Homeowner Jenny Pike was undergoing a full home renovation when she found two brand new solar tubes in Community Forklift’s online store. At half the price of anywhere else she’d looked, Pike was quick to make a trip to the Community Forklift Reuse Warehouse to pick them up. But, while she was there, she took a look around. One trip turned into another, and she kept going back.
“I was there every week! I was just haunting it. I would go see what was there and how I could possibly use it in the renovation. Eventually, I’d found cabinetry, interior doors, tile, and a sink,” says Pike.
Her experience using salvaged materials from Community Forklift throughout her project was extensive. She found ways to use repurposed materials in nearly every major space in the house, giving a second life to materials while conserving natural resources, preventing landfill waste, and supporting Community Forklift’s work — this is all in addition to to saving herself money!
Here’s more about Pike’s renovation and the materials she used from Community Forklift.
“I was there [at Community Forklift] every week! I was just haunting it. I would go see what was there and how I could possibly use it in the renovation. Eventually, I’d found cabinetry, interior doors, tile, and a sink.”
Repurposing Cabinetry Throughout the Home Renovation
On one of Pike’s trips to Community Forklift, she spotted a high-quality 27-piece set of cabinets which, as one might guess, is a lot of cabinetry for one kitchen. But, at the price, Pike knew it was worth snagging the whole set and using it throughout her home.
“The cabinetry just kept on giving!,” exclaimed Pike, who repurposed it throughout her home.
The kitchen was completely gutted, and the cabinets were installed in the space. While there were a few imperfections, Pike found a contractor that could fix and modify them to work within the new kitchen. She added other pieces from Community Forklift in the kitchen, including a washer, tiles, and shelves.
Additional cabinetry from the original set was used for a workbench, as cabinetry for the washing machine, and even for dressers in the bedrooms. Pike creatively topped various pieces with butcher block and dresser tops to make the cabinets work in their new homes.
Giving a Styled Look to the Basement
For the basement kitchen, Pike found additional cabinetry at Community Forklift that was originally a bathroom set. This black cabinetry included a countertop, and she used Poggenpohl upper cabinets from Community Forklift. She found the Poggenpohl cabinets for $20 each and said, “I wasn’t sure what I Was going to do with them, but I thought, it’s worth buying them even without a plan. With that quality, it was worth the risk that I might not use them.”
But she did use them, along with floor tiles, a refrigerator, and a GE Advantium oven that all came from Community Forklift. Additional cabinetry was used in the basement bathroom, as well as a sculptural sink that became the showcase moment in that space.
The Impact of Donated Materials
Pike used cabinets and fixtures throughout other bathrooms and renovated spaces. Her home renovation is living proof that the materials donated to Community Forklift have a measurable impact on reducing waste and helping our community. When Pike purchased her 27-cabinet set and other materials, not only did the purchase price go towards supporting Community Forklift’s work, but an enormous amount of material was kept out of a landfill. The cabinets outfit not only a kitchen, but also a bathroom, workbench area, and dressers throughout the home. The sheer size of this one donation and subsequent purchase is significant — and it happens every day at Community Forklift.
If you’re interested in donating deconstructed or leftover materials to Community Forklift, find out more about our donation process here.
The homeowner incorporated cabinetry, tile, shelving, and a dishwasher from Community Forklift into their reconfigured kitchen.
The basement bathroom incorporates salvaged cabinetry (not pictured) and a sculptural sink from Community Forklift.
In the basement, the homeowner created a kitchen using cabinetry, floor tiles, a countertop, a refrigerator, and an oven from Community Forklift’s reuse warehouse.
Cabinetry left over from the kitchen set makes an appearance in the hall bathroom, reconfigured as a vanity.
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
