Looking to update your living space with something totally chic and unique, while doing something productive for the environment? Some creative furniture designers have been getting artistic with the idea of recycling and proving that recycling can go beyond collecting soda cans and reusing paper.

Every year, 10 million tons of traditional furniture is dumped into US landfills. By taking something old and making it new again, you can spruce up your home with a conversation piece that is totally one-of-a-kind and functional!

One of the best ways to reduce waste is by recycling or repurposing old things. It is becoming increasingly popular to design furniture that utilizes materials that would otherwise be considered unusable or trash. The bench above is from a San Antonio rustic furniture store and reuses an old antique door as the seatback. The rest of the bench is crafted from various pieces of reclaimed wood. This type of design is great for the environment because not only does it get rid of the need for new materials to make new furniture but it also keeps the old materials out of landfills.

Ever stared out into a sea of shopping carts at the grocery store and wondered what happens to those fine pieces of metal engineering after they’ve lived out their prime grocery-toting years? Some creative folks out there have been putting a little ingenuity to an iconic, everyday staple and creating a second life for shopping carts as modern-art seating. How fun would these be at your next backyard BBQ?

What man cave would be complete without the perfect chair to sit back in and enjoy America’s favorite pastime on TV? Some truly inventive carpenters have been giving their old sports equipment a second life by incorporating them as chair backs. We’ve seen this done with surfboards and skateboards as well, and we imagine that it could be done with almost any equipment (Unless, of course, your sport of choice was fencing. That might be uncomfortable.)

Old bathtubs are certainly elegant and beautiful. But, man, are they unpractical for a modern shower! Rather than relegate them to an eternity in a landfill, we love the idea of repurposing them for living room seating. The best part? They can be repainted and reupholstered to keep up with your changing interior decorating tastes!

The next time you are in the market for new furniture, think about looking around first for some older things that could be repurposed into furniture. If you need ideas or inspiration browse through Pinterest or other blogs as they are full of great examples. You will be hard pressed to find things that cannot be repurposed or recycled to serve another purpose in your home.

Andrea enjoys writing about home ownership and the positives and negatives that come along with it. She has been recently been bitten by the “green” bug and is trying hard to live and decorate in environmentally conscious ways. She is also trying to eat greener as well through a primal diet but it is proving tougher than expected.