Sep 4, 2009 5:02 pm US/Eastern
Green Scene: Turning Trash Into Furniture
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Craftspeople in Philadelphia are finding that trash can be a great resource to make furniture. As we see today's Green Scene, these new businesses say they're not sacrificing style.
At Bench Dog Design in Fishtown, a hobby -- collecting old wood -- became a business.
"We found all this wood in dumpsters on the side of the streets in Philadelphia and just couldn't bear to see it go away," said David Quadrini of Bench Dog Design.
So the designers here reuse it, making old wood planks into tables and other pieces.
Christopher Stromberg showed us tables where they "got the wood out of old floor joists out of rowhouses.
When wood's been inside a building for about a hundred years, it's aged, and it has character that you can't get from new lumber," said Stromberg.
In Mount Airy, almost every piece at Green Pad Living had another life somewhere else: a barn in Iowa that came down, garage rafters in Delaware.
"I can take a piece that's been thrown out, salvage the wood from that, and build something new out of it," said carpenter Darren Hengst.
Old furniture that's way past its prime is given a buff job, then low-VOC paints and finishes are added in the color of your choice.
"I'll put this online, and someone can pre-order it and tell me what they want," said Hengst.
Green Pad Living also makes new furniture like a kids' play table with sustainable wood and eco-friendly finishes.
"It's a really hot-ticket item with the holidays coming up," said Jackie Giordano, the other half of Green Pad Living.
Green Pad Living has become a full-time green job, and they hope the demand is sustainable.
RELATED LINKS
Bench Dog Design
Green Pad Living
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