Most designers begin a remodel by choosing what to trash. Petz Scholtus chose what to collect from the trash to be upcycled (recycled for a higher use).  When Scholtus bought her Barcelona apartment in 2006 it had no plumbing nor electricity, though it had some choice trash, like the long piece of glass she stopped her construction crew from throwing away. With two sawhorses (recovered from the street) for legs, it became her dining room table. Other furniture was scavenged directly from the street, like a chair she later covered with old newspapers (mostly from Scholtus' native Luxembourg) and her ubiquitous Bidon lamps made from used jerry cans and a CFL lightbulb. Much of the kitchen furniture- the shelves, island and FSC-certified countertop- was bought from IKEA, though the style-making piece are the cabinets constructed from old wine boxes (some of which Scholtus and her partner drank themselves).