The beautiful month of September! It’s fall! Our 30th Anniversary Homes and Hope Gala will be happening on September 28th and we would like to invite you, OUR community and OUR neighbors, to an event to celebrate Habitat’s mission for community wellness and all of our achievements in Cheboygan County over the last 30 years. We celebrate those that have made our many achievements possible and contribute toward better and safer housing in our close knit county, so OUR families can thrive and grow. We would love for you to participate in our Gala as a guest, sponsor, donor, volunteer or all 4!! You can purchase your tickets at the Administration Office, Cheboygan Chamber of Commerce, Straits Area Federal Credit Union - Cheboygan, Mackinaw City and Indian River branches, from Board and Committee members and Online. Or you can reach out to us here at the ReStore. We have them at the register. 

Thank you for your never ending support for our ReStore and community;
-Ashley Tribisondi, Restore Manager

Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity proudly announces that we have two move-in ready homes for sale and a home rehab project scheduled for sale in Summer 2025! Our 3-bedroom, 1-bath homes in Indian River are ready for occupancy, and our Cheboygan Western Avenue Project is currently undergoing renovations. One Indian River Home has a roll-in shower and a handicap ramp. We are actively seeking program applicants for all three homeownership projects.

Our Homeownership Program empowers working households in our community to achieve the dream of homeownership by eliminating barriers such as high interest rates, large down payments, unaffordable monthly payments, fierce competition with other buyers, and the need for a perfect credit score. These challenges often make it extremely difficult to purchase a home on the open market.

When purchasing a home through the Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity Homeownership Program, please remember the following points:

• Household income must fall within a minimum of $30,000 or 30% of the Area Median Income (whichever is larger) and a maximum of 80%.
•  Monthly PITI payment may not exceed 30% of your income.
•  Households must have a mortgage pre-approval for at least $195,000.
•  Homes will be sold at the appraised value. Applicants who can’t afford the sale price will have to take on a silent second mortgage.
• Households must have lived or worked in Cheboygan County for at least the past year.
• Habitat will work with households to find different down payment assistance options for which households may qualify.

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If you're ready to be a homeowner but find it challenging to compete in today's market, a Habitat home may be the perfect solution for you! To get started, please call 231-597-4663 Ext. 5 or email [email protected].

Everyone needs a hobby, and I have many.  Flower gardening, birdwatching, reading, rockhounding, family ancestry, visiting lighthouses and searching for old Civilian Conservation Corp camps are just a few of the things I love to do when time allows.

I recently realized that I needed something to satisfy my need to repair and recreate things, to take something old and worn and make it look new and beautiful again.  I thought what better way to do that than finding great wood pieces right here where I work and trying my hand at refurbishing something with the Dixie Belle paint we sell right here at the ReStore.  

I didn’t know how this was going to go, but I knew I had to try.  I have never been a crafty person.  I’m not good at drawing, I CAN NOT crochet or knit and frankly, watercolors make me a bit nervous.  But I am good at figuring things out and fixing things. So why not give this a try?

An old vanity with a great mirror came in as a donation.  It had good bones but was a bit rough and had great potential.  It sat unsold on the floor for 2 weeks and I just couldn’t leave it there any longer. It had to come home with me, to my husband’s dismay.  

I started by pulling out the drawers, removing the knobs and cleaning the entire piece.  I was lucky that it wasn’t very dirty, but the Dixie Belle (DB) White Lightning I used to clean it could have easily handled that.  I’d already seen it do wonders on pieces our “Dixie Belle Expert in Residence” Debbie Pond had cleaned before painting.  

The real work began with a light hand sanding over the entire piece just to rough the surface and get it ready.  Next came 2 coats of DB Bonding Boss to seal the wood and give it a good surface for the paint.  I taped it off so I could paint different sections the 2 colors I chose and got painting.

When I purchased the vanity, I knew it had to be painted blue, Nautical Blue, a nice bright navy, to be exact.  With a little help from Debbie, I settled on Sun Kissed as my second color. This one is a great, slightly off-white color with a sunny hint of yellow to it.  I wanted to try Dixie Belle’s Silk All-in-One line of paint.  Silk has a primer and topcoat built in and we hadn’t used it on any projects at the ReStore yet, so I figured I’d give it it’s maiden run (and save myself a little time and some additional products).

The Nautical Blue went on so easily.  I ended up doing 2 coats though it probably didn’t need it.  Next came 2 coats of Sun Kissed and when I looked at the results, I couldn’t believe it.  Did I really do that?  Me?  I’m not good at this sort of thing, but this is gorgeous!!  With new confidence I tackled the 3-section mirror. Painter’s tape and patience made the curved parts manageable with only a little clean up on the glass with a razor blade.  I finished the whole piece with 2 coats of DB Flat Clear Coat for extra protection.  I didn’t have to, but I have 2 cats that climb on everything and knock things over, no more explanation needed.

I put it all back together, attached the mirror and thought I was done. I decided that I could do more.  I used some of the Nautical Blue I had left to paint the knobs and put a border around the outside of the mirror.  That was just what it needed.  I hated the old, outdated contact paper inside the drawers, so it had to go. Honestly, getting that out was the hardest part of the whole project.  I Bonding Boss coated the inside of the drawers, used Badlands Silk on the inside and decoupaged the bottom.  Decoupage is an intimidating word, but 2 YouTube videos later I knew I could do it.  And Voilà!

If I can do this, so can you.  The feelings of relaxation, confidence and pride my new hobby has given me are priceless.

Disclaimer:  All Dixie Belle paint, brushes and other DB products were purchased at the ReStore except for the decoupage paper which I ordered online, though the ReStore has some of that too. 

Stay tuned for my next project and post in October, a simple wood chest that turned into a labor of love that was anything but simple.

​-Melissa Tallman, Operations Manager.

This week was full of fun and laughter as we dove into out reach by participating in Family Fun Day and Ladies Day at the Cheboygan County Fair! We painted rocks with children of all ages during Family Fun Day and met a plethora of hard working, inspiring women during Ladies Day. Without the help and support of this wonderful community we wouldn't be able to help as many families as we do. Thank you, so very much for your continued support. We hope you enjoy these pictures from our event tables!

On July 30th we had the gracious opportunity to partner with J & R Building Movers and Cheboygan County Sheriff to complete the transportation of our next rehab project. Together, we were able to move this house onto Western Ave in Cheboygan to a new foundation, a new start, a new base of success for a local family. When we collaborate and unify we are able to move mountains to create a safer, more affordable community for everyone. To help further our mission you can volunteer your time, you can donate gently used furniture to the ReStore, you can even attend our upcoming 30th Gala to show your support. Any way you can assist us allows us to work that much harder in other areas to achieve our goal of building homes, communities and hope.

Enjoy some photos from our eventful day of moving a Habitat home!