University Star

Glue, dust and paint particles filled the air at the Family and Consumer Science Courtyard Saturday afternoon.

Competitors scrambled within their teams to construct unique furniture pieces out of items previously thrown away.

It was all part of the American Society of Interior Designers’ Trash-To-Treasure Furniture Design Competition. The contest was the main event at the organization’s fall kickoff, which also included home improvement demonstrations, vendor booths and local interior design professionals on site.

Competitors were split into five, six-member teams and given $30 to produce an original piece of furniture in four hours.

“The whole idea was to take something that was unwanted and turn it into something that has value,” said Rebecca Brown, president of ASID’s Texas State chapter. “We basically did a lot of dumpster diving.”

The event was the first of its kind, and Brown said she hopes to see it become an annual occurrence.

“It is nice to get the chance to go out and have the public meet us and get a little better understanding as to what interior designers really do,” Brown said. “It’s a lot more than we typically see on HGTV. There’s a lot more logistical planning.”

Mary Cadotte, pre-interior design freshman, and her team dubbed themselves the “Light it Up” group. The team worked to assemble small desk light fixtures out of a wood-paneled vintage floor lamp.

“I think its cool creating a space and creating a mood in a room so that people can enjoy it,” Cadotte said.

Cadotte and her team are currently taking their first interior design classes, and expressed gratitude for the hands-on experience.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m not nearly capable of doing this because I don’t know anything about interior design,’” said Hannah Tallerine, pre-interior design sophomore. “But then I figured ‘if I’m going to make a fool of myself, who cares? I may as well just start.’”

Brown said the idea of “freecycling” involves taking reclaimed or discarded materials and re-purposing them to extend the life of the product.

“What we were kind of hoping for was to pull in that sustainability idea,” Brown said. “It’s not just brand new buildings that are built green. It’s stuff that you can do on a home level. It doesn’t take a lot of money, it just takes a little time and a lot of planning.”