Blog Archives

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Upcycled Piano Headboard

When we put our house on the market this fall, my realtor told me my antique quilt headboardwas too taste specific so down it came.  I’m totally on board with the whole design to sell concept but I missed having something behind my bed besides a vast expanse of  white wainscoting. So, when I spied this fun salvage piece at the auction, I immediately thought…headboard. I didn’t even realize it was the front panel from a piano until the auctioneer enlightened me. With the addition of a couple of picture hangers and a coat of Briwax this piece of a piano became my upcycled headboard for only $20. Have you repurposed anything lately?

Repurposed Piano Panel as Headboard

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Garage Sale Leftovers; Knowing your Recycling Codes

We all know the importance of recycling and the positive impact it can have on our environment. Whether you’re clearing out garage sale leftovers or just recycling everyday food containers, chances are they can be recycled. It’s important to understand what the recycling codes stand for so these items can be properly sorted and recycled. Depending on your municipality, some curbside recycling pickup programs may not accept certain items. It’s best to contact your city to see which items can be placed in the recycle bins for weekly pickup and which items need to be brought to a recycling drop off center. Some municipalities have annual recycle weekends where people can drop off things like old paint cans and batteries.

Here’s an informational chart that simplifies and sums up common plastic recycling:

1. When you see a number 1 inside the recycling symbol, you are holding Polyethylene Terephthalate, likely a soft drink or water bottle or some sort of salad dressing or peanut butter container. #1 is recycled by curbside programs.

2. Number 2 is High Density Polyethylene, your milk jugs, juice bottles, and shampoo bottles, for example. #2 is recycled by curbside programs.

3. Number 3 is Vinyl or PVC. This is in window cleaners, detergent containers, and clear food packaging. #3 is rarely recycled by curbside programs.

4. Number 4 is Low Density Polythylene, found in squeezable bottles, bread and frozen food packaging, carpet, and dry-cleaning bags. #4 is sometimes recycled.

5. Number 5 is Polypropylene.  Items include yogurt and syrup containers, straws and medicine containers.  #5 is sometimes recycled.

6. Number 6 is Polystyrene. This would be your disposable plates, cups, egg cartons, and cd cases.#6 is recycled by curbside programs.

7. Number 7 is Miscellaneous. Included in this category are large, 3-5 gallon bottles used for water or gas, ipod and computer cases, DVD’s and sunglasses. #7 is not usually recycled.

It’s important to note that all plastic material that can be recycled can be properly disposed of by a junk removal company, such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK? particularly if you ask the truck team crew when they arrive at your house.

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Buying Used Goods Saves the Planet

Buying second hand goods is the most friendly environment choice any consumer can make. Whether it’s books, clothes, furniture, decorations, media or kids toys, you’re sure to do your part for the environment by buying used.

Today we’ve outlined several reasons why buying used goods should always be your first option if you’re adamant about doing your part to conserve this precious planet’s resources.

  • Less Expensive – Purchasing used goods can be up to 90% less expensive than buying new items. Your purchasing power will go farther by buying pre-owned goods and if you’re a savvy shopper, you can probably score items that are in perfect or near-perfect condition – no one will ever know they’re used unless you tell them. Also, if you’re buying at a local garage sale or an item you saw online from a guy across town, you can skip paying any sales tax!

  • Conserving Energy – All products require a certain amount of resources to be consumed, from manufacturing to delivery. This includes farming cotton, clear-cutting forests, mining metals or pumping oil. We’ve all witnessed the horrible environmental consequences when resources are pumped, scraped and cut from our planet. Fortunately, buying used goods doesn’t require any new resources to be consumed.
  • Pollution-Free Lifestyle – Production of “stuff” just creates more pollution, including toxic chemicals, pesticides and carbon emissions. Did you know one new cotton T-Shirt is responsible for nearly 5 ounces of pesticides to be dumped into the cotton fields? One new mid-size car is responsible for 30,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
  • Forget the Packaging – New products require packaging, from shrink-wrap, plastic hard casing, cardboard boxes and styrofoam. The packaging materials require energy to create in addition to the production of the product. Not all the packaging is recyclable or reusable, so it gets tossed, contributing to more waste. Not only is it frustrating trying to open the packaging, but disposing of it in an environmentally friendly way is not always an option. However, the bright side is if you shop thrift stores, or buy second hand items from your neighbors next door or across town, you don’t have to deal with packaging!
  • Supporting Local Economies – Did you know buying used goods extends the life of the product and the planet and supports your local economy? Think about it, most thrift shops support a cause, so your money not only buys you a cool new “used” item, but also contributes to the well-being of others supported by the business. This is why shopping for items at your local yard sales, tag sales, estate sales, flea markets, pawn shops and consignment shops is so important, and fun! Keeping your money in town supports local businesses and keeps it from contributing to corporate waste.

