May 21, 2025

Unique, Handcrafted Woodworking is happening at Renovatio Woodworks

Lima Township, Repurpose, Rustic, Woodworking

Renovatio is a Latin word that means rebirth.

That’s what’s happening inside the woodshop off of Jackson Road in Lima Township, where Renovatio Woodworks is located. It’s there that Matthew Millar, a woodworking artisan, is creating handcrafted rustic furniture and unique home decor from vintage wood, metal and found treasures.

Millar is a true practitioner of repurposing and the functional arts. He’s been doing this most of his life. Ever since he was seven-years-old, when his grandfather handed him some tools and wood to work with while he attended to his beekeeping.

“I really like the creative part of it,” Millar said. “Seeing an old piece of barn wood and looking at it and thinking, what can I do with that?”

Woodworking services, designing and building furniture and home decor, reupholstery and caning service, Millar has a range of capabilities and is a great resource for anyone wanting a special project completed or who might be looking for that unique piece. He combines mid-century styling with rustic wood. He’s used old metal sleds, snowshoes and barn wood to make a table; an old cabinet reshaped into a wine rack and cedar wood to make into fireplace mantles.

Just to name a few.

“I like to turn things into something for someone to enjoy,” he said.

Another part of his services is that he wants everyone to enjoy what he creates, so keeping the work affordable is important. He does custom work and will sit down with a client to think out what they want done. It’s typically one project at a time, so he can focus wholly on the end result.

In thinking about what he does, Millar said he’s using wood as a medium to serve the community. He likes finding the pieces, designing, and creating and building from the ground up.

“It’s satisfying,” he said. “I like what I do.”

For those interested in learning more, Renovatio Woodworks is located at 12290 Jackson Road and is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. It can be reached at 734-545-0505 or at renovatiowoodworks@gmail.com. It also has a webpage renovatiowoodwork.weebly.com and is one Facebook and Instagram.