Shop the Hardware Store: 25 Inexpensive, Surprisingly Good-Looking Design Finds

This week we’re revisiting some of the most popular summer stories from the archives. Here’s one:

Consider this our ode to the humble hardware store, the affordable emporium of just about anything you need (and several things you didn’t know you needed). The wares in a hardware store epitomize beauty in function: These are practical workhorses, often designs that haven’t changed in decades (or even centuries). They’re built to last, sometimes multi-purpose—and many of them are surprisingly good-looking.

Over the years several hardware store essentials—from drop cloths to trusty porcelain light sockets—have made their way into each of our arsenals and become Remodelista icons. Here are the hardware store favorites we’ve returned to, and used in our own homes, again and again.

N.B.: We’re advocates of supporting your local hardware store—the dustier, the better—but if shopping online is easier, national stores do the trick, too.