Ohmega Salvage General Store
Categories: Antiques, Home Decor [Edit]
2407 San Pablo Avenue(between Channing Way & Dwight Way)
Berkeley, CA 94702 (510) 204-0767
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
19 reviews
Neighborhood: North Oakland
"KEEEYOOOOT! Very stylish, reasonable priced and full of great ideas. I love the recycled paint idea. I find the place an inspiration."
21 Reviews for Ohmega Salvage General Store
When you're looking for a vintage sink or old radiator, this is where you come. They specialize in going to demolition sites and buying up all the cool architectural elements, which they then sell to people who are restoring houses or just like cool old architectural elements. There are two lots in Berkeley where they store all their old stuff. Visiting is like walking through a toilet and sink graveyard. They have every color, every style and although sometimes it feels like you're visiting a junkyard, there are some great finds. Prices vary from super good deals to prohibitively expensive.
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All I can say is that if you live in a house as old as mine this place is a godsend. I live in a 108+ year old house in Vallejo and when I need or am looking for that old door or window hardware or a period fixture that suits the architecture and style of your home this is where you'll find it. The best thing about Ohmega Salvage is that what you find is not a reproduction, it's authentic and the real thing....
It can be a pain in the ass to find something here but when you do - it makes life wonderful. A great resource for Vallejo home owners and a must see if you're renovating.
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If you love old, funky, unusual stuff and/or are a packrat, then you will love this place! They have giant Buddha heads made of concrete, they have Victorian tubs, they have all kinds of vintage fixtures, pulls, hardware, tiles, all kinds of cool stuff!
The down side is that some of the stuff (for good reason) is really expensive. So although you feel like you're walking thru a junk yard of sorts, the prices are not always cheap. However, you can find some awesome deals! I got two very cool crucibles for $11, and they are encrusted with metals from the pours, which gives them an amazing luster. Also, if you live in a hundred-year old home, like I do, then you can also match up lighting fixtures, or get a cool wall mounted ceramic ashtray to use as a soap holder.
Even if you don't buy anything, though, it's a place that can spark your creativity and imagination.... the old window frames from India are a very cool find, though they are pricey. The stained glass windows are cool, too.
So have fun here, and keep this place in mind for salvage materials for your enchanted garden, or a top for a funky "new" table that you build from scratch. Viva vintage stuff!
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If you're ready to buy something for really cheap and take the time to fix it up when you get home, here you go.
Pretty high class for a salvage store! I was impressed by their collection of antique knobs, lights, and switchplates. Once we get around to that stage in our home renovations, we are DEFINITELY going back. For now, we just got ourselves some nice wooden chairs at a very reasonable price. No attitude, no fuss.
Always worth checking here when you need replacement hardware for your SF flat, or if you have a project that could use some worn-in architectural elements. It makes me happy to know that some marble slabs pulled out of the Berkeley Library are now being used as a bar top at A16. That's a smart bar.
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I become bipolar when I come to Ohmega. Depressed because Ohmega sells beautiful architectural and decorative pieces that once belonged in homes now demolished or mutilated. Euphoric because they have what I need to restore my Craftsman home.
There are three Ohmega stores situated within two blocks of each other. Two of them (they are across the street from each other) sell wonderful original salvaged pieces and the third store (a few blocks away) sells brand new reproductions. Their focus is on pieces from pre-1950.
All salvaged items sold are in good condition and prices are not dirt cheap, but you will discover hard to find pieces that will help complete your projects. The store that sells reproductions is absolutely fascinating to go through.
The stores and their website are very organized, so you won't have to rummage through bins for items.
Helpful staff, credit cards accepted and parking in the street.
Website: http://www.ohmegasalva...
The pricing, man! I love to come here for ideas, but prefer the shop across the street for actual salvaged things that I can work on myself and make a silk purse out of.
Better yet, I go to Urban Ore.
It is great seeing places like this in Berkeley, but it really burned my biscuits when Ohmega booted out an eatery at the corner of Allston Way & San Pablo. That was over a year ago, and they've not done anything w/ that building yet. They already have three stores on San Pablo. What gives?
Who knows what you'll find at Ohmega. They have everything from stain glass windows, to claw foot tubs, to vintage door handles, to old tile, to slabs of granite and marble, to vintage banisters. If you're decorating your place and want something a little different, see what you can find in this salvage heaven. Yeah the prices were a little high, but their sister store across the street had some finds for less.
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As a child, I was addicted to the book, The Velveteen Rabbit. For those of you not familiar with the story. . .essentially it's about a stuffed animal that begins it's journey as a Christmas gift, then becomes a treasured part of a little boy's menagerie of stuffed animals, then the little boy gets Scarlet fever and the bunny is exposed to disease and tossed into a bin but eventually realizes it's dream to be real and comes alive because of the love of a child.. etc, etc, boo hoo blubbering idiot me. Well, for some reason that resonated with me and I began to believe that inanimate objects had feeling and longings just like our own. I assigned those feelings to my own stuffed animals and was very careful to make sure I did not favor one over the other. I rotated them nightly so that they each had a chance to sleep near me and be warm. My clothes got worn in even rotation so that one shirt didn't think I favored the other, etc. Yes, your typical well-adjusted child.
To this day, I do that with inanimate objects. I am cray cray I know, but I am okay with that.
