The desk I bought three years ago from a purveyor of flat-pack office furniture has fallen apart in a spectacular way. The sight of all that chipboard, now lying in a heap destined

for the bring centre, has made me question the culture of disposable furniture. Some leading international designers have been asking the same question — and have responded with gorgeous pieces made out of the bits other people have thrown away.

The Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek began making furniture from reclaimed scrap wood in 1990. “It was my reaction to the prevalent craving for perfection,” says Eek. “I wanted to show that products that are not highly polished can still appeal to our sense of beauty and functionality. I wanted to design things that could be made from simple materials, materials readily available. Everyone is trying to make perfect furniture, so I made furniture that is imperfect. I like using materials that are worthless and acting as though they are precious.”

The bits of wood are assembled like a patchwork quilt, well crafted and finished so there is a quality of roughness in the materials, but not in the finish.

Eek’s furniture has become so popular in Holland that scrap wood is now a limited resource.

Tejo Remy’s chest of drawers is also a criticism of overstyling and consumer mania. A number of wooden drawers — each one unique, numbered and signed by Remy — is tied into a bundle with thick cord. The piece has no fixed form; the drawers can be combined and exchanged at will. Remy has no problem with high prices, however: the chest is available from Droog Design for €15,250.

Esther Derkx’s Improved Crockery range evolved as she tried to find a use for discarded pieces of ceramic picked up at flea markets. She found she could unify a disparate collection of cups and plates by printing new designs on them. “Images of dancers and athletes were chosen because of their flowing movement, which complements the contours of the crockery,” says Derkx, who superimposes the new motif next to or on top of the original design.

“The crockery items are leftovers from former times,” says Derkx.

“I want to make a statement about reusing cast-off products. I give new life to the vintage china by reprinting it with floating figures. The new applied figures interact with the existing flower prints on the dated crockery items. Melted together, they give the crockery a brand new look and every piece is unique.” These are available in Holland from the Frozen Fountain, with prices ranging from €25 for a plate to €97 for a soup tureen.

Making new pieces out of old is one thing, but some designers are making furniture out of unexpected objects. Bike Furniture Design (BFD) specialises in pieces made primarily from bicycle rims, handlebars and frames. The founder of BFD, Andy Gregg, has been making furniture out of bicycles since 1990.

“I have been working on bikes since I was 10 and in bike shops as a mechanic since 14 — I am now 41,” he says. “I was working as a bike mechanic in Aspen, Colorado, in the summer of 1988. I began collecting punctured inner-tubes that were being generated by the repairs in the shop and using them to make slingshots for skateboarding.

“I now make many different designs, using components that are not always bike-related. Some also use train and automobile windows for tabletops and surplus automotive seatbelt webbing for seating upholstery, but my favourite pieces are made using only components from a bike wheel, such as the S6 barstools and the Modulus lounge chairs.” Most of Gregg’s designs cost about $400 (€300).

If you’ve ever wondered where shopping trolleys go once they’ve been saved from your local ditch or canal, Eco Home Store has the answer. Annie the Trolley Chair is an allegedly comfortable seat made from reclaimed trolleys and upholstered in a fabric of your choice. Annie comes in pink, green, or original chrome and costs £255 (€377). The Eco Home Store also offers the Bottle Top Bin, a waste basket handmade in Zimbabwe from wire and bottle tops (£15) and the Bottle Platter (£17). This is a simple, flattened wine bottle that can be used as a serving platter for cheese and biscuits, sweets or nuts.

Piet Hein Eek and Esther Derkx, www.frozenfountain.nl; Tejo Remy, www.droog.nl; BFD, www.bikefurniture.com; Eco Home Store, www.ecohomestore.co.uk

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