Not too long ago, mattress recycling was nearly impossible. In fact, people would often dump their old mattresses on the side of the road to get rid of them. These days, recycling your mattress is much easier. But, if you don’t want to recycle your spring mattress and still want to do the right thing environmentally, consider upcycling your mattress instead. These creative ways to upcycle a mattress double as unique home decor and design.
Garden Planter
Strip away the fabric surrounding the inner springs of your mattress and you have a wonderful garden planter. You can either leave it flat on the ground and put a plant in each of the coils or you can hang it on a wall and do the same thing. Spray paint the springs a color of your choice to make an even bolder statement. This upcycled use of a mattress can hold a lot of plants and provide an organized layout for your garden at the same time.
Chandelier
This idea is particularly striking in a barn or other rustic room. Strip away the fabric from the inner springs of your mattress and hang the frame from the ceiling. Then, hang crystals and lights from the springs. It’s a great way to disperse light across a major portion of a large ceiling without running cords everywhere. Use fishing line or chains to hang the crystals and lights, depending on the effect you want to have. Fishing line will make them appear to be floating in air, while chains will give the piece a more industrial appearance.
Garden Wall
As with using the mattress springs for a planter, you can turn your spring mattress into a wall in your garden that can make a perfect structure for climbing plants like ivy, honeysuckle, or even grapes. Strip the mattress of all fabric and turn it on its side with the short ends at the top and bottom. Secure it to a wooden post on each side and plant your climbing plants near the bottom of the springs. As they grow, they will wind their way up the mattress and make it look incredible.
Wine Rack
Those inner mattress springs are the perfect size for holding a standard bottle of wine. So, instead of spending a small fortune on a commercial wine rack, why not make one yourself instead? Strip your mattress of all fabric and turn the spring frame on its side. Place a bottle of wine in every other spring at a downward angle and you have an attractive wine rack that will hold quite a few bottles of wine (depending on the size of your mattress).
Home Decor
There are all kinds of home decor items you can make with individual springs from the inner part of a spring mattress. For example, you can cut them apart, put a bud vase in an individual spring, and add a rose or two to make a rustic-looking centerpiece. Each spring can be the body of a character like a snowman or angel, or you can even add a suet ball to an individual spring and hang it from a tree as a bird feeder. The good news is you won’t have to spend much on materials to make these awesome crafts!
Conclusion
Whether you recycle your mattress or use one of these creative ideas for upcycling your mattress, you can pat yourself on the back for doing something good for the environment. Well done!
