When it comes to recycling we have all heard of reclaimed radiators, old floorboards, even clothing made out of old plastic bottles. But one furniture designer is using a specific car part to make furniture which is both stylish and practical.
Peter Danko takes used seatbelts and creates elegant woven chairs, benches and stools for the modern home. Due to their usual use, seatbelts are ultra strong whilst being flexible and comfortable at the same time. The nylon straps can withstand 5000 pounds of force, making it perfect to cope with comparatively less strenuous rigours of a daily used piece of furniture.
This range of furniture is part of his Arbour line which has combined the seatbelt webbing with green techniques wood manipulation. The maple frames are made by bending plywood, a system he says makes better use of the wood and leads to less waste. Four chairs are produced using this method with the same amount of wood that one chair would need using traditional means.
US based Danko describes his style as Eco-modernism, a Bauhaus Movement design aesthetic, originating as a reaction to the industrial revolution. He points out on his website that most people will realise that our resources are finite and that people need to change the way they think about materials.
He has certainly achieved this by using the by-product of a nation obsessed with their cars. He has shown that beauty can come from something utilitarian and practical and that usefulness is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, that is Danko himself.
Great idea for furniture
I love the way this is stylish and helps our environment.