Furnishing your new apartment can be exciting and fun, but it can also be expensive. One Redditor decided to help their friends out by creating a beautiful custom table out of recycled products — cutting down the overall cost.
The post features custom corner benches that stretch along either wall and a square table that fits perfectly inside. It's customizable for guests — the two open sides to the table leave the option to pull up another few chairs, and the grain on the wood beautifully brings together the different pieces.
"I found some ash flooring on craigslist and made this for them" the Redditor explains.
Using recycled products like this is a cost-efficient way to build or buy furniture for your home.
If you're handy with tools, building custom furniture will get you exactly what you want, and using leftover material like this Redditor did can keep supply costs low. If you're not the building type, secondhand stores can also offer a huge variety of unique furniture — check out this setup that was almost entirely thrifted.
Plus, reusing furniture or materials is a great way to help the environment.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, buying local materials can help to boost the local economy and ensures that materials won't be disposed of improperly. In 2018, only about 3.1 million tons (or 17%) of wood were recycled. Meanwhile, 12.2 million tons of wood were sent to landfills.
If you have extra wooden materials that you want to get off your hands, other recycle options include turning it into mulch or compost. Best-case scenario, you find a handy friend to make it into furniture and end up with a beautiful dining room set like these Redditors did!
Comments on the post expressed admiration for the craftsmanship and ingenuity.
"Gorgeous! You have some lucky friends!" wrote one user.
"Very creative use of materials. Love it." added another.
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