When it comes to recycled furniture, there are three kinds to keep in mind:

1. Furniture that contains fully processed recycled content you can’t see anymore
2. Furniture made of recycled components you can still see
3. Furniture that actually is the old furniture (i.e. what you find when you dumpster-dive)

Most consumers will likely buy and use furniture that goes under the first category, while the more shameless and budget-conscious among us might pick up items that go in the third group. But for pure spectacle, nothing quite matches seeing entire recycled items that make up a new piece of furniture.

It’s sort of like if you saw a shark at the aquarium with outlines of all the fish it ate sticking out of its sides. Kind of strange and maybe unsettling, but it would definitely confirm that you are what you eat. WebUrbanist.com recently put up a post covering innovative furniture where you can actually see the recycled content in its entirety. From chairs with legs and armrests made from shopping carts to light fixtures made from old fluorescent light tubes, these recycled pieces leave nothing to the imagination.

My personal favorite is the sofa made from a cross section of a bath tub featured on Reestore.com. Its name is Max and it costs £2400 ($4672.79 US). Not exactly affordable for many of us, but it goes to show that it costs a lot to make anyone or anything reveal their true essence.