Sustainable Design: Furniture Made From Old Rope

German designer Angelika Hess has created a series of furniture pieces using recycled climbing ropes. She said she was inspired by her surrounding in the Alps where local sports often involve the use of rope. After realizing that these colorful ropes are often discarded after a bit of wear and tear for safety reasons she began collecting used climbing rope and giving it a second life as trendy home furnishings.

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Her series, titled Seilfakture (German for rope-invoice, huh?) consists of three types of furniture: Liesl, Seilschaft and Betthupferi. Liesl is a double-thick cushion that looks like a gigantic sock. Hess told iDesign that this piece is "much more [comfortable] than it looks like because it´s flexible and you can create comfortable positions."

Seilschaft takes the same concept a step further, inserting large pieces of PVC pipe into the piece so it can be used for upright seating or even storage. The Betthupferi, a lamp, consists of a rope containing electrical wiring and bendable metal for support, creating a spiraling, free-standing light fixture.

The pieces have a number of applications, from homes to casual offices and even social spaces.

"There is much interest from bars, hotels, event managers," the designer said. "For normal people who want something special to fit in the atmosphere of a standard living room."