One of the challenges of renovating an old house is deciding what to keep and what to toss. Some features can’t be restored and others you just don’t want to. For instance, this built-in cabinet looks like it is original to the house. It has a marble top and Victorian-looking drawer pulls.

Drew hates it. I have mixed feelings. I love the detail but in reality we need a closet in that location and it is not very elegant. It’s the same for other details in the house such as some of the moldings and a cast iron claw-foot tub. But we can’t just throw them out because they are history! Enter Build it Green, NYC.

Build It Green! NYC,  located in Brooklyn, is a non-profit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials and home furnishings. The warehouse has everything from panel doors to high end refrigerators. On our last visit, they even had an antique phone booth. Our daughter could not figure out how the dial telephone worked. Its mission is to keep materials out of the landfill, while offering deep discounts on their resale. What we can’t sell, we will donate here and get the tax deduction. Oh yeah and be green.

Another good resource that we plan on checking out is Demolition Depot, located in Harlem. This shop is a popular source for vintage plumbing fixtures, doors, windows, shutters, railings, gates, grills, mantels, stone and terracotta pieces, religious objects and more. Its fixtures are geared towards the re-creation and renovation of period places.