The Best Modern Furniture and Décor Made from Recycled Materials
For contemporary design studios, and especially designers, the environmental impact of furniture is top of mind. Nearly every studio has policies, procedures, and methods. And every designer has standards that dictate the way their furniture is produced and delivered. More often than not, the process starts with the very materials they use for the pieces themselves. From plastics to fibers, modern furniture is crafted from a variety of recycled materials that keep our planet—and everyone on it—a little healthier. When our best creative minds are put to the task of creating modern furniture and décor made from recycled materials, it’s hard not to love the result.
Why and How to Choose Furniture Made from Recycled Materials
As Ferm Living states on their Responsibility page: “Sustainability is a continuous journey of learning, prioritizing and acting with intent.” No one is perfect, but it’s the small choices we make in our daily lives and in our homes that create the impact. This continuous journey starts with selecting pieces made from recycled materials and there are a few reasons you might just love this first step.
- The landfill looks a little emptier. Utilizing recycled materials means the landfill looks a little emptier. Bottles, both glass and plastic, are crushed and reshaped. Cotton, fibers, jute, old plastic furniture, cardboard, wood, and so much more live one life and are then repurposed in a process that keeps renewing materials that used be trash.
- If it was recycled once, it can be again. Not in every case, but in many, the furniture made from recycled materials can be, once again, recycled. Keeping the circle of repurposed life going, you can rest easy knowing that when you’re done with your furniture, it will have a set use in another form and home.
- Durability and timelessness are the name of the game. Ultimately, however, the true goal of modern designers creating furniture from recycled pieces is to infuse each with a timelessness and build them durability so there is no need to every get rid of your furniture. This foundational principle means a chair made from twenty-year-old water bottles will still exist, be used, and be loved fifty years from now.
- Unique, bespoke character in every piece. One of our favorite aspect of recycled materials is the fact that, during the process of recycling and reshaping, they take on a alloy-type existence which gives the new material a unique color and interesting character not found in other materials.
The Best Modern Furniture Made From Recycled Materials
To find the best modern furniture made from recycled materials, you must go to the heart of the design industry. That’s what we curate at HORNE: the most beautiful and designer-forward pieces from iconic and emerging designers who place sustainability and timelessness at the core of their practice.
Eco-Friendly Indoor Furniture & Décor
Though eco-friendly and recycled materials are often reserved for outdoor pieces, there are plenty of amazing indoor furnishings that embody the sustainability principles and practices.
Under The Bell Pendant
Making both a visual and environmental impact, the large Under The Bell Pendant light is crafted from a material that is 41% recycled water bottles. Featuring a delicate ridged design and a naturally textured surface, the Under the Bell Pendant breaks free from the traditional pendant light mold to offer every room it enters an atmospheric luminosity.
Desert Lounge Chair
The simple, modern Desert Chair is a comfortable and unique spin on the classic lounge chair. A hammock of woven fabric—made entirely from recycled water bottles—forms the seat and backrest. The slope, recline, and support create a relaxing, elegant form suitable for living rooms, offices, patios, and more.
Block Mat
Ferm Living’s Block Mat is hand woven from jute and a PET yarn made using recycled post-consumer plastic. The unique colors of the Block Mat elevate the simple design which allow it to infuse any entryway with a warm and natural character.
Earth Stool – Coffee Edition
Designed in the Mater Studio means the Earth Stool is made with the environment in mind. Like a lot of Mater’s other pieces, the Earth Stool pulls materials from surrounding business and diverts land-fill bound materials to be recycled into their furniture. The Earth Stool–Coffee Edition uses upcycled coffee shell waste, for example, to craft the seat. The metal legs are also recyclable to create a more sustainable circle of use for everything that ships from Mater to your home.
Fulton Lounge Chair
Though not high on the scale when it comes to the percentage of recycled materials, the Fulton Lounge Chair fill its overstuffed armrests, seat, and backrest with synthetic-down fill made from 362 recycled plastic water bottles. It then wraps that recycled filling in high-resiliency foam and fabric, and suspends it all in a sturdy steel frame, to create a sleek, modern, and durable composition generations of design-enthusiasts will love.
