Snagging a Mosaic Tile Deal at the Habitat Re-Store

Sometimes the best finds come when you least expect them. I wasn’t even planning on hunting down tile the other day. My errands had me running through Dickson, TN, and on a whim, I decided to swing by the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. I was mainly keeping an eye out for some white kitchen cabinets, but I figured, why not peek at their tile section too?

Good thing I did.

The Backstory

If you’ve been keeping up, you know my shower remodel has been one long headache. I had almost two boxes of Marble Callacatta White 12×12 tiles already lined up. The plan was to get the rest of the tiles from Matt—you know, the one who was supposed to be helping me with the remodel. Long story short, I paid him $400, and let’s just say I got burned. No work done, no tiles delivered. Lesson learned.

So now I was short on tile and needed to find a way to finish this shower without throwing even more money into the pit.

The Surprise Score

When I hit the tile aisle at the Re-Store, I nearly stopped in my tracks. Sitting there was a box and a half of mosaic-style tiles—fifteen of them total. If you’ve ever priced mosaic tiles, you know they don’t come cheap. Around here, they run anywhere from $9 to $15 per piece.

I asked what they wanted for them, expecting some kind of hefty price tag. Instead, they offered me the whole stack for just $26.

Do the math with me: at $15 a piece, those 15 tiles would normally cost $226. I walked out of there with all of them for about a tenth of that. You better believe I didn’t hesitate—I scooped them up and headed straight to the checkout.

Why I’ll Keep Going Back

Deals like this don’t happen every day, but the Habitat Re-Store has a way of surprising you. It’s a mix of donated building supplies, leftover materials, and odd finds that can either make or break a project. That little box of mosaic tiles was exactly what I needed to keep this shower project alive without emptying my pockets even more.

From here on out, I’ll be stopping in weekly to see what else I can snag. Whether it’s cabinets, tiles, or just something I didn’t even know I needed yet, it’s worth the trip.

Because when you’re building out a homestead on a budget, every steal like this is one more win for the books.