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Last weekend, after finishing some (exhausting) volunteer work with some fellow grad students, I decided I was close enough to Habitat Restore (the Grant Park location) to check things out. I’d been meaning to visit a long time ago, but then… you know… suddenly it’s nap time and a new season of Archer is on Netflix.
I’d heard that it’s basically like a thrift home improvement store. Builders and contractors will drop items off after renovating a house, so new and used home supplies wind up at Restore with a steep discount. The stock can range from decorative items to actual behind-the-walls types of supplies. I immediately recognized a few schoolhouse light shades (my guess is they first came from somewhere like Lowe’s, since that’s where I got mine). While these aren’t very expensive at the home improvement store to begin with (I spent $4 on each replacement shade for my upstairs hallways), the discount at Restore was about 50-70%. If you only need one or two and aren’t concerned about them matching perfectly, consider stopping here first.
When restaurants or hotels renovate or close down, their furnishings may be donated to Restore, too. I loved the arms on this set of chairs. I think a little paint and new fabric could give them new life in a dining room. I still need to find two more chairs for my dining room makeover (cough cough I’ll get back around to it soon cough), so I may swing back to see if these are still available next weekend.
Unique to this store: a local high-end lighting fixture designer donates all of their discontinued models. The top two are examples of some of the modern fixtures I spotted (I love that large white one). The copper ones (my favorite, since I’m hoping to incorporate a lot of copper into my kitchen makeover) appeared to be from a restaurant liquidation. There were at least ten in various states of wear & tear lining several shelves. Again, I may have to swing back to see if any are left.
As you can probably guess from that previous picture, the items may sell at a discount, but it’s not uncommon to find pricier items. These signs were HUGE. At $99, I think that big blue one would look really cool in a modern setting (I’m thinking white walls and brick, minimal furnishings).
Toward the back of the store are the actual home improvement supplies. Like this container full of wood chips. And tile. And doors. And grout. And…
I almost picked up a set of these gloves. Nitrile coated gloves withstand a lot and are usually around $20 for a set. There was a giant bin of these guys at less than three bucks per pair.
My trip to Restore was short-lived, but I’m glad I went. Just like a thrift store, discounts and specials are posted each week (like 30% off for light fixtures, 20% off for certain days of the week, etc.). I didn’t actually wind up purchasing anything (just the thought of pulling out my wallet seemed exhausting after a morning of wearing out my shoulders), but now I’m definitely thinking I need to check out the other Atlanta location too. Have you been to Habitat Restore? Did you find anything unique?
We go to the Habitat store before we go to a big box store as ours often has flooring and lighting. We’ve redone most of our house through Habitat and we’ve completely furnished my mom’s vacation home with it! If there wasn’t habitat my life would be a sad sad place. Plus, it makes me feel good knowing my money is staying in the community and it’s helping habitat since we don’t have as much time to go out to builds as we used to.
YES TO ARCHER! That new season popping up is why I have done no projects at all this week.
We love our Habitat Store… they even did a black Friday thing this year where they had 50% off their prices, which were already 50% off original prices for the whole weekend. It was amazing and I got enough paint brushes and sandpaper to never have to resuse any ever again.
I am really jealous of that. We have two in the Atlanta area, so I’m hoping I can take a trip to the other one soon and check out what it’s like. Considering that this one had unique modern lighting, I can’t wait to see what the other might have (and next time, I’ll be more awake/prepared to take things home).
I love the Restore! I get all of lightbulbs there. Brand new in the box CFLs for $1! Can’t argue with that..
YES! I love Habitat ReStores. I have struck gold there a few times! I found a pendant for our kitchen there for just $2!! (you can see it here http://www.beautifulmatters.com/2012/12/new-kitchen-pendant-rugs/)
I was excited when one opened up near us- walking distance no less! Of course walking there is no help if I find something great and need to come back with the truck. ;)
I keep meaning to check out my local habitat store, but I never really seem to be on that side of town. This has prompted me to maybe make a special trip out that way so I can check the place out and to see if I can maybe find some tile for a small project I’ve been meaning to do for the past (almost) 3 years…
I visited one in FL and bought enough vinyl tile (the thick ones you use with adhesive) to tile 2 small bathrooms for $16
That sounds like one serious find!
I think it’s time to head back to our Restore! You spotted some serious gems!!!
1) I’m loving the new season of Archer, but am ready to kill off Cyril.
2) I keep meaning to go to my local Restore and still haven’t managed: I’m never on that side of town. :(
I’m kinda over Cyril too!
Our Habitat Restore here blows. But thankfully we have this amazeballs place called Community Forklift that more than makes up for it! They seriously have EVERYTHING. Including a 1950s era washing machine tub with the attached roller to squeeze out the water before you hang it on the line. For the life of me I can’t convince the hubs that I NEED it!
That place sounds awesome. I should do more to find local places that kick ass like that!
Thanks for the idea! We have one here and although it is exciting, it can be hard to find stuff. They are great at having amazing sinks and faucets though. But I will have to look up these two addresses for when I go to Haven. Hopefully, I’ll have free time!
Sounds like a place we need to check out, and it looks like we have three in our area. Thanks for the tip!
I love Habitat! I was on the board of my campus chapter and did Americorps with them in 2007. The proceeds from the store help fund their building projects, if I remember correctly.
Wow… my restore NEVER has cool stuff like this! I have picked up a few deals for sure, but never really decor items! I’m super super jealous!!!