IMAGINE yourself checking out a garage sale and seeing an old piece of furniture that looks much like a statement piece back in the olden days, like, say, a decorated bedside table or a rustic armoire.
If this happened decades ago, you’d probably just let it go without a second thought. But today, with the advent of upcycling or repurposing, you would most likely bring that baby home and do your thing with it.
Taking old, used or damaged furniture and fixtures and repurposing them into new and often trendy pieces has become a common practice in many places around the world for quite some time now, but this trend has just caught on here in the Philippines in recent years.
Alongside custom-made and mix-and-match furniture pieces and interiors, upcycling and repurposing are notably on the list of interior design trends seen in the Philippines for this year and the next. And I couldn’t be happier.
I really like the idea that an old Narra aparador from decades ago, which may be missing a door or handles now, can be transformed by skilled hands into a quirky bookshelf or display cabinet that will nicely accentuate any spot in my space.
The upcycling generation
According to interior designer and Philippine School of Interior Design alumnus Joby Belmonte, upcycling is a trend especially fascinating to the younger generation, particularly those born in the 80s and 90s. This was largely sparked by the cost of buying new furniture and the limited space they’re now moving into.
“Generation X and Y are now moving into their own places but have limited budget for buying all their needed furnishings and décor for their new space,” he notes. “Also, they are moving into homes that are much smaller than the ones the used to live in with their parents,” he adds.
“Back then, furniture size was based on bigger spaces, so they turn to upcycling to fit these old pieces into their new homes.”
Upcycling for creative expression
It’s also worth noting that members of the younger generation are either millennials or millennial-minded, who pride themselves in their inclination for everything artistic and creative—including their choices in furniture and interiors.
Upcycling’s popularity can be largely seen as a nod to shabby chic interior design, where furniture and furnishings are selected for their vintage, distressed or worn-out look. Upcycling is a big part of this trend and many creative pieces of today still emulate it long after it became popular among the artisans and bohemians during the 1980s.
Then, there are also shops, like Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery in Quezon City, which, as their names suggest, sell furniture and décors, either upcycled or remodeled, using items found in ancestral homes and old and often broken-down furniture. For fans and clients of Resurrection, shops like it are more about the celebration of Filipino creativity, ingenuity and artistry, as well as an inherent pride of place.
Belmonte has observed that upcycling has become trendy to us because it also appeals to the Filipino sentimentality. “Each piece of old furniture or décor has a story for us and it makes us smile every time we remember the good stories attached to a particular piece,” he said. “Because we are sentimental, it’s so hard for us to let go of these meaningful items. Thus, recoloring, refinishing and repurposing let us keep that sentimental piece, but redesigned to fit in our new set-up.”
Sustainable and sentimental
All these keywords associated with upcycling—like recycling, remodeling and redesigning—without a doubt all point to one characteristic that makes it a relevant trend: sustainability. This way of “rescuing” discarded items has been advocated as a creative way to reduce waste. Instead of throwing away an entire vintage cast-iron bath tub, some crafty upcyclers can find ways to transform it into an eye-catching couch or bed.
At the end of the day, upcycling is a form of creative expression for practitioners of this craft and their clients. Designers pride themselves in taking in projects that challenge their ingenuity and broaden their skills, while clients delight in having unique furniture and accents that mirror their tastes and interests. Creatively and cheaply made—that’s the charm of this trend and I find that easy to embrace.
Image credits: Photo via Plain and Fancy Girl (https://plainandfancygirl.com/2013/08), Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/resurrection.furniture)