Upcycling - Coffee Table

Before I started to design my upcycled product, I researched some places of where I could get industrial off cuts. I wanted to design a piece of furniture made from off cut wood materials and these industrial off cuts are obtained from cabinet makers, picture framers, wood workers and some wood suppliers. The objects I ended up using was industrial off cuts from a picture framing company and large sheets of laser cut out shapes than I obtained at reverse garbage. I then brainstormed the different types of furniture I could possibly create out of my materials. The easiest option and the first thing I thought to make was a room divider or screen, but I wanted to take it a bit further than that, and ended up with the idea of making a table. I had several designs of all different types of tables, eg. bedside table, coffee table, dining table, study desk etc. The coffee table best suited the materials I had, although the design I had was too over the top and had too much going on. I simplified my design a bit and changed around the size to fit with the materials I had.

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of a better quality or a higher environmental value. I didn’t use any screws or metal in my design, the coffee table I created was made entirely out of wood, it is held together with dowels and PVA glue and therefore is 100% recyclable. The table top is made from 2 different 8mm laser cut out sheets, one with a koala design on it and the other a platypus design. I didn’t want the final product to look like the cut outs so I cut up and overlayed them to achieve an entirely different pattern. The legs of the coffee table and the frame holding the table top in, are all made from picture frame cut offs. They were black frames which I cut up and shaped too fit in with the rawness of the black and wood cut outs. Too stabilise the coffee table I cut out a thinner piece of the frames and used it around the edges. I then cut out a thinner more detailed 3mm sheet of laser cut outs with kangaroos and wombats on it too use as a trim and add to the detail of my design.

The final product was made to look like a low-lying Chinese style coffee table. I wanted it to have a modern look to it and break away from the tradition style of Chinese coffee tables. The koalas, platypus, kangaroo and wombat cut outs add to its uniqueness and creates an original Australian made design . My target market I was aiming for was males or females aged between 25-40 years old, living in a small apartment or house.