As spring approaches (obviously not quickly enough), short sleeved shirts and summer dresses will replace bulky sweaters in our closets. Rather than donating all of our tattered sweaters, we might save a few to transform some ordinary decor into something brimming with texture and warmth.
The best part about these projects - four out of five of these only require a hot glue gun and some scissors to complete the project. Instructions for the pendant lamp, decorative bowls, sconce, vases and pillow are all over at Country Living.
Not only are we surveying sweaters we currently have in our closet, we are also thinking about other fabrics that might make for fun projects as well...tweed? flannel? Perhaps it's time to pull out our knitting needles.
(Image credits: Country Living)
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..or you could, you know, keep your sweaters to wear next winter.
Ewww that lampshade is so NASTY.
A lightbulb cozy!
Cause if you like it then you shoulda put a sweater on it...oh, oh, nooo.
Sorry, but not feeling the sweater lampshade. Kinda reminds me of the toilet paper covers my aunt used to crochet and give away as gifts. So wrong.
I like the bowls and the vases. They have a sweet, rustic look to them. The shades seem like dust magnets.
I'm with joelmurr...dust yuk! and if you have a pet that sheds, can't imagine it! I do like the idea of repursosed sweaters into decorative pillow covers though!
ok, ok, after seeing this all over the internets for months and thinking "oh, that's kind of...nah, not for me" I finally decided to give this look a shot. No, I did not cover my pendant light in cable knit (ew), but I did grab an ill-fitting oatmeal-colored cashmere sweater, cut off the sleeves and cover a couple of old vases. They're actually very pretty. I can imagine a grouping of them in various shapes and sizes, all covered in the same or similar knits, filled with sparse arrangements of muted florals. Next fall. I'm tired of looking at sweaters this year.
I think the lampshades would be nasty with dust in no time. The sweater pillow tho..I'm in process of making some from sweaters that were destined for the trash bin. Now I'm wishing I'd saved some of the sleeves for vases.
"..or you could, you know, keep your sweaters to wear next winter."
Sweaters can get holes or stains. This is a nice way to repurpose them.
I'm with joelmurr. I look at that picture, and I think "dust". And even when it wasn't dusty, it would still feel dusty. Worse than carpet (which is pretty bad) because it's above your head not below your feet.
The only thing that looks acceptable are the sweater throw pillows. The rest is ugly.
wow, these exact pictures have made it to at least 4 different blogs by now. And I keep wondering why. The second lamp is super unsafe. Many sweater materials are highly flammable!
I don't think it'd be unsafe as long as you're using a CFL (as everyone should be) - they don't heat up as much as incandescent bulbs. If the material is flammable enough to ignite from the heat of a CFL, wearing it might be the bigger hazard.
re: dust-- doesn't anyone own a vacuum?! my lampshades get dusty no matter what they are made of. i am loving the cable knit in unexpected places.
I think it's kind of cute, but after reading the other comments I can definitely agree with the dust.
I'm sorry, those are foul, not to mention the lampshades are probably a fire hazard. I'm all for recycling/reusing, but seriously, the lampshades are truly disgusting. I'm not sure exactly why they turn my stomach so much, but I haven't felt this strongly about a trend in a while.
This makes me think of that trend piece on hipsters in unheated houses. "It's so cold in here that even my lamps and vases need sweaters!"
It also reminds me of Adolf Loos' "Ornament and Crime".
I like the pillow, but not crazy about the rest, especially that lampshade.
yes! cozy rustic look :)
...although it is probably awkward to handle it ;)
i crochet covers for interesting glass shapes all the time. i also do rocks, mostly to practice, but it's nice to have unusual blobs of color around the house
kinda gross.
all i can think about is the dust & the possible fires.
Ha ha ha ha! Apartment Therapy is funny today!
I like the pillow a lot, and maybe the vases, but the rest of it just seems kinda silly. I barely have time to knit things for myself let alone my sconce shades! Although... I do have really ugly sconce shades.... and a lot of yarn... No, I still don't think I ever would!
Three words: Potential Fire Hazard.