1 Inch Reclaimed Stacking Chair
Using waste polypropylene and waste wood fiber, Emeco crafts the charming 1 Inch Reclaimed Stacking Chair. Both playful and breathtakingly elegant, the 1 Inch Reclaimed Stacking Chair is also good for the environment, diverting waste materials away from the oceans and landfill and into the smooth, sleek lines of the honest silhouette that is perfect for domestic and commercial dining areas.
Recycled Plastic Furniture for the Outdoors
The most traditional place to find recycled material furniture is the outdoors. Patios, porches, balconies, and outdoor eating areas have all benefited from recycled metal and plastic furniture for decades. It’s natural then that we would gravitate towards these pieces and include them in our recycled material top picks.
Health Club Bench
Destined to thrive in high-moisture areas, the recycled plastic of the Health Club Bench is formed into a sturdy, squared design perfect for common spaces at gyms, pools, spas, water parks, and more. Despite the utility of the Health Club Bench, it still stands out as an eye-catching contemporary piece that can easily adapt into patio dining table seating, matching any aesthetic with simple lines and a variety of color options.
Go Loveseat Rocker
What’s more relaxing than sitting in the cool evening, enjoying a drink, and rocking? That’s why we love the Go Loveseat Rocker. A twist on Loll Designs’ regular loveseat design, this rocking bench has a high backrest, wide armrests, and is made from recycled milk jugs. Available in nine vibrant colors, this rocking seat comfortable sits two to three people and looks fabulous in any garden.
Ocean Bench
Part of a series that was designed to save ocean life and repurpose fishing materials, the Ocean Bench incorporates a seaweed flow into its slatted seat and backrest. You can almost see the movement of the waves and smell the salty air as you sit in the ergonomically formed, recycled fishing net seat. Additionally, the bench has a slim metal frame to keep the whole composition compact, lightweight, and minimalistic.
ReCLIPS Outdoor Bar Chair
Building on the iconic CLICK concept and upgrading the materials, the ReCLIPS Outdoor Bar Chair reimagine the production process and eco-friendly status of outdoor furniture. Receiving its name from the fact that each plastic slat clips into place, the ReCLIPS Outdoor Bar Chair looks great alone on the patio, and even better in groups around the high-top table or bar counter. Each plastic slat is crafted from recycled Danish household plastic trash, transforming the waste into beautiful, durable outdoor furniture.
Recyclable Storage
Never satisfied to stick with just furniture, many contemporary design houses have taken their talents and passion for sustainability into décor and imaginative storage we just had to include in this article.
Paper Pulp Box
Durability and sustainability are essential features of the Ferm Living Paper Pulp Box. Crafted from 100% recycled paper pulp (as the name suggests), these boxes not only infuse your space with an organic and earth-friendly feel, but are then biodegradable to return to the earth. Available in a variety of sizes and accompanied by lids, these boxes stack easily and fit on any shelf.
Vary Storage - Set of 3
Made from cotton mâché, the Vary Storage presents a versatile storage solution that can be used inside and outside the home. Oddly durable, and expressly organic in both look and feel, the Vary Storage containers repurpose pre-consumer cotton into cylinders capable of storing your kitchen utensils, garden tools, art supplies, toys, and more.
Mondo Single Storage Box With Lid
Loll Designs does it again with 100% recycled milk jugs to create the Mondo Single Storage Box. This lidded outdoor storage box is simple, sleek, and a fantastic option for keeping cushions, outdoor toys, garden supplies, and so much more safe from the elements.
Restore Tray
The thoughtfully designed Restore Tray brings an bit of whimsy and calming softness in to any modern home. Recycled PET felt is cut and shaped into a charming, high-walled tray that can easily hold papers and mail, keep keys accessible, organize toys and remotes, or display décor. However you use it, you’ll love the feel of it and the bespoke coloration and mottling that comes from the recycled materials.
A Memorable Home Starts with Better Materials
We love the new and fresh, but the recycled holds a special place in our hearts. These recycled materials give new life to objects and throw away items that would quickly pack a landfill. Using them ensures we, as design enthusiasts, are good stewards of our Earth. What’s more, the intention, dedication, and skill that goes into repurposing plastics, glass, fishing nets, cotton, and felt ensures that each piece created with them carries durability and timelessness, ensuring it lives its new life for a long time—becoming yet another force against waste.
Shop the full collection of modern furniture and décor at HORNE to find timeless treasures for every home.
Explore related collections, including Lighting, Pendant Lights, and Task + Table Lamps, and visit our design guides for a broader point of view.
