One would be hard-pressed to call a stop sign refined, or consider kitsch clutches anything beyond modestly clever … but these pieces walk that strange narrow (dotted white or double-yellow?) line between junk object reuse and fine furniture design.

Designer Tim Delner labels his work as “stolen government property built by Tim” and, sure enough, the wear and tear on each of these signs suggests it saw some real-life use before being co-opted as part of a new art/furniture object.

But now down to the nuts and bolts: public signage, license plates, plumbing pipes … all of these have been utilized as craft project materials before. So what makes these different? From coffee tables and miniature cabinets to stools and chairs, the answer is in the details.

Each curve, joint and intersection is carefully arranged in response to various elements, from the existing designs on the signs themselves to the overall layout of the pieces.

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