Caravati’s Inc.

A really cool place if you’re looking for historically accurate or restoration pieces for your home. They even upcycle some pieces, like a new bar I saw there recently that I believe was made out of old radiators. You’ve got to stop by!

This place was fascinating to walk through. Lots of gorgeous pieces that would be great for a house restoration project or even for sprucing up a current apartment. I’ll definitely consider Caravati’s in my future renting/​home-​owning adventures.

If you’re looking to remodel, refit, or renovate a building and have a lot of flexibility and control on design, this is the place to go to get ideas and to find pieces to design rooms and homes around.
This place is seriously cool just to go and visit. If you’re good with your hands or very creative, you’ll definitely find some good things to use here. It’s also fantastic if you have an older home and need to find replacement fixtures.
The whole place is a little dusty (reasonable, given the trade) but it’s uncluttered enough to walk around in and you won’t leave filthy, either. Lots of light to look at things, and WONDERFULLY some things are very organized. If you’re able to get a window, for instance, they’re organized by width in inches. That’s amazing and so helpful, and I’ll bet it helps them sell things that would otherwise be lost in the piles.
Most of the furniture here is either very large and pulled out of an older home (so very solid and durable) or repurposed from other materials (a lamp made out of an old spoke).
There’s lot of brick, tile, etc and there may or may not be enough of it for your patio or bathroom project, but you should certainly check if you’re nearby. They also have a lot of older doorknobs, hinges, and so forth. They have a ton of doors, columns, banisters, clawfoot bathtubs (with your choice of clawfeet, too!), shutters, toilets, old stoves, you name it. My favorite thing was an older metal spiral staircase (currently painted in red). If I could design a dream house, I’d find a way to fit that in!
The building itself is very cool, too. The staff is helpful but lets you wander around without being set upon a lot. A very cool place that I’ll be visiting again.

It it came from a building, you can find it at Caravati’s. This is our go-​to place for items that are historically correct for our Museum District home. You can find everything from a soap dish and door knobs to staircases and doors. We even bought an old piece of granite curbing to make a step to our deck. This place is always an adventure. Don’t always expect a super bargain because sometimes you have to pay a «new» price for something «old». For example, a sink at Caravati’s will cost as much as Homedepot, BUT you will have something historically accurate for your home.
Cheers.

I love everything about Caravati’s from the location, to the actual building, to how things are arranged. This place has everything as others had described. Even if you’re not in the process of redoing your house you should still drop by, it’s just a place worth experiencing. Oh and the staff was wonderful.

If the Carlton Arms in Manhattan is where furniture goes to die, Caravatis is where entire houses go to die. I love coming up here and browsing through the dusty stacks of windows, shutters, doors, staircases and various housing ephemera. It’s seriously awesome. If dusty. Don’t wear your church suit here. Or flip flops. Covered toes are a must when a giant stack of shingles could bear down on you at any moment… um. and maybe watch your toddler closely. You’re going to need another Timmy if he gets lodged in the pink toilet on the top of the stack of 60s era fixtures.
I regaled my sister with the story of how their credit card machine went down and I –a «no cash» person– paid for my purchase with wadded up dollars and change from the dregs of my purse until –several dollars short of my total– the owner cried, «Okay! Okay already, just stop! I feel so bad!»
My sister immediately gleefully replied, «Oh yeahhh! I love haggling with Caravatis!»
Wait. This is a haggling establishment?! I didn’t know that! Damn. I should have, but I didn’t. So wear your grubby clothes and bring the lintiest change at the bottom of your purse and prepare to go home with that slightly rounded window that fits perfectly in that gable that little Timmy busted out last spring.

Holy shit!!!
My husband and I bought a classic 70’s style house. There are some much needed renovations that we’re doing, and we’ve been trying hard keep to the style of the house. Thank goodness for the internet, as we’ve been able to find a plethora of reclamation stores that have salvaged details from old houses and churches.
Originally, we weren’t going to visit Caravati’s as it’s all the way down in Richmond, however, we were surprisingly free on a Saturday (somehow all social engagements were canceled! It’s a MIRACLE), so we took the opportunity to hop into the car and make the 3 hour drive down.
Caravati’s is a GINORMOUS two story warehouse that has… well…everything! Lighting, doors, frames, scroll-​work, stained glass, windows, fixtures… if you can think of it, they probably have it! Although it’s incredibly overwhelming at first, they have categorized items pretty neatly. It’s just digging through the aisles and aisles of window frames to find the one with the exact type of glass that can be frustrating, but oh what a fun frustration it is!
We found old claw-​foot tubs — which I have determined, architectural period be damned, I am going to own one! There were stained glass pieces that made my heart sing! And stoves from the 1940’s that made me all a quiver (it’s not like I cook anyways! HAHA!)!
Definitely amazing, and we’re so coming back. With a Uhaul truck.

I have an affinity for anything relating to architectural salvage. I find this place amazing and perfect for a rainy day or when you are in the mood to browse random shops. This is my second time here after stumbling on it during one of my random googling sessions. Whether you’re looking for old lights, doors, windows, stained glass, etc, etc, etc… this place has it. It’s fascinating and you can get lost looking in the dark corners for a random gem that many have overlooked. The old church stained glass windows made me foam at the mouth, but my eyes are bigger than my wallet at that point. Enjoy~

I love poking around in this place. I think of it as a graveyard for old houses, and the craftsmanship of the last century always amazes me.
It’s got great architectural salvage so if you’re renovating an old house from the early 20^th century, you can find old windows, doors, and hardware and all sorts of trim.
I bought a fab fireplace mantel here and some old lintels. Some of the stuff, especially in the really high-​end section is pricey, but most merchandise is about the same as it would cost through an online architectural salvage place.
Just measure carefully if you’re buying something like windows, doors, or mantels.

Caravati’s is a giant two story warehouse down in Manchester, filled with salvage from old homes. They have everything from mint green toilets to giant 10 ft stained glass windows. They’ve actually pulled whole porches off of houses and transported them to their warehouse, where you can now purchase them (if you are so inclined).
The first floor of the warehouse has a few sectioned off rooms, with fine antiques and some of the more ornate pieces in them… it’s almost like a mini store in some rooms. And then upstairs it’s more like a typical salvage warehouse– a little grimy, a little cluttered, but you can find cool stuff if you don’t mind hunting around.
Caravati’s is cool to visit, and it can definitely get your imagination going– but truthfully I think it’s ridiculously expensive– I’ve seen cases with glass door knows in them for $ 50-​$ 100. I mean, they are lovely doorknobs… but they are still used, and old. For that price, I might as well go to Restoration Hardware and get something brand new that looks old :)
Nevertheless, the list of things they carry is truly amazing, and if you are looking for an antique piece or just need some salvage materials to complete a project, here’s the full list of what they have:
Pedestal Sinks
Tile /​Ceramics
Toilets
Wall Sinks
Building Materials
Brick
Roofing
Cabinetry
Ceiling Medallions
Columns /​capitals /​bases
Doors
Corbel Brackets
Fireplace Mantles
Glass
Back Plates /​Escutcheons
Door Knobs
Hinges
Lock Sets
Locks
Sash Weights /​Pulleys
Shutter
Window Locks /​Lifts
Kitchen Cabinets
Chandeliers
Lamps
Sconces
Shades
Shutters
Stained Glass
Stair Parts
Balusters
Newel Posts
Railings
Windows