Scavenger Chic

Spring Break Upcycling and Recycling Inspiration

• By Joan
• April 20, 2017
• 19 Comments

You may or may not have noticed that I didn’t post anything last week.  Hubby and I took off on a spring break with stops in Virginia, Ohio and Illinois. I did have my camera handy and whenever I saw anything that I thought might give you some upcycling or recycling  inspiration, I snapped a picture.

Just about all my inspiration came from Hip and Humble, a shop in Berryville, Virginia (Northern Virginia, not too far from the West Virginia line).  They specialize in repurposing architectural salvage into contemporary furniture design and home decor, which just happens to be right up my alley. A fantastic store if you happen to be in the area.

Check out this modified vintage suitcase, a stereo sound system for your phone.

I love this cute little rustic cabinet with a beadboard backing. The perfect amount of chippy paint.

Old wine barrel staves are transformed into a fantastic side table.  The store also carries bar stools made from the wine barrel staves.  Now all I need is a wine cellar (and a barrel).

An old dresser was completely transformed with architectural blueprints.

This was the top part of a pendant light.  The light was an ordinary shade but look at that saw blade at the top.

This lamp was calling my name.  Do you remember the pipe lamp I made back in 2014?

I have yet to find a farmhouse windmill in my travels.  I’ve seen them made into wall art and clocks, but look what a cool light fixture it makes.

An old rusty wire basket makes an awesome wine holder.

Never would have thought to pair a wine bottle with an old farm pulley.

Add a piece of granite to a farmhouse cabinet and now it’s a beautiful kitchen island.

I have deer in my backyard all the time but I rarely find antlers. Don’t they make cute coat hooks paired with a bit of barn wood?

I always love unique wall decor and an old eye glass mold certainly is unique.

If you have a metal file cabinet, transform it into a coffee table. You may remember my old metal file box that became a bar cart.

These pieces would look great in any rustic farmhouse  home. Love the use of a chicken nesting box as wall storage.  I used another chicken nester for wall storage here.

Tons of bottle caps and pull tabs make up this very recycled fish.

Note:  I’ve gotten so many comments about how to make this fish and how to attach the bottle caps, and I must say I honestly don’t know.  I did look at a few threads online and got a couple recommendations…hot glue,  E6000 glue or tile adhesive (spread a nice coat and stick the ends into the adhesive) You may want to experiment and if you do find the perfect method please let me know.

Bottle cap fish inspired my own Junky spoon fish a few months later. 

After a few days of travelling we found ourselves in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

These electric guitars from ZZ Top are probably not true Scavenger Chic but they certainly look like they are made from pieces I’ve found at the local dump.

I’ve worked with a few barrel hoops before so maybe I could make this costume worn by Lady Gaga (You do know that I’m just kidding?). Check out this picture to see what it looks like being worn.

I absolutely could make this jacket worn by Ceelo but I don’t think I have the attitude to wear it.  It really is all about the ‘tude.  You can check out Ceelo here.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum was fun to tour but really didn’t have anything I could realistically be inspired by, but our next stop was Chicago.

Right across from our hotel was a really nice furniture store, and since we just happened to be walking by and trying to work off our scrumptious dinner we stopped on in.  You never know where Scavenger Chic inspiration will strike.  These pieces of wall art are old factory molds like the eyeglasses I showed you earlier. I believe the middle top is a high heeled shoe.  Couldn’t tell you what the others are.

This piece was from the same furniture store and is also from a factory, this time transformed into a mirror.

I won’t show you all our typical tourist photos because they don’t really have any Scavenger inspiration but who wouldn’t want these swing counter stools in their home.  They’re attached to the floor so swinging damage would be minimal.

The swings were found in Molly’s Cupcakes and we couldn’t resist (1) the name Molly, also my daughter-in-laws name (2) yum , cupcakes and (3) the sign in their window “Winner, Cupcake Wars Season Finale.”

I took home the chocolate one on the top row and  OMG that was delicious. It was called the Ron Bennington and voted “Most Likely to Succeed.”…chocolate cake with peanut butter filling, chocolate ganache frosting and crushed butterscotch topping.  I must say, it was amazing.  And now you know why we had to walk around the furniture store.

Finally, at the Navy Pier, also in downtown Chicago we found this tiled wall made from nature castings.  Love how it looks all together, I’m thinking art teacher school project.

Need more upcycled or recycled inspiration check out my project gallery here or here.  I know you are going to want to start a project…

I’m already busy down in my workshop and I’ll share another great upcycled project on Monday.  Have a great weekend.

Stay inspired (and not just by the cupcakes).  

Shared at Talk of the Town,

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Upcycled Vise and Door Latch Treasure Hunting in an old Farm House Upcycled Candlestick Lamps Flea Market Flip, Upcycled Wire Spool Table