If Car Manufacturers Made Home Furniture

With the ability to now play Playstation games in a Tesla and some cars having “sofa-grade” seating, Hippo Leasing have designed some hypothetical furniture items based on iconic car parts. Also, with the ever-increasing popularity of the upcycling trend, perhaps some of these pieces will give you some inspiration on how you can repurpose old car parts into feature items in the home.

Did you know that legislation introduced in 2015 dictates that 95% of a car has to be recycled when it’s scrapped? So instead of sending your car to the scrap heap, why not do a bit of upcycling and use parts to create some awesome memorabilia for your home?

Popularity of upcycling increasing

The movement of upcycling continues to grow year-on-year, with households around the world  becoming more and more aware of its importance when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

Google Trends Popularity Increase
SearchTerm	Average(March 2012-2013)	Average(March 2022-2023)	PopularityIncrease (%)
Car Decor	28.00	87.23	211.54
Car Table	44.38	83.23	87.52
Car Sofa	29.85	55.31	85.31
Car Room	61.08	92.46	51.39
Upcycling	29.54	75.85	156.77
Upcycle	34.92	67.38	92.95

Just a quick look at Google Trends exemplifies this, with “upcycling” growing hugely in popularity over the last 10 years, by 156.77%. But it’s not just upcycling that is on the rise, in fact, those who consider themselves petrolheads are now looking to reuse car parts as part of their home decor. Terms like “car decor”, “car table”, “car sofa” and “car room” are increasing in popularity too over the last decade.

So whether you’re looking to help the environment or just simply want some cool and iconic motoring memorabilia incorporated into your home, here are seven car part furniture products we want to be real.

Seven furniture items every car lover will want

Bugatti Fireplace

Why not switch the roar of an engine to this Bugatti Veyron roaring fireplace to help relax and unwind after a hard day?

Bugatti seemingly came out of nowhere and shocked the world by releasing their Veyron, which set the world record for being the fastest street-legal production car in 2010. Unfortunately for them, whilst everyone couldn’t believe the speed and acceleration of the car, it was also famed for being, let’s just say, not the best-looking car in the world. However, there is one element of the car people liked, the front grille.

We’ve taken the Veyron’s front grille and added it to the front of this living room fireplace. Styled with the Veyron’s trim and Bugatti insignia this is the perfect addition to any motoring fan’s home.

 

Aston Martin DB5 Side Table

The iconic Aston Martin DB5 is a luxury grand tourer, released in 1963. It shot to fame for being the third, but most recognized, James Bond car and first featured in the 1964 Bond film ‘Goldfinger’ starring Sean Connery. The car was such a hit with fans, Bond producers kept bringing it back, appearing also in Thunderball (1965), GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time To Die (2021), as well as appearing in James Bond video games and others, such as Forza Horizon 4 (2018).

Bring the style and class of the vintage Aston Martin DB5 into your living room with this glass-topped, aluminium side table. Not only is the table’s structure fitted with Aston Martin’s iconic badge but the top glass is placed delicately above a vintage DB5 steering wheel. The perfect addition to any Aston fan’s living room or study area.

 

Audi Quattro Standing Lamp

Here’s an upcycle for all the rally fans. We bring the world of rally driving indoors with this Audi Quattro headlight standing lamp. Fitted with the Quattro S1’s iconic triangular three headlights, this standing lamp will provide you, not only with enough light to fill any room but can also be used as a standout feature item for any man cave.

The Audi Quattro S1 will go down in history as being one of the best rally cars of all time. Thanks to its staggering acceleration, speed and traction, it won four championships in five years and stole the hearts of many rally enthusiasts. It also sounded superb. The Quattro S1 was everything you wanted from an iconic rally car.

 

Lamborghini Countach Umbrella Stand

Today if you mention the Lamborghini Countach, many people will point to the newest edition of the Lambo fleet. But people who know their cars know that the real iconic Countach was the older model. The L400 became an instant classic when it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971. Car fanatics raved about its futuristic design that seemed out of a science fiction movie. Four years later came the L400 S, which made the Countach even more handsome thanks to the added rear wing, thick tyres and upgraded rims.

If you want to make sure that people know you’re a car fanatic as soon as they walk through the front door of your house, having an old-school, classic Coutach rim converted into an umbrella stand, will surely turn heads. We’ve taken the rim that featured on the LP400 S, LP500 S, and LP5000 Quattrovalvole versions of the car and repurposed it into the most stylish and epic umbrella stand you’ll ever see.

