Photo: Daily Mail
It's always sad to see a car go - unless, of course, it's a Pontiac Aztek - and when it's a cute, yellow Volkswagen Beetle from the '70s, it's even more hard to watch. But what if the car could live a new life, albeit a more... dismembered one?
Enter Max McMurdo, a professional upcycler who's also a designer and a TV presenter in the UK these days. He salvaged everything he deemed worthy from the dying Volkswagen he bought for $1,000 (not exactly cheap, but it is a Beetle and they do tend to get restored, so the prices are still high), and then got to work.
The idea of upcycling is to give new value to all kinds of stuff that would otherwise end up in the scrapper or a landfill. A lot of people took to it these days and, if done properly, it can even become a source of income. With a little bit of work, Max managed to make a profit of about $6,000. Well, he would have, if his creations were to be sold for his benefit, but they're not. Instead, all earnings will be doubled by classified ads website Gumtree and will be donated to The Butterfly Tree charity that helps children in Zambia.
In total, Max created 25 individual pieces. He made a complete living room set by converting the car's backseat into a couch, and one of the front seats into a rocking chair. Additionally, there are drum-brake table and floor lamps. Going out of the living room and into the bedroom, Max turned the car's windshield into a big mirror complete with a dresser.
It features an industrial-looking lamp plus the Beetle's speedometer morphed into a functioning clock. There's also a very beautiful exhaust lamp, together with a one-person bed made using one of the VW's doors as its table. And just in case you're a fan of hunting, there's a set of exhaust manifold antlers to hang on your wall.
"I had 6 days to strip down and upcycle the Beetle and, with the help of a few fellow upcyclers, we managed to complete all 25 gorgeous pieces," Max McMurdo told the Daily Mail. "I've used a few odd car parts to create furniture in the past but upcycling an entire car was a first for me. Working with a 1974 vintage VW Beetle, which was a little rough round the edges, and bringing it back to life in different innovative ways was pretty challenging. The re-upholstering on the back seats into a sofa was particularly challenging, especially when I found out the upholstery was initially fitted using very sharp spikes."
We don't know about you, but after seeing McMurdo's upcycled pieces, we're kind of looking differently at our aging cars. You know, just like a dying patient would gaze at an organ donor. You can check out all the images of Max McMurdo's creations at Daily Mail.
The idea of upcycling is to give new value to all kinds of stuff that would otherwise end up in the scrapper or a landfill. A lot of people took to it these days and, if done properly, it can even become a source of income. With a little bit of work, Max managed to make a profit of about $6,000. Well, he would have, if his creations were to be sold for his benefit, but they're not. Instead, all earnings will be doubled by classified ads website Gumtree and will be donated to The Butterfly Tree charity that helps children in Zambia.
In total, Max created 25 individual pieces. He made a complete living room set by converting the car's backseat into a couch, and one of the front seats into a rocking chair. Additionally, there are drum-brake table and floor lamps. Going out of the living room and into the bedroom, Max turned the car's windshield into a big mirror complete with a dresser.
It features an industrial-looking lamp plus the Beetle's speedometer morphed into a functioning clock. There's also a very beautiful exhaust lamp, together with a one-person bed made using one of the VW's doors as its table. And just in case you're a fan of hunting, there's a set of exhaust manifold antlers to hang on your wall.
"I had 6 days to strip down and upcycle the Beetle and, with the help of a few fellow upcyclers, we managed to complete all 25 gorgeous pieces," Max McMurdo told the Daily Mail. "I've used a few odd car parts to create furniture in the past but upcycling an entire car was a first for me. Working with a 1974 vintage VW Beetle, which was a little rough round the edges, and bringing it back to life in different innovative ways was pretty challenging. The re-upholstering on the back seats into a sofa was particularly challenging, especially when I found out the upholstery was initially fitted using very sharp spikes."
We don't know about you, but after seeing McMurdo's upcycled pieces, we're kind of looking differently at our aging cars. You know, just like a dying patient would gaze at an organ donor. You can check out all the images of Max McMurdo's creations at Daily Mail.
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