Eco-friendly Furnishing: How Dorm Life Can Be Made Sustainable

Each fall, countless students can be seen on move-in day lugging boxes full of new furniture into their dorms. Purchasing new equipment every year can seem necessary when summer storage is expensive and hard to coordinate. However, this means that tons of furniture goes to waste every year – and so do tons of packaging materials. Stanford senior and engineering student Sierra Horangic has found a way to give used cardboard, styrofoam, and more a new purpose by converting packaging waste into working, customizable furniture. 

Since 2021, Horangic has been tinkering with cardboard and other packaging materials that she collects from friends as well as the cardboard recycling dumpsters on campus. As a mechanical engineer, she has been able to construct hangers, drawers, organizers, and even chairs using cardboard, string, styrofoam, bubble wrap, and tape. Though these might not seem like ideal building equipment, the versatility of these materials has allowed for creativity in Horangic’s designs.  

“Cardboard is actually a lot stiffer than people think, and then when you arrange it in sort of lattice substructures, it gets even more stiff. Something else that I really like about cardboard is not only is it bendable, obviously cuttable, but it’s also sewable. I’ve actually sewn cardboard in some ways,” Horangic explains. 

Horangic has transformed her Larkin dorm room with decor and amenities, all made from packaging materials. Her desire to repurpose waste has resulted in artwork such as decorated shoji blinds, a collection of Japanese woodblock prints, and a styrofoam bonsai tree, designed to make her room look like a museum. She has also created functional items unlike anything she could find online. Some of her favorite pieces are her jewelry and makeup organizers, which she was able to build to perfectly fit the products that she owns and hang on her wall for convenient use. 

“Usually wall storage is wood or metal, but if you use really lightweight materials you can do a lot with tape. When I wake up in the morning, I have this piece of corrugated cardboard that has holes that fit my makeup exactly, so it’s really nice because I’ve had really useful makeup carriers before, but I haven’t had anything that’s custom to the products I use,” Horangic added. 

Now, Horangic is showing others how to reduce their waste and design their own furniture with recycled products. As a residential assistant (RA), she shares her skills with freshmen residents, and she encourages all students to try sustainably making their furniture and decor whenever possible. 

“I think it’s rewarding to take your friends’ things [packaging waste] and show them that they can reuse it and breathe new life into it,” Horangic shared. “I’m actually an RA, so I’m hosting an on-call to teach my residents how to make their own furniture, and I’m really excited for some of the girls, especially to learn how to make their own makeup stands…. I just like to help reduce their footprint and show that they can reuse.” 

Horangic’s work exemplifies a change that everyone can make to significantly reduce their own consumption and overall campus waste. Students, staff, and family alike can learn from her innovation and can channel their own creativity sustainably through designing furniture with recycled materials.