I recently had the need for a new kitchen door. I have a cool little old 1920's house and I needed one of those old fashioned swinging doors. Off to Ohmega. We went to the posh side first - the one on the west side of San Pablo which is where they carry the items that are in better repair. I like to call it the rich folks side 'cause the prices there are insane. But they have some really gorgeous stuff. One of the favorites on this trip was an old Wedgewood stove that had been refurbished; it was gorgeous. I couldn't stop touching it and imagining I could feel the energy (shut up, I grew up in the Haight!) from all the different cooks who had cooked on that stove and all the different meals that had been cooked on it. I wanted to name it Mabel. . .oh, I didn't mention that did I? I name EVERYTHING. I am writing this review on Fuji which is my eMac. Yeah, like I said . . .cray cray.
Besides all the really cool stuff that you didn't know you wanted or needed at Ohmega are the people who work there. They are amazing!!! So helpful and knowledgeable and patient. When I said I needed a swinging kitchen door with the springy doohickey on the bottom and the metal chingadera 1 1/2 inches from the top the guy knew exactly what I meant and did not seem offended that I did not know the technical terms.
I was escorted across the street to the east side of San Pablo to the yard I think of as the po' folks side where they had a vast selection of swinging kitchen doors. As we narrowed down the few that fit my specifications I started looking for the one that spoke to me. The one I could name and be careful not to slam so I wouldn't hurt it's feelings. There were two. One was a show pony - all shiny varnish and gleaming brass fixtures but it was flimsy and lightweight - it's name would have been Daisy or Delilah. The other one had seen better days. Layers of paint, rusted fixtures and scars where the world had not been kind to it. It was solid and heavy. It's name would be Dominic or Buster. As I stood there looking at both doors side by side I decided that much like the Velveteen Rabbit, the solid heavy door had given someone comfort of sorts. Someone had been cozy behind this door. Little children has swung it back and forth. It had been pushed open to let the aroma of hundreds of meals waft throughout someones home. Maybe it had been opened to reveal someones sweetheart cooking a nurturing meal like it would be at my house. This was MY door. I wordlessly told the other hopeful doors that someone would bring them home soon and they'd be useful again someday, too.
Buster is sitting in my garage right now waiting for a date with my belt sander. I will be gentle as many people have applied paint to my big, strong door and while I want to make him as pretty as possible, I don't want to hurt him or take away his character. If layers of paint can tell the story of an inanimate object then my door has seen many a brush and many years. I would really like to get my hands on whatever pot smoking, 'shroom popping hippy that painted my poor door hot pink on one side and purple on the other. Poor Buster. .. I am sure he knows I'd never do that to him.
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This store's sister is right across the street and is a bit cheaper.
Great things to be found here. You can just smile at the prices, there is nothing else to be done about those.
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This is like a home renovator's petting zoo. I rent a very nice apartment that was gorgeous except it was missing an inner door. Because the building was built in the 20's everything was custom redwood in odd measurements, my landlord told me it would be hopeless to find a replacement. He told me he would pay for it if I did.
Needless to say, I paid very close attention to what Omega Salvage had in the yard and found the perfect door in my apartment's style. Though it is pine, I sanded it and restained it to match, and took the old original crystal hardware from a broken door in the basement. It looks fantastic! And of course my landlord thinks I'm expensive, but great since I make obsessive improvements. Thank you Omega!
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They have some beautiful pieces, like a pair of Chinese "foo dogs" that would be perfect for a front entryway of a home or welcoming you to a Chinese restaurant. But they were super pricey, $2500, for the pair. They have other Asian inspired items, like Buddha statues, the Indian elephant (Vishnu?), and small temples. It seems like the items have been restored since they look like new. The claw foot tubs inside the store were over $1000 but were beautiful.
Across the street are the items that look a little grungy but much better priced. They have a more organized selection of ceramic tiles, slate, and brick compared to other salvage yards. They also have some beautiful sink tabletops.
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Ok, this is a rather high-end salvage store. Actually, they have three stores in a one-block stretch, one of which specalizes in period lighting.
But I love going here. I've bought a lot of useless decorative items here -- iron letters, victorian grating etc. But if you really like something and it's priced well, buy it. It won't be there tomorrow.
i am totally in love with this place, the selection is incredible. some of stuff is practically museum-worthy.
yes, the prices are sometimes unreasonably high. but it makes a strange sort of sense to me, because of the reminder to restore, refresh, recycle, remember, honor beautifully crafted things and nurse them back to health.
at least that's how i see it ;-)
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Expensive, but where else can you find a good condition used fire escape with rails and all? Their deco era items (tubs, record players, etc) are beautiful. The collection of railings is a treasure trove.
Great salvage yard to browse. Occasionally, you can find something cool to buy. Not that cheap, but I have found some bargains. Mostly outdoor, so their inventory is exposed to the elements a lot more.
They have 3 locations. 2 that are across from each other and another one further down San Pablo that sells more restoration hardware and lighting fixtures. Street parking can be difficult on weekends.
Think of this place as an "Idea Garden", you show up to kill a little time and browse, and find yourself imagining uses for things you never even knew existed! Bit on the expensive side, but an awsome collection of odds and ends. Looking for that special something to add a little character to your home? You're in the right place!
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Far more than just a junk yard, it provides all the necessary components for the authentic restoration of older homes and flats, especially those of Victorian and Craftsman architecture, in two locations across from each other. At 2400 San Pablo, you'll find the nicer pieces, like entire arched window frames with the glass intact, pedestal bathtubs, fireplace mantles, ceiling medallions, with various pieces of Indian and Asian religious statues thrown into the mix. Not surprisingly, all of it costs a small fortune and a half. On the other side of the street, at 2407, the yard is strewn with lesser elements and fixtures that aren't as attractive, but at least the price tags won't make you pass out.
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Fun to rummage through all the salvaged stuff. However, beware that prices are very high.
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