Pepe Heykoop also has a preference for used materials. “Sometimes something has been around for a long time and people suddenly decide that it is no longer beautiful or easy enough,” he says. “There is such a rapid turnover in products these days. I don’t like that. In the short term you are happy with it for a while, but three years later it is broken again or out of fashion.”
Heykoop says that he never consciously goes looking for anything. “If you want something in a specific size or color, it’s better to go to a normal store. On the contrary, I like to walk around with an open mind in a thrift store, or just on the street. Amazing to see what people sometimes throw away. The nice thing is that you never know in advance what you will find.”
,,Actually, all my life I have been constantly scanning for such opportunities”, Heykoop continues. “You can get inspired by something crazy on the spot. Sometimes it turns out in retrospect that it was just old junk, but at other times I’m so glad I took something home.”
For people who doubt whether they are making the right choice at a scrap yard or thrift store, Van Dulken has another tip. ,,Think in possibilities, not in problems. You can do a thousand different things with each item. You really don’t have to upcycle your entire interior. One object can actually become an eye-catcher. If your guests ask about it, there is also a nice story around it.”
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