We are pleased to announce the winners of the third annual ReStore ReUse Contest. The forty entries ranging from furniture to houses and everything in between, were built using predominantly reused materials. The judges selected winners in five categories: Furniture, Homesteading, Live/Work Space, Best in Show and the add-on category Most Unique. And for the first time, voting was also open to the public. Public voting in the ReStore and on Pinterest generated the winner in the People’s Choice category.

The winners are:

Homesteading – Tim and Amanda Sorrill

Furniture – Ana Medina

Live and/or Work Space – Wayne Ruth

Best in Show – John and Diane Vogt

Most Unique – Jeff Tallman

People’s Choice – Doug Parris

Photos of  these and all entries, can be viewed in this FlickR album.

The purpose of the contest is to showcase innovative projects constructed predominantly of used building materials. Entries were judged on quality of design and execution; replicability of concept; clarity of description; and quality of photos. “We really saw a lot of ingenuity and complexity this year,” said judge and ReStore General Manager Scott Stetson. “We even decided to add a Most Unique category to more fairly judge the entries that did not necessarily fit neatly into one of the other pre-established categories.”

In addition to Stetson, the judging panel included:

Joel Johnson, Asheville Habitat’s Home Repair Project Supervisor

Linda Keep, 2013 winner in the Furniture category

David Earl Tomlinson, local metalworker/metal artist and musician

Brigitte Bassham, Habitat homeowner, teacher, and reuse enthusiast

Keep, who won the Furniture category in 2013, especially loved this year’s winning entry in that category. “The door and bathroom vanity cabinet transformed into a mudroom bench is completely replicable – one of the criteria for judging. I could find a vintage door and old cabinet at the ReStore and make this project myself. And I think I might!”