Upcycling

StressedSteph

Hi all


Has anyone on here tried upcycling furniture??.


I am tempted to start going to car boots to find old cheap items of furniture to repaint in nice colours and finishes and then try re-selling them maybe on Facebook.


Has anyone tried this? I am slightly worried about being able to cover costs. Labour cost not overly crucial as I am stuck at home anyway so as long as it is a decent mark-up then it might be worth doing.


Interested to hear any opinions

soolin

It's at thriving industry in my neck of the woods but I've done it as a hobby and I can't see that it is going to cover costs. If you buy the right sort of paint it can easily cost £20 or more with the various finishes for a small wooden table or cabinet and that's before you use any special effects on it.

geordie_joe

soolin wrote: »

It's at thriving industry in my neck of the woods but I've done it as a hobby and I can't see that it is going to cover costs.

It's a thriving industry and you've done it before but can't see it covering costs?

If you'd done it before you would know for certain if it covered costs, and if it didn't cover costs, and make a profit it wouldn't really be a thriving industry, would it.

soolin wrote: »

If you buy the right sort of paint it can easily cost £20 or more with the various finishes for a small wooden table or cabinet and that's before you use any special effects on it.

I know a few people who do it, I work in a diy store and get paid to walk up to customers and talk to them.

You can buy a tin of good quality paint, enough for 2 or 3 small tables for £7.99. Even less if you wait until the store has a 15 or 20% off weekend.

A £4.99 tin of chalk pain is enough for a small table or magazine rack (I did one myself) or even a bedside cabinet/drawers. If you stick to the same colour you can buy bigger (better value) tins to reduce your costs even further.

The trick is knowing what type of furniture sells in your area, getting it at a good price and doing a good job on the paintwork.

I have a regular customer who paints everything in white, and she says more than half of her customers tell her that they are going to paint the item a different colour when they get it home. When I suggest she just sell it unpaint and save herself time, trouble and money she said it doesn't sell so well unpainted.

We think it's because they are either lazy or unsure of what to do with unpainted furniture. But when they see all the work has been done, cleaning, sanding, priming, undercoating etc. they think "All it needs is a coat of paint..... I can do that myself". So they are happy knowing it won't take much effort or skill to get a piece of furniture in exactly the colour they want.

If I were the OP I would give it a go, but just as a bit of fun/hobby to start with. But choose the items carefully, if it's not a nice shape to start with, it won't be a nice shape when it has a coat of paint on it.

I would also try to sell locally, people like to see furniture before they buy it.

Wizzbang

You're going to need a lot of space to do this from home- I hope you have at least a double garage, if not more! Furniture takes up a lot of room and you cannot know when you are going to find something at the right price, or be able to sell it!

If you're going new into this, then please be careful you're not buying the good stuff- like Ercol and G Plan and royally mucking it up by painting it.

The above poster may be right that a lot of people just use any old chalk paint, but a quick search of eBay tells you that people like Brands. So, you're looking at needing to use the top stuff- like Farrow & Ball, Laura Ashley or Annie Sloan and the like to get top dollar.

Don't underestimate the effort required in sanding wood back, especially if it's large and dark (you're looking at a full working week to do that). IMHO- half the time you'll get a more attractive piece by removing dark stain and taking good wood back to its original light colour, then waxing it.

If you're going to put it on eBay you'll have a lot of competition and you'll do better by offering a courier service.

And for heavens sake- don't do 'shabby chic'- so passe!

rockm87

Don't over commit yourself, try one of two pieces and see how you get on!

Ive seen a few people do this on 'vintage' selling pages of facebook.

lessonlearned

Ive been upcycling furniture for 40 odd years - long before it became fashionable and chic. I did my first chest of drawers when I was 14. What started out from necessity grew into a fascinating hobby and sideline business. I used to sell small pieces at car boots or antique and craft fairs because they were easier to load and transport. The bIg pieces I usually keep for myself or gift to family and friends.

I agree buy a nicely shaped piece, a "dog" will just be a painted dog. Don't waste your money on cheap paint and be sure you do a thorough prep job for a professional finish. If you just slap on a bit of chalk paint it will look like amateur night.

Learn your furniture makers. I agree with Wizzbang do not paint over Ercol, Stag or Gplan. In fact be very careful with mid century furniture because it is becoming very valuable in its own right so if you are lucky enough to stumble across a good piece then don't let a paint brush anyway near it.

If you stumble across Names like Eames, Arne Jacobson, Corbusier, then you have struck gold. They are worth thousands. Also keep a watchful eye out for Danish 60s pieces and again don't muck about with them.

And of course if it's a genuine antique piece Victorian, Edwardian or even Art Deco then don't muck about with it. Same with 50s and 60s kitsch, even 70s is now considered retro and collectable.

So...... What are you left with.....I usually go for that horrid 80s Orange pine, it's often quite well made, look for dovetail joints etc

You can paint melamine but as most of them tend to be flat pack I wouldn't bother, unless it's just a quick fix for your own personal use.

As for what prices they can fetch, it all depends on where you live and where your potential market will be.

I once picked up an orange pine Welsh dresser for £25' the paint cost me around £25, I had a new shelf made for one that was missing, £10 and new wooden knobs, again around £10. I saw one almost identical in Laura Ashley's for £600. I didn't sell it.

That one now sits proudly in my sons kitchen, in his house which was built in 1758. It is suitably distressed, bashed and dented, and it looks as if it was built in with the kitchen.

[Deleted User]

Good Luck, StressedSteph:beer:. It looks as if the concensus is generally positive, but whether there's much money to be made from it is a different matter.

Upcycling is a satisfying and rewarding hobby, I think a lot of us have had a go at it at some time or another, but once it becomes a business there are so many other things to consider.

My speciality was decoupaging small items but it was incredibly labour-intensive (preparing wood, painting, finding and cutting out motifs, applying them artistically, applying coats and coats of varnish and sanding between each one). There wasn't a chance of recouping cost of materials never mind all the time I spent on each item unless I could sell at a high-end art shop or craft fair. There are many more online outlets nowadays and it might be easier. I still do it but now just to make unique gifts for friends and family.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the tax implications for such a venture as you suggest. By buying in furniture and transforming it with the aim of selling at a profit you are becoming a trader. In creating a business you will need to register as self-employed (a fairly simple process) but please seek advice.

StressedSteph

Thank you so much for all your really interesting replies.


Just to explain my background, I am a SAHM mostly because of the lack of any family local to be able to help with holiday and sickness help of the children.


So, I dabble with lots of different money making schemes in a bid to bring in some pennies for the family.


I make Christmas wreaths, sewing and mending, clean houses, part-time Indian Head massage work and countless other crazy ventures.


I, like a million others are constantly searching for that golden idea that will ACTUALLY be cost effect and popular enough to make a even partially decent part-time wage.


I will start trawling some car boots and maybe dabble with the odd cheapish small project to see how it goes, maybe it might develop into something?.


Regarding HMRC, I am already registered as self-employed because of all the other little bits I try to do, although unfortunately most expenses end up being higher than any income earned at the moment


I will continue searching

[Deleted User]

StressedSteph wrote: »

I make Christmas wreaths, sewing and mending, clean houses, part-time Indian Head massage work and countless other crazy ventures.

I don't think your ventures are crazy at all, StressedSteph, although you haven't told us what all of them are:rotfl:. Your efforts to make some extra money for your family are very commendable and I wish you all the luck in the world with them:beer:.

Money-making gurus advise having several income streams, not putting all your eggs in one basket, and it sounds as if you are doing really well with that.