From the mundane to the unique, the uses for salvage material in your home are endless. Builders, contractors and remodelers are realizing they’re better off disposing of left-over and replaced materials and items in salvage yards rather than in landfills and garbage dumps — which means there is a veritable cornucopia of selection available for you to use in your home.

Basic Materials

Left-over supplies are the most common thing you’ll find in a salvage yard — lumber, light fixtures, floorboards, hardware, plumbing fixtures and so on. Read up or bring an expert with you, so you know what you’re getting — often times the supplies are surplus and in nearly perfect shape, you’ll still want to inspect everything before you buy it.

Replacements

Salvage yards are a great place to find doors, cabinets, sinks — ready made and often good-as-new. The key to getting the most out of shopping for salvage is to remain flexible in your vision of what will work in your home, without abandoning your design guidelines altogether. Figure out what is non-negotiable for your requirements — you want a single control faucet sink in the kitchen, you can only fit a pedestal sink in the powder room — and what you can play with décor-wise.

Creative Design

One of the best things to come out of salvage yard shopping are new and eye-catching uses for old things. Whether old column headers for table legs, flower pots as pendant lights, or even the old but never tired tire-as-swing — salvage yards are full of things that you can use to make your home your own — and save money and help the planet at the same time.

For more ideas on how to use salvage materials in your home, check out these resources:

• 11 Clever Ways to Use Salvaged Building Materials in Your Home (House Logic)
• Salvage (This Old House)
• Tips for using salvaged building materials (Arizona Central)