Filed under: Fun Stuff, Crafts & Projects
From trash to treasure: Check out these ingenious ways to turn an ordinary bottle into extraordinary art.Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Repurpose. It's a message that after many years has (finally!) been ingrained in most of our minds ... separate the trash from the paper, the plastic, the metal and glass. Do it for your life, do it for your planet.
Some folks don't stop there. I don't know what it is -- a click, a flash, a moment of madness -- but some of us are inspired to the extreme. Here, the bottle is no longer just a discarded drinking vessel; it has been upcycled into art.
So go ahead, take a look, drink up. Let your creative gears start turning ...
The Buddhist monks from the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple take recycling to the extreme. Photo: Greenupgrader.com
At left and top right: The six-gabled house. Bottom right: A view from inside the round tavern, which sits nearby. Photos: The Bottle Houses
Down a lane in Cap-Egmont on Prince Edward Island, Canada, you will find a little six-gabled house. You might ask, "Is it made from brick?" Nope, guess again. Not wood, not stone, but glass bottles. More than 12,000 to be exact. Edouard Arsenault had a vision and realized it in 1980 with his first glass bottle house. More bottles and several buildings later, a landmark was born. I do hope the furniture is a bit on the softer side.
A new take on what to do with all those empties. Photo: Quitor
Speaking of furniture, pull up a bottle. Oh, I mean a chair. A bottle chair. This chair, seen above, is a fantastic example of imaginative thinking. It's made from green bottles on a curvaceous metal frame. And check out the SIE43 Chair by Polish designer Pawel Grunert on GreenMuze. It was designed in the shape of a flower and fashioned from hundreds of recycled water bottles. Not really the spot to curl up with a good book, but the recycling message is loud and clear.
Keep wine bottles on and above the table. Photos: Pottery Barn
Shannon Quimby from Oregon planned a modern take on the chandelier above her dining table using a straight line of empty wine bottles. Three cheers for her ingenuity. Meanwhile, home decor super store Pottery Barn fashioned the elegant light above with green glass wine bottles that twinkle with the evening light, $399.
A shrine for wine, built by Richard Pim. Photo: Splurch
This wine enthusiast chose to show his regard for the nectar in a different manner. Richard Pim, who lives in Pembridge, England, loved the way light reflected off an empty wine bottle. It inspired him to build a domed oasis in his garden. The 11-foot structure has four stone arches that lend support to the bottle walls held together with cement.
Photo: Greg Grant/Felder Rushing
And who says trees can't get in on the fun? Felder Rushing seems to be preoccupied with the beauty that one can create through the juxtaposition of glass waste and nature. These bottle trees are just divine.
Photo: CollectionsEtc, CDChilds
When you've drank all of the bottles in your wine rack, you can either buy more, or turn the rack and bottles into a clever planter. Sound too taxing? Buy one instead from Collections Etc., $15.
From wine to wind, through an artist's hands. CDChilds's beautiful wind chimes are made from recycled wine bottles, and she sells them for a very reasonable price on Etsy. The clinking of one glass against another in a gentle breeze would certainly be delightful, but you better take it inside if the wind picks up.
Get lit. An illuminating torch made from a wine bottle. For a different take, pour beverages from your old empties. Photos: Design*Sponge, Greenhouse
Check out Erik Anderson's industrious use of a gorgeous blue glass bottle to make an outdoor torch. While the execution is exemplary, the proximity to the wood wall is a bit frightening!
And here's a novel idea: Use wine bottles to serve beverages. Altered a bit from their original state, the frosted or clear carafes and jugs are showstoppers on the table, $43-$55.
Beer bottle tumblers are a constant reminder of last night's revelry. Photo: Bottlehood/Etsy
And to think all I do is put my bottles in the recycling bin!
If you're feeling inspired to recycle, here's what you can make with old books, and take a peek at this hotel made of trash.
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