Tim Kroymer says he didn’t know that he was creating a scale model of the outdoor store until it was almost complete. “For years, I’ve been bringing home all kinds of shit from there — hydration packs, climbing rope, basically anything they sell — which I would then arrange neatly on pegboards to no clear end,” he said. “Thousands of dollars later it finally hit me.” 

Having painstakingly recreated his happy place, Kroymer says he remains unfulfilled. He now plans to abuse REI’s lenient return policy to make room for his own personal Home Depot.