Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Reclaimed Abandoned Materials Get a Loving Makeover

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST

revamped tree lamp manoteca

The designers at Italian design team Manoteca take their work seriously, with a side of whimsy. Their ultimate goal is to reuse and revamp materials, making old or discarded items into new and beautiful objects.

manoteca tricycle libraries

More than anything, the feeling behind their projects is to keep the materials alive and let them stay useful for longer than anyone could have predicted. Wood, metal, suitcases, and other treasures more than a century old are revamped into shapes and functions that most of us would never have dreamed of. Old tricycles become roving libraries, complete with little plug-in lamps and neat slots for books.

manoteca tables

Carefully and lovingly restored suitcases become the removable top of a puzzle-like table. A dining table opens up to become a work table for an artist, complete with storage pockets for supplies. The wondrous surprises created by Manoteca should be a lesson to designers (and DIY enthusiasts) everywhere: reused materials, treated well, display even more personality and originality than the most modern of materials.