Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.

The owners toured this home, which surrounds a mature tipu tipu tree, while visiting relatives for the day. The brick is original to the 1947 construction.

Sliding doors by Quantum were made to look like the original panes that couldn't be saved, and they lead to a fire pit outside.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Leave it to the bloggers at Remodelista to find attractive recycling bins, we love their ten picks.

The slightly below-ground kitchen sits inside a boxy extension, clad in recycled timber and stained kettle black. A wildflower garden grows on its pitched roof.

Architect Stefano Girodo explains the building has a “completely prefabricated and modular structure.” It was built using recyclable and environmentally friendly materials and designed to ensure easy mechanical assembly once on site.

The house architects Teresa Sarmiento and Nicolas Tovo designed for their family—including 1-year-old Clara, for whom the structure is named—is a celebration of recycled materials.

See Arch restored the exterior fireplace wall and painted it a deep blue hue to match the repainted blue timber cladding.

The cabinetry in the kitchen and elsewhere is crafted from discarded, chopped-up billboards. White paint camouflages their fronts, but when pulled open, their colorful sides offer a glimpse of their previous life as streetside advertising.

Villa Welpeloo in Enschede, the Netherlands, doesn't look like a recycled building. Its austere lines and spacious interior have nothing of the junkyard aesthetic about them. Yet despite appearances, it's reused to the bones. To accomplish this, architects Jan Jongert and Jeroen Bergsma reversed the typical order of the design process—first house, then materials—and instead began by scouting the local area for items to recycle.

The steel-and-wood stairs lead to the master bedroom and study.

Toolbox by Loll Designs. This minimal toolbox is made of 100% recycled plastic material that doesn't rust and cleans easily. Its easy to grab, rust-proof handle makes it perfect for indoor and outdoor use.

Recycled Wine Glasses by Uncommon Goods Handmade in Colombia, these pale green wine glasses fulfill easy entertaining requirements: sturdy, simple, and dishwasher safe. $28 for set of two

Intended for squeezing into narrower spaces, the Butterfly Recycler by Simplehuman has room for trash and recycling in one compact package.

Reclaimed materials: Recycled building materials can cut construction costs while simultaneously forging a link with the past. “Be alert about what is being taken down in the area and talk to homebuilders,” Campbell says. “There may be more opportunities than you think.”

The bath’s Kohler Purist fixtures and Frederick Weinberg animal figures sit on a Corian countertop

The Airstream Haus’s interior is minimalist, but comfortable, boasting a fully functional kitchen and queen-size bed that doubles as a couch.

The Kelleys furnished the cottage with help from Suzanne’s daughter Betsy Burbank of Betsy Burbank Interiors. Classic modernist icons, such as a Saarinen Womb chair for Knoll, a Herman Miller Eames lounge chair, and an Eileen Grey E1027 side table look at home alongside present-day pieces such as an Encore sofa (which handily folds down into a sleeping surface) from Room & Board and a Doka rug designed and produced by Stephanie Odegard. The Wohlert pendant lights from Louis Poulsen were designed by Vilhelm Wohlert in 1959, but grouped as such, they appear distinctly contemporary.

The Airstream Haus, parked in Ojai, California. August says that when your dwelling is small, it’s important to make the most of outdoor space.

The kitchen, which sits at the center of the house, features recycled glass countertops, Ikea cabinets, and carbonized bamboo floors. “We had Thanksgiving dinner there,” says the daughter. “There’s no sense of the house as small. It feels like a house.”

From the outside, the house appears as a composition of cubic volumes that barely hints at its reused nature. Expanses of glass, skylights, terraces, and balconies all strengthen the relationship between inside and outside and make the interior uniformly light.

Can't find the right table for your space? Another option is to have a custom top cut for a recycled base, which is what the Deams did for their outdoor dining area. They had an existing Scissor table base by Bay Area designer John Randolph sitting unused, so Chris had a piece of hardy soapstone (it stands up to high temperatures) cut to match by Fox Marble. A subtle facet at each corner plays off the base's design and lends a more intimate feel to the long table. For a fraction of the cost of a full piece, the bases of design classics are often available on Craigslist and eBay.

The steel frame of the house was entirely recycled from mill machinery formerly employed in the region's textile industry, which has since declined. Leaving the steel skeleton visible in places, as here, makes a tangible link with local history.

A cart full of recycled clay.

Sitting on the Recycled Blanket Rug by Tejo Remy and Rene VeenHuizen, Chris digs through his records looking for something to play on the new Brionvega RR226 by Achille Castiglioni.

The circularly arranged fluorescent bulbs have been reclaimed from architecturally significant buildings in Canada—like the Mies van der Rohe’s TD Tower, Toronto’s Old City Hall and the University of Toronto. Photo courtesy of Matter.

“I really believe buildings are part of a city as an organism.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The buildings are designed to eventually house a shower, sleeping quarters, and a community space, and shelter two people comfortably. "I remember watching TV after Katrina, and everyone was so exposed," says Nicholson. "Creating privacy and community with these temporary structures would be simple and easy to deploy. We could put these all over the world."

The building's mechanical systems, which include a solar inverter and a rain harvesting system, are tucked away on one side.

Carole Nicholson of Allsteel conceptualized temporary emergency and disaster housing made from recycled cubicle panels that would otherwise be headed for the landfill. The first incarnation was built at Hermann Park in Houston, with help from graduate students and advisors from the nearby Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.