ReStore Helps Turn a House Into a Home at The Heights

What can a few great ReStore finds do for an empty house? Quite a lot, it turns out. Twin Cities ReStore outlets offer gently used items at great prices. Customers can furnish their spaces with unique and quality items without paying extravagant costs.  

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity recently staged one of its homes at The Heights, our largest-ever development on St. Paul’s Greater East Side, and included furniture and décor from ReStore. With the help of a local interior designer, homebuyers can better imagine what life could look like in a brand-new Habitat home.

The staged home also brings together two sides of Twin Cities Habitat’s work: creating affordable homeownership opportunities and helping people affordably make those houses feel like home.

Why Stage a Habitat Home?

As Twin Cities Habitat nears completion of Phase I at The Heights, dozens of new homes are becoming available to buyers. But walking through an empty house doesn’t always make it easy to picture living there. That’s especially true when buyers are encountering a new floor plan or trying to determine how furniture will fit into an open-concept space.

“Staging just enhances the unit,” says Jessica Coyle, Real Estate Development Manager at Twin Cities Habitat. “You get a different feeling walking through a furnished space versus an open space.”

Unlike traditional real estate staging, the goal isn’t to increase the price of the home. Twin Cities Habitat homes are sold at fair market value based on comparable homes in the neighborhood. Instead, staging creates an emotional connection and helps prospective buyers understand how the space can work for their lives.

“You can really see, this is where you can fit a desk or where you can fit a bed,” Jessica says.

Now, prospective buyers touring the staged home can see how an open area might become a living room, where a cozy reading nook could fit, or how furniture and storage solutions can make the most of every square foot.

Partnering with ReStore

When the team decided to stage a two-level townhome, partnering with ReStore was an easy choice. Twin Cities Habitat had previously used ReStore furniture to stage a home in Roseville, and the results spoke for themselves. The eventual buyer liked the furniture and décor so much that they chose to keep many of the pieces.

New homeowners need to furnish their spaces, often while navigating all the other expenses that come with buying a home. ReStore offers an affordable way to find furniture, lighting, décor, home improvement materials, and other items that can help turn a new house into a home.

“Showcasing the value of ReStore to potential homebuyers is a benefit for them, too,” Jessica says. And because ReStore gives donated items a second life, the project demonstrates that creating a beautiful, welcoming home doesn’t require buying everything new.

Finding the Potential in ReStore Finds

To bring the vision to life, Twin Cities Habitat partnered with Adel Gardner, a local Home Stager and owner of Interiors for All. Adel brought both design expertise and a passion for sustainability and reuse to the project.

A longtime ReStore shopper, she knows that sometimes a secondhand piece just needs someone to see its potential.

“What I picked out at ReStore, maybe people wouldn’t have seen that they had potential,” Adel says. “Maybe they wouldn’t have seen how these pieces come together.”

She shopped ReStore for pieces that could complement the home, selecting living room décor, bamboo tables, glass-topped end tables, and a kitchen cart.

Reuse is already an important part of Adel’s design philosophy. She regularly incorporates secondhand pieces into her work and refreshes items rather than replacing them.

“Some home stagers will buy things and then resell them, but I reuse things,” she says. “I spray paint things to keep them in good shape.”

For Adel, thoughtful design isn't simply about making a room look nice. It's about creating an environment that supports the people who live there.

“People want to outfit their spaces but don’t always do it, whether it’s money or lack of inspiration,” Adel says. “But your environment can help you feel good. I like to see people make their environment work for them.”

Helping Buyers Picture Home

Since the staging was completed, the response from prospective buyers has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The feedback has been great,” Jessica says. “Homebuyers can see how the spaces can be used and how they might introduce furniture in different ways. It feels less like a squeaky-clean space; it feels warm and inviting. It feels cozier.”

For prospective buyers, touring a furnished home offers a chance to picture where they'll eat dinner, relax at the end of the day, work from home, or gather with family and friends.

Ultimately, that's exactly what the ReStore staging project is meant to accomplish. “The goal is to sell these units,” Jessica says. “As soon as a unit is ready, a homeowner can move in.”

With a little creativity, some great secondhand finds, and a fresh perspective, ReStore is proud to help prospective buyers picture their home at The Heights.

Interested in purchasing a home at The Heights through Twin Cities Habitat? Click here to learn more and get started!