Santa has his workshop at the North Pole, and we have ours down the street from our office. The Wills Company workshop is where we construct custom carpentry projects, such as garden gates and bookshelves, before installing them on site. It’s where we store materials for everyday household repairs and improvements, such as insulation, caulk and paint. And it’s where we take surplus supplies and architectural salvage left over from renovating. 

Finding treasures in our storeroom!

With such an eclectic collection on hand, our workshop can look like a lost chorus from The Sound of Music. Sing it with us, in your best Julie Andrews voice:

“Round metal columns and piles of roof shingles,

Storm doors and windows and a doorbell that jingles,

Belle Meade Green shutters and copper flashing…

These are a few of our favorite things.”

While all these odds and ends won’t find a use in our workshop, many are still too serviceable to throw away. So, after a recent Wills Company workshop tidy-up and reorganization, our handymen loaded a truck with perfectly good building supplies and donated them to Habitat for Humanity ReStore at the intersection of Harding Place and Nolensville Road.

With three stores in the Greater Nashville area, including Dickson and Wilson County locations, ReStore is a valuable resource for anyone shopping for home-building supplies or trying to keep building materials out of the landfill. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville sells the reclaimed items and directs proceeds to programs that empower affordable homeownership. 

Donating to ReStore is easy: Drive around to the back of the building, where the team will help you unload. ReStore will also pick up heavy items. Call 615-942-1290 to schedule a pickup, and visit habitatnashville.org for a list of items that can be donated. (Helpful hint: Full cans of water-based paint only.)

Meanwhile, if you know anyone holiday dreaming of metal porch columns, a roof gable vent, or a brand-new almond-colored storm door, take your gift list to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore at 414 Harding Place, where you just might find a few of our favorite (recently donated) things.

Happy Holidays from The Wills Company!