 

Nissan Skyline Bluetooth Speaker

The Nissan Skyline is the iconic car of the underworld. Recently being named the Most Iconic Japanese Car Ever by followers of Japfest, the biggest celebration of Japanese cars and culture in Europe, its rarity and illegal nature, due to being rather environmentally unfriendly, has made it one of the most desired cars ever made. It’s stood the test of time too, being immortalised in films such as the Fast and Furious franchise and games like Gran Turismo and Forza.

The Skyline R34 sounded amazing too, and what better way to repurpose it than to adapt it into a speaker system. We’ve integrated this new speaker system into two rear Skyline lights, providing the perfect surround sound for any motoring fan’s entertainment space.

 

Mercedes-Benz 300SL Bar Stool/Chair

Here we’ve taken the most iconic part of one of the most stylish cars ever made, a Gullwing door from the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, and converted it into a stand-out centrepiece for your kitchen/dining area. 

Interestingly, the Gullwing design, which made the 300SL such an icon, was an afterthought. This is due to the objective of the car’s overall design was to make the vehicle as streamlined as possible. And, thanks to the width of the tubular frame along the cockpit, this allowed the cabin roofline to be inset considerably on both sides, which dramatically reduced the front area. However, this then meant the midline was quite high, prohibiting the attachment of standard doors, meaning the designers adapted the Gullwing doors from their W194 race car in order to allow passengers over its high, deep sill.

 

Citroen DS Clock

Finally, we’ve repurposed another clock, but this time from arguably the most uniquely-made steering wheel of all time. 

This steering wheel featured in the first DS ever made that debuted in 1955. It was something no driver had ever seen before and was actually created as a safety feature as the curved and off-centre spoke was designed to deflect the driver away from the steering column in a crash. Alas, the single-spoke steering wheel didn’t catch on, but it does make for a cool-looking clock nowadays!

 

5 other features homes would benefit from repurposing car tech

So we’ve seen how we can upcycle old car parts into items of furniture for our homes, but what else could we use that features in cars that could be adapted into the modern-day house?

 

1. Electrically powered doors

Picture the scene, you’ve just been to do the weekly grocery shopping. You arrive home, park the car on the drive and open the boot to collect the bags. Currently, the classic situation occurs where you approach the front door with both hands carrying the shopping. You then either have to drop one hand full of shopping bags or attempt a circus-like trick by continuing to hold the bags while trying to get the house key out of your pocket, put it in the lock, turn the key and open the door. Anyone that’s been in this situation knows it’s virtually impossible. 

Now, restart this scenario using the technology available to Tesla Model X owners. As you approach your front door it will automatically unlock and open for you. How handy would that be! 

Model X doors are electrically powered. When the owner of a Model X approaches their car carrying a key, the doors automatically unlock. The front doors open either when you press the door handle or you can also set it so that the driver’s door opens automatically upon your approach. This technology would be perfect for the home.

 

2. Heated sofa seats

How come you only get heated seats when in a car? Why not repurpose this technology for the home? Imagine sitting on your sofa in the middle of winter, snuggled up, nice and warm all thanks to the integrated heating system. It would also be interesting if using it and thus not necessarily needing the central heating on would be a way of keeping costs down.

 

3. Demisting windows

A build-up of condensation can cause window sills to become damp, therefore consequently causing mould to grow around them. An easy repurposing would be to adapt the technology that goes into car front and rear windows into house windows. This could allow homeowners to clear any condensation build-up through the touch of a button, preventing mould build-up and damp patches.

 

4. Central locking system

A car’s central locking system allows the driver to lock and unlock all doors of a car at once. This could be adapted to a home’s security system. We’ve all been in bed at night and started wondering if we did actually lock the front door or not. With this technology, instead of getting out of a nice, warm, cosy bed to go all the way downstairs to find that you did actually lock it, instead, you simply press a central locking button, which automatically locks all doors and windows, giving you peace of mind.

 

5. Augmented reality windows (Head-up displays)

Augmented reality windows also referred to as Head-Up Displays to most, are the technology you can find in some luxury cars that display important information, such as SatNav directions, current speed and road speed limit, up onto the windscreen, to help prevent drivers from having to take their eyes off the road. 

This technology could be adapted onto house windows to show outside temperature, wind speed and direction, pollen count and the day’s forecast. 

Leasing with Hippo Leasing

Here at Hippo Leasing, we have a huge range of car leasing deals and offers, so whatever your budget or preferences, we’ve got you covered. Whether you know exactly what you’re looking for or need some help or advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll help you get the best car lease for you.