We’ve discussed it several times before on this site: the hot new trend in home decorating is not new – it’s using recycled, freecycled and reclaimed items in your home decor. One of the reasons this trend started was because of the recession. With everyone cutting back, going glam seems insensitive and tacky. Even with the economy improving, it looks like this trend is continuing to gain steam.
Image: Jeffrey Pott / Flickr
For instance, the store Smash in Toronto specializes in reclaimed products from industrial sites. One of their hottest items they have been selling recently are forklift pallets made from steel and plywood. Since these pallets were used in industrial applications, they are very sturdy and will likely last. Customers are snapping them up for $30 each. Why not, when they can be easily converted into items like coffee tables?
And the story the new owners can tell about the palette adds to their charm. In fact, retailers say the story is the key part of the purchase. One retailer says, “People put a premium on the story, even if it’s mundane. It demonstrates that they’ve made an effort to find something local and not from a shipping container.”
The connection to a faded industrial past is also the key driver behind this salvage. Smash sells many stools and workbenches. People like them because the seats of these items are so beautifully roughed up from years of hard labour. It testifies to a different time when people worked very hard for a living. The patina of age also further romanticizes these objects, and makes visible the years that separate their original creation from now.
One of the most extreme examples of this trend is Rough Luxe, a hotel in London. The rooms in the hotel have layers of plaster peeling off the wall, revealing other layers of plaster and ancient wallpaper underneath. Married to this urban decay is top-notch service and cool modern furniture. The hotel’s designer, Rabhi Hage, says, “It’s the opposite of ostentatious luxury. It’s a rejection of the empire of success. The day the hotel opened was the same day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.”
At home, you likely don’t want to show such a commitment to this trend, but you can achieve this hot look in several ways. Tomorrow, I’ll give you a list of a few simple ways you can do this.
Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com
