Name: Cesa Milton
Location: North London
Size: approximately 1,200 square feet
Years lived in: 20 something years
Cesa Milton is a woman on a green mission, she believes we need to take responsibility for everything we consume and discard and she lives by her word. Almost every item in her home is recycled from her own (or bemused neighbors') waste and she manages to find beauty and use for trash in the most profound ways. Cesa is a passionate grandmother, artists and green activist and her home has become her playground and canvas. Her latest project is the crinkle-crankle wall she constructed in the hallway, complete with recycled newspaper bricks and peeping holes!
Cesa is not interested in the environmental hype, for her it's always been a way of living and she's in it for the long run. She's been hosting art exhibitions in her home for years and every year all entries can only be constructed from discarded materials. It's very hard for her to choose a favorite pieces but we especially like the sculpture made from years and years of banking slips and the "angry ball" in the hallway.
Re-Nest Survey:
What are your hope and dreams? To carry on having ideas and making them real.
Inspiration: Everything has either been given or bought very cheaply at second hand shops. Having very little money has been a good thing — I haven't been able to make expensive mistakes!
Our Style: A comfortable place to relax which has an ordinary slightly old fashioned feel and not intimidating where anyone can feel welcome and plenty of space for the things I make.
What Friends Say: "Why do you have a wall in your hall?"
What do you do for a living: I make things out of discarded materials. Newspaper, cardboard, old clothes etc.
Favorite element: My books, my studio, BBC Radio 3 and the next thing I make. I'm also very fond of my fridge which makes me feel happy particularly on a cold winters day.
Biggest Indulgence: Violet creams make me feel very happy
Proudest DIY: Probably the wall in my hall for now, but the next thing I make is always the most exciting and challenging . Also my time machine.
Biggest Challenge: Making the next thing I think of.
Thanks Cesa!
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(Images: Liezel Strauss. Originally posted on Apartment Therapy. Originally posted on Re-Nest on 2010-05-18)
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What's the point of that wall?
What a creative way to use recyclable materials in your home decor! I wish I was creative enough to make such things that won't make my home look like a trash bin. :)
The orange chair looks so inviting and the rug with hints of orange warms up the room with a bit of pattern , lovely !
This one pulls at my heartstrings! I love the over the top seemingly randomness of it.
I realize that this is from the archives, but could Cesa possibly tell us how to make the recycled newspaper bricks? This would be a great classroom/playroom project!
I appreciate creativity but there is definately a line crossed making cesa's work hard to swallow. To each there own but is it a challenge to be random ? Creativity is born from necessity let's not reinvent the wheel that designs not broken! How about cesa's Pure shock value without function home! Not aesthetically pleasing whatsoever and looks to be quite uncomfortable and challenging to live there I.e. Stepping over castle walls to pass through hallway..also there is a reason coffee tables have a standard height..it's comfortable..what a silly notion, comfort.