Congratulations to the winners of our 12th Annual ReStore ReUse Contest!
Best in Show – Dan Torrington designed and built a baby changing table as a gift to his sister and newborn niece. Working with his sister, he constructed shelves from leftover hickory hardwood flooring, side panels from pine beadboard cutoffs from the ReStore, and assembled the frame from four 2×4’s. The table is custom built to fit below the window in his niece’s nursery, allowing her to look out at the trees. “This project is a testament to the power of thoughtful design with reused materials to change lives (and babies),” says Dan.
Art – Michel Walton brought her “Bat Bots” to life from trim board scraps, upcycled metal fixtures, and paint. Cutting two-inch sections of trim board and engraving them with a dremel tool gave shape to the bats before painting on details and affixing rusty screws, damaged grommets, washers, and pieces of a disassembled steamer basket from the ReStore to complete the quirky little creatures.
Furniture – Jeff Turner combined a stainless steel farm sink and an old antique dresser from the ReStore into an impressive, upcycled sink cabinet. The sink replaced the dresser top, which he later repurposed into side wings for additional counter space. He then disassembled, sanded, and fractal burned the top drawer to create a decorative apron for the sink. The remaining drawers, cut and reinforced to make space for the sink drain, remain for additional storage. The dresser retains its original finish.
Home Decor – Sheila Thibodeaux found inspiration in bulk when she stumbled across a pallet of cafeteria lunch trays at the Asheville ReStore. She upcycled 100 of the trays, a wall mounted sink, laminate flooring, a mirror, board games, a light fixture and a rug (all found at the ReStore) into a new “Tray Chic” board game bathroom with one-of-a-kind wall paneling.
Homesteading – Christine Bailey constructed her passive solar greenhouse from cob (clay soil, sand, and straw) and recycled windows, lumber, bottles, and glass baubles. The foundation stones and soil came from piles of landscaping materials left by a previous homeowner, while the door, wooden windows, and decorative glass globes set in the walls were sourced from the ReStore. Lumber used in the construction was reused, salvaged, or broken down from old pallets.
Live/Work Space – Judy Davidson took six unmatched doors from the ReStore and converted them into a custom privacy fence. First refinishing and repainting the doors to match her house trim, she assembled the fence by slotting the doors into a stair-stepped 2×4 frame along the ground, connected them with 2x4s, and secured the structure to 4×4 end posts in the ground.
Photos of winning entries and all submissions can be seen in this online photo album.
Entries were judged on replicability of concept; quality of design and execution; clarity of description; and quality of photos. Winners received a gift certificate to the Habitat ReStore.
The judging panel was comprised of:
Laurie Huttenen – Habitat homeowner
Dennis Schauber – ReStore Volunteer (with OLLI)
Paul Ginther – 2021 ReUse Contest Winner (Furniture)
Danielle Belletete – ReStore Associate
Danny Mendl – Communications Coordinator