  • Being “Green” is in Vogue – Simply put, recycling is is king and you avoid having to figure out greenwashing claims made by corporations. The money you save by buying pre-owned goods from accessories to clothes, books and media, will stretch your dollar and you can then go to the organic grocery store and support your local farmers. Lastly, don’t feel bad about making certain purchases of “new” items such as appliances with extraordinary energy efficiency or hybrid automobiles. These items can reduce your carbon footprint.

What’s the last “used” product you purchased that you use on a regular basis?

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Decorating on a Dime: Finds of $10 or Less

Today’s “Decorating on a Dime” series continues with our feature and introduction to Mary Jane Rossi of Vignettes Room Redesign in Princeton NJ. Mary Jane is known as “the Queen of Glean.” She can be found happily gleaning on garbage days and town-wide clean-up days and at local yard and church rummage sales. You could say that gleaning is in her blood since her father, Louis, never came back from walking their family dog without a “trash treasure,” often discarded lumber and molding, that he would use in ingenious ways.

“Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose” was the philosophy this forward-thinking father passed on to his daughter. Some finds that Rossi has transformed into lovely and functional treasures include:

A birch tree sculpture (with $1200 price tag from a New York art gallery still attached) bought for $5 at a Princeton garage sale. Used in a client’s summer camp themed child’s bathroom as a towel holder.

Tapestry print upholstered benches salvaged from a demolished restaurant bought at a Princeton yard sale for $8 each. Used as decorative and functional window seats.

Dental molding shelf, once part of a ripped out fireplace mantel, found in the trash outside a recently sold Princeton home. Used as an ornamental shelf in a study.

A vintage bedroom dresser mirror bought at a Montgomery church rummage sale for $10. Used as an accent mirror on a brick fireplace.

A discarded porch in Rocky Hill found during town-wide clean-up week and pieces of a bed found in the trash in Princeton transformed into an ornamental room divider between a kitchen and family room

Wood from a discarded TV cabinet found in the trash in Lawrenceville used to make window boxes

More of Rossi’s and her design partner, Veronica Pirone’s, work can be found on Vignettes Room Redesign’s website at www.vignettesredesign.com. These designers believe that your home should tell your story. With over twenty years experience, Rossi and Pirone have multi-faceted backgrounds not only in interior design but also in stage design, landscape design, art history, literature, and law.

While studying in New York City with Lauri Ward, founder of the Use-What-You-Have movement, they discovered that this eco and budget friendly approach to design blended perfectly with their own philosophy. After all, incorporating furniture, accessories, mementos, and collections clients already own and love is what truly makes their homes personal and inviting. Who wants to walk into a room that looks and feels like a showroom? Along with room redesign and showing clients how to make the most of what they already own, their services include heritage and holiday decorating, downsizing consultation, real estate staging, personalized shopping, and furniture and accessories consignment.

Contact Vignettes Room Redesign at vignettesredesign@hotmail.com and at vignettesredesign@hotmail.com.

Earth Day

For over 40 years, Earth Day, April 22, has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.
Earth Day is becoming one of the most important hallmarks in the …

Using Coffee Filters

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Recycling – A Winning Venture

It’s quite simple, one person’s trash, is another’s treasure. There’s no question recycling has saved hundreds of millions of dollars, saved countless organisms on the planet from possible extinction and has been a global phenomenon in the past couple …