Two old side tables, a few bottles of chalk paint, and some white-stained paint brushes decorate our breakfast area right now. Country music blares through the house as my older sister Aimee transforms ugly furniture into gorgeous, rustic pieces to resell. Her first project was this little desk she repainted, distressed, and fixed up with cool hardware! The difference is amazing, and I can’t wait to see what she revamps next!
Why am I writing a whole article about repainting ugly stuff? Because a lady bought that desk for $150, that’s why! This is a perfect side business for teens!
First
You’ll need a little bit of cash to invest. You can get this by doing odd jobs for relatives, sacrificing some allowance, or saving birthday money. Consider striking up a deal with your parents for a loan of $20 to obtain your project piece and supplies.
It’s time to find a piece of furniture to refurbish! Make sure to get your piece inexpensively enough that you can make a great profit without being too pricey! Aimee found a nightstand for $4, a free sofa table, and the desk for $10. Practical storage items with drawers such as desks and nightstands tend to sell better than merely decorative furniture items. Hold out for pieces that don’t need repairs and have good bones. Look past the 80’s colors– a little bit of paint can work miracles!
My sister obtains furniture from yard sales, thrift stores, friends, or Craigslist. Recently our aunt has been helping find pieces as well! I’ve also heard thrilling treasure-hunting stories from people who have found beauties set out on the curb for bulk-trash day. Just keep your eyes open– you never know when you might find a treasure. 😉
Second
Haul your project home and set up a workspace. Make sure to take a ‘before’ picture!
Collect the tools you’ll need: an electric sander, dust mask, sandpaper, foam paint brushes, some sort of sealant/wax, and paint. Aimee uses “chalk paint” from Walmart; it’s nice because it doesn’t require primer.
To learn how to do the actual repainting and refurbishing, check out these awesome blogs:
You can get lots of inspiration from Pinterest too! Check out my board here and make your own!
Depending on the type of furniture you redo you may need to change out some ugly drawer handles or add a cute accent to finish it off. This is probably Aimee’s favorite part judging by the number of hours we’ve spent picking out drawer pulls. Aimee finds a lot of her hardware at Hobby Lobby. It has a huge selection of cool, rustic stuff!
Remember to save whatever you remove for later use! When Aimee replaced the knobs on the red desk with distressed metal pulls she saved the black knobs and later repurposed them as feet for a tray she had already refurbished.
Third
Now for the exciting part! It’s finally time to sell it.
Aimee takes good quality pictures of her finished pieces then lists them on multiple social media sites.
When you set the price make sure to work in your costs and time spent. Some places to sell are: OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist. You could even try placing items in a consignment shop. They’ll probably take a 50% commission, but it will put your furniture in front of so many more people!
The $4 nightstand recently sold for $55!
The sofa table is currently waiting for a happy, color-loving customer!
The red desk sold for $150 and went to its new, loving home.
Revamping furniture is such a good way for teens to make extra money! You can even fit this business in around school! It’s relatively easy, flexible, and teaches you great skills– not only how to revamp furniture but also the practical skill of how to sell a product.
What do you think? Are you ready to rescue ugly furniture and make some cash?
Sounds fun (I like refinishing furniture). Has she calculated the actual hourly return, looking at time and cost of supplies?
I don’t know. I will ask her to respond here and let you know. Thanks!
Yes, it looks very fun!
Good question, thanks for asking! I don’t believe my sister has taken the time to calculate the hourly return since it would vary from piece to piece depending on how hard they are to refinish. But it would definitely be smart to figure that out sometime, especially if she plans on making it a more full-time job with bigger investments. 🙂
This is a fantastic side hustle and your article is a great “how to” guide. I’ve just recently started looking through Facebook market ads in my area for cheap/free furniture and appliances I can refurbish and sell for profit.
Last month I scored a perfectly good working upright freezer with an ugly, rust-covered door. I took the door off the freezer, sanded it and sprayed several coats of white epoxy appliance paint. Looks good as new and I sold the freezer for $100 a couple days ago! $85 profit for a couple hours of work is not bad.
I know a couple of people who resell things they find on the side of the road or get from yard sales. You really can make a lot of money on the craziest things!
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Jason! 🙂
Oh wow, that is super great! I never thought of refurbishing appliances, but I’m sure they are even more guaranteed to sell! Nice job! Keep it up!
I love looking at refurbished furniture! When I have my own house I would love to do some refurbishing of my own. My dad has done refurbishing on so much furniture. He redid my sisters whole bedroom set to white.
Wow, sounds like you and your dad should go into business together! 🙂
Aw that is so fun! You should totally refurbish furniture, Hannah! I bet your dad could help you get started with some tips too. 😉
I love looking at stuff like this and would like to give it a try but my schedule is super busy. During the summer time I commercial fish out in Alaska and that takes up most of my time and during the school year i’m to busy with school and hockey. By the time i get home it’s usually 5-6 and i’m drained. But there is some cool stuff out in the old canaries that could be refurbished to maybe ill see if I can squeeze it into my off time next summer.
Commercial fishing? That sounds awesome! Thanks for stopping by!
WOAH! That sounds like a constant adventure disguised as a job! 🙂
Ooh you should try, I’m sure there are some amazing treasures for you to find and fix up! Hope you can find a little time. 😀 I’d love to hear if you refurbish something!