Why I Still Paint Thrifted Furniture After All These Years
It started as a way to furnish our place on a tiny budget. I quickly learned that a little paint could turn a forgotten piece into something beautiful. This is the story of why I still paint thrifted furniture after all these years and how this simple hobby grew into so much more.
It showed me that creating a lovely home doesn’t need a lot of money. It also opened my eyes to the world of flipping furniture for profit. Keep reading to learn my journey!
Over 10 years ago, I was painting furniture in my parents’ garage because we couldn’t afford a TV stand. Now, that skill has saved us thousands of dollars and paid our bills more than once. You don’t need expensive furniture to make your home look beautiful. And you don’t need a fancy workshop or all the tools either.
Back in college, we were just trying to survive. We couldn’t afford anything new. But I could go to the thrift store and buy a $25 dresser, paint it with cheap paint, and make it look amazing.
That’s how it started. And once I realized I could even sell those makeovers for side income, I was hooked. And listen, this isn’t about being crafty. It’s about taking control, saving money, and building confidence.
Yeah, it can totally replace your paycheck if you want it to. If you’ve ever had to choose between paying a bill or buying something nice for your home, you know exactly why this matters.
How I Started Painting Furniture
Let me take you back to college. We were broke. Like, clipping coupons was my full time job. Digging old furniture out of the garbage. Yes, please.
But I still wanted our apartment to feel like home, not just a place we were surviving in. Something cute without going into debt. So, we went to the thrift store and found this tiny dresser for $25 or $30. It was old. It was scratched. Honestly, a drawer didn’t work, but I saw potential.
Thankfully, my parents are super handy and were willing to help me out a little bit. My mom taught me how to paint throughout my life, and my dad helped me fix up the drawer, and the top was a little bit busted, too. So, he helped me put on a new top as well.
We did all of this out in their garage because our third floor apartment had zero space to work. So out in their garage, I painted this dresser black.
And it was our TV stand for years. It wasn’t perfect, but it made me so proud because I had done it myself with a little bit of help. That one dresser sparked everything.
Is Flipping Furniture Profitable?
As we kept living super frugally, I realized I could keep furnishing my whole tiny apartment this same way, buying thrifted pieces, painting them, saving hundreds of dollars, even thousands of dollars over time.
Eventually, I realized I could actually make extra money flipping furniture. This was the light bulb moment for me. I didn’t have to keep working at the pizza joint, which I didn’t really care for, for $7 an hour with aching feet.
At the end of the day, I could do something creative that helped us stay out of debt as well. I tried selling wreaths. I thought about MLMs, but nothing clicked until I saw people painting and selling furniture online.
And then I thought, “Yeah, I can do this. Let’s try this out.” So, I started doing it. That’s when I knew this was it. Get more tips on how to make money painting furniture here!
How to Start Flipping Furniture
I started hunting for small pieces that we could cram into our tiny Toyota Corolla, and just started learning as I went. I spent hours scouring the internet for information on how to fix things without any of these special tools, what paint could I use, all the things that I could gather, anything that I could do in my tiny upstairs two bedroom apartment.
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I made so many mistakes in the beginning, from using the wrong paint, not knowing how to fix damage, to not sanding or priming when I should have. But every mistake taught me what worked and what didn’t. Here are the five biggest furniture painting mistakes so you can avoid them!
And now I have painted and sold furniture for over 10 years. And every time I look around my home and see all the pieces I’ve updated, it feels amazing.
The first time a painted piece sold, I remember thinking, “Wait, I can actually get paid for this?” They were so nice to me and so encouraging. There is no better feeling.
Over the years, I’ve sold everything from $45 end tables to $1,300 sideboards. I have sold my furniture locally, and I have shipped furniture all across the country. Learn all about how to ship furniture across the country here, and how much does it cost to ship furniture to another state here.
I’ve met the nicest buyers who still send me photos of the pieces in their home. Instead of spending $1,000, $600, or $1,300 on a dresser, I’ve spent $30, $75, $50 on different dressers and then painted them, and they look like a million bucks now.
I can’t even count how many times this skill has helped us pay a bill or cover an unexpected expense. I mean, it helped us get through college without any debt and have a cute house at the same time.
Watch this on our YouTube video below:
If you’ve ever been in that spot, staring at a bill, wondering where that money will come from, you know how good it feels to have a way to create income from nothing. Even now, 10 years later, I still get excited bringing home a thrift store find. I still get that little spark when the paint goes on, and it transforms it.
This is exactly what I teach inside my course, How to Paint Furniture Like a Boss, if you’re just starting out and want a step by step system that makes it all easier, check out my painting furniture course here.
Learn the Art of Updating Furniture!
If painting furniture feels overwhelming or your past attempts didn’t go as planned, this course will guide you step by step.
For more flipping furniture ideas, you can check out our list of painted furniture ideas here, and learn the best furniture to flip for profit in this post.
And that’s why I still paint thrifted furniture even 10 years later!
More Flipping Furniture Tips
- Flipping Furniture For A $675 Profit In 30 Hours
- Blanket Wrap Furniture Shipping
- $10 Thrift Store Dresser Makeover
- Easy Way To Paint Furniture In One Day: From Trash To $300
Follow us on YouTube to get more tips for painting furniture. Or share your project with us on our Facebook Group and be part of our community. See you there!