Store

Some types of recycling are just plain eyesores, like toilets masquerading as planters. But at Second Use, a South Park warehouse filled with discarded building materials, the beauty is in the details. Outside, marble remnants in all sizes, shapes and colors are organized and cheap — a decent rectangular countertop runs $20. Inside, a collection of doorknobs show off ornate accents. If you need a door first, never fear: There are plenty, some as low as $5.

"If it's possible for glass blocks to be sexy, these are sexy!" reads the sign atop a stack of green-tinted squares. Who knows what else you'll find — an old lamplight, complete with bulb, mounted to a tiki totem for $45, or interlocking fish tiles in terra cotta colors for $10 apiece. Cherry panels from the Pioneer Bank in Seattle are here, too; a hand-lettered sign says, "Here's your chance to own history." Or perhaps you need a free ironing board — a sign teases, "We noticed that your clothes are wrinkled." This place is so down-to-earth, you can even bring your dog — on a leash, of course.

Here, where the thrill of the hunt leads to treasures untold, recycling is what it should be: a second chance for cast-offs to find aesthetically pleasing new lives. Even the toilets look good, displayed in symmetrical rows of pink, mint-green and plain white porcelain, their lids stacked in cubbyholes like books.

Tips: Second Use accepts donations for Habitat for Humanity. Also, if you have resellable items, you can bring them by for assessment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As for buying items, it's cash and carry with no returns and no holds.

By Alison Peacock
Special to NWsource