Green living is something that more and more people are doing every day. Some of the green solutions are simple improvements to the home, while others may be more involved and include recycling projects. A good way to recycle is to reuse materials for another purpose, such as making interior lights out of headlights from an old car or a sofa from an old bench seat out of an automobile. The reuse of materials for things that they were not originally designed for is called upcycling. Here are some upcycling project ideas to do with materials taken from the salvage yard.
1. Use a Vintage Car Dash as a Media-Center Centerpiece
If you are an auto enthusiast, you may want some auto décor for your home. A good place for this is in the living room, where you likely have a media center. You can get an old dash from one of your favorite makes of cars and use it as a console for the media center. This can also include an old car radio that you restore and put in the center to use for music. You can even retrofit the radio with modern controls. If you love video games, invest in a steering-wheel controller and mount it behind the dash with an authentic steering wheel for a real feel.
2. Put Legs on an Old Bench Seat to Make a Really Comfortable Sofa
Bench seating has been used in cars since the Model-T, and benches can easily be found at any salvage yard. If you are looking for a new sofa to add to your living room, find one of these seats and build a frame for it. You can talk with a salvage yard about vintage seating that they have. You may want to have the seat reupholstered, and when you do that, you can also have extra padding added beneath the fabric for more comfort.
3. Use an Old Bucket Seat to Make a Comfortable Desk Chair
A bucket seat can also be used for furniture in your home. Have you always dreamed of having one of those designer desk chairs but have not been able to afford one? Never fear; your local salvage yard will be able to find you a classic bucket seat that you can mount to a seat base for a stylish chair that is better than anything you can buy. For the best comfort, look for surplus office chairs to find a sturdy base to mount the seat on.
These are just a few ideas for things that can be done with old auto parts. If you are a car enthusiast, contact a professional such as Boot Hill Truck to get started with some of these projects for the décor around your home.
