Congratulations to the winners of our 14th Annual ReStore ReUse Contest!

Best in Show – Kris Medic built a gate for Sand Hill Community Garden, which raises around 1.5 tons of organic produce per year for neighbors in need. The gate was built from donated reclaimed heart pine barn wood, while the hinges, hasp, and padlock were reused from the old gate. It was finished with a reclaimed wine rack as a decorative feature and crowned with a plastic toy pig found by a volunteer digging in the garden years back — another fixture from the previous gate.

Art – Janet Orselli transformed old things into the unexpected, aiming for laughter and surprise with “Tom Peeper,” a figure created from a badminton racket, wooden disc, wooden dowels, a tooth, a wood box, a child’s block, screwdriver handles and hardware from the ReStore, toy bowling pins, clogs, and lots of love.

Furniture & Home Decor – Patricia MacManus rehabilitated a Hoosier cabinet found at the Asheville ReStore by replacing a rotting floorboard and two drawers, repairing the tambour door with a piece of ribbon, and applying fresh paint. Once waxed and buffed, Patricia found exact replacements for missing hardware online to finish it. The cabinet still has its original flour sifter and bin.

Dwelling – Morgan Harris brought an old dream of building a greenhouse to life, collecting old windows and holding onto them even between moves. After purchasing a home in 2018, Morgan slowly began D.I.Y. remodels while saving wood reclaimed from removed walls. Morgan was able to build their dream greenhouse with the reclaimed wood and collected windows, including two from the ReStore.

Photos of winning entries and all submissions can be seen in this online photo album.

Category winners were decided through public voting on the ReUse Contest webpage. The Best in Show winner was selected by a panel of judges made up of ReStore volunteers. 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:

Kayren McKnight – ReStore Volunteer
Bryan Bennett – ReStore Volunteer
Jesse Gingrich – ReStore Volunteer