Furniture Re-Designs From Donna Walker

Furniture and object upcycling is one of the more intriguing new artistic media of our era. These days it seems there are so many artists and designers working in the spirit of sustainability, bringing new design principles to old objects, and often with a refreshing playfulness. British artist Donna Walker, for instance, reinvents domestic items and imbues them with new meaning. Can you tell what this chair used to be?

Walker used a discarded ironing board, some leather scraps, and other reclaimed materials to create this little accent chair. An object with a life of domestic drudgery is thus re-born, destined in its new state for a stylish lounge.

How about the chair below? Can you tell what mundane purpose it might've served in its previous incarnation?

You got it—this was a commode. Walker re-vamped it with paint and fabric scraps and added a drawer. Fortunately the chair's new look is so fun that it's easy not to think about its past life.

Visit Donna Walker's website to view more of her work, including public art projects where she used found objects to create comfortable communal spaces.

(Via NOTCOT)

(Images: Donna Walker)

Comments (6)

Wow. An ironing board chair...now I'd be really into it if it was still possible to flip back and forth between the two. The selling point could be for stay at home ladies to use them for house chores or for kicking back. A multi-purpose object. :)

I think that ironing board chair is the most creative upcycling I've ever seen! I'd seriously consider doing that, since our ironing board definitely never sees any action. Poor, lonely ironing board...

These kinds of hacks are usually pure novelty but I think the ironing board is pretty fantastic. It's actually not a bad looking chair.

The first chair is ingenious, though I would paint the frame a less "ironing-board-y" color --- I think the color was what made it scream "ironing board" to me from the get-go. Otherwise it looks like it would be pretty comfortable and would fit with a range of styles, depending on how you upholstered it.
The other chair just looks very boxy, badly-proportioned, and un-cozy to me.

the iron board chair is just amazing. more of a decorative piece I would think since an ironing board is just not designed to hold that much weight. but i really, really like it.