As someone who abides by the principle of “use what you have” whenever possible, I have long wanted to take on the challenge of decorating a space for free, using only salvaged and natural materials.  In many cases this is quite easy.  Craigslist free and buy nothing groups are active and abundant in urban areas.  On properties in rural areas there are usually raw construction materials around for maintenance, as well as natural resources depending on the ecosystem.  Therefore the buy nothing constraint, as simple as it is, will always result in a different set of challenges and outcomes.  This is what makes it endlessly fun.

I completed this glamping tent as a guest space on a friend’s land.  First I visited the land to get a sense of what they had onsite.  There were a number of pieces of small furniture not in use, as well as a scrap yard which made that part easy.  There were also many natural resources, like tule reeds, walnut trees, manzanita, and many other plants and trees.  After the initial visit, I had a few weeks to gather things off craigslist free in an urban setting.  Seeing how much was already up there, I focused on area rugs, textiles, and other gaps that would be need to be filled to create a comfortable, attractive living space.

Upon my return, the first step was to deep clean the space, collect the available furniture, and lay down the rugs.  This first pass on the space was the biggest leap forward.  However the fun part came later, as I focused in on a few upcycled pieces, and brought the space together functionally and aesthetically.

In the end, I made a few exceptions on the “free” rule for a couple of cheap items from salvage yards, and to get the solar bistro lights which I could not find second hand for the life of me.  The final cost for decorating the tent was around $50.  Here is a list of what was made:

Tule Mirror – While this did not end up in the tent, this was by far the most involved project, and the one of which I’m most proud.  I harvested tule reeds from the pond, and wove them into a radial design.  It seemed fitting for a mirror, so I took the opportunity to use up a bunch of broken mirrors onsite.  I created a rough mosaic circle, and cut triangular points to accentuate the radial sun-like form.  This effectively used up all of the broken mirror pieces, and some plywood that wasn’t in great condition. The tule circle on top disguised the roughness of the mosaic and brought it all together.  I am very happy with how this piece turned out, and it found a home in the bathhouse.

Clothing Rack – Inspired by another artist onsite, I used the plethora of yard trimmings to create a clothing and small storage rack.  To keep integrate a circular design approach, the piece was simply tied together with cord.  It was sturdy, but could easily be dismantled into base materials and reused or returned to the land accordingly.

Manzanita Centerpiece – I cut a large section off of a fallen Manzanita as the centerpiece for the tent.  It was still fresh enough that the beaufitul red bark remained, and had not yet been bleached and dried by the sun.  This was relatively straightforward, and just involved some sanding and cleanup.  For fun I added some bead garlands I found unused on the property.

Trash Chaise Lounge – There were a number of old couches on site, but many had long since been degraded beyond usability.  I found these two cushions in relatively good shape, as well as some neat Victorian style prop armrests.  Due to the low headroom in the tent along the perimeter, I fashioned these into an on the ground chaise lounge from available lumber scraps.

Scrap Mirror – Simple salvaged wood mirror, using up more broken mirrors and unused wood.

Textiles – The square footage of the tent was large, and even with two rugs much of it remained uncovered.  Both aesthetically and functionally, covering most of the floor space was my goal.  I also had found some ground cushions, but they were a tropical print which clashed horribly.  I used a combination of textiles onsite, and textiles I’d acquired for free to recover the cushions, and make additional floor coverings.

Birdcage Light – This small simple project made me so happy in the evening.  I found an old birdcage lamp, designed to use a battery operated tea light in the center.  In an effort to get away from batteries, I used a set of solar lights onsite to turn it into a solar lamp, adding parchment paper for diffusion.

Center Table – Some light upcycling effort on this one, as it was filthy and needed some cleaning/sanding.  To add visual interest, I pressed some walnut leaves underneath the glass panel.

Box Table – On the left side of the room is a small, low table, that was actually an interesting box.  I found a correspondingly colored piece of scrap wood to make legs, and voila, table.

Walnut Buddy – The tent lives in a walnut orchard, so it seemed fitting to create something from the plethora of walnuts on the ground.  Also, who doesn’t want a walnut buddy to greet you?