ShabbyBlogs - Must be Maddie

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A second chance

I have always loved the idea of being my own boss and setting my own schedule. Unfortunately right now that isn't an option, but I'm not giving up on the idea. Lately I've been thinking of little entrepreneurial endevors for making some cash on the side.

I've thrown out the idea of selling hair accessories like headbands with cute flowers on the side, like Whippy Cake. Although I have to confess I haven't given this a shot yet. Another idea is learning Photoshop or Rapidweaver and selling my design services...but I'm still in the learning phase for this one.

Another idea I'm thinking about is giving furniture a second chance. So many times I've seen ugly furniture with good bones/structure and thought "a new coat of paint and new hardware would totally change the look of this." And it's recycling in a way. Taking furniture, giving it a face lift and then selling it means the furniture won't end up in a land fill. Instead it will end up in a happy home with a new life.

This would be very similar to what Holly from Life in the Fun Lane does at White Berry. Unfortunately Holly is in Canada so her services are a bit out of reach for me. But I do have one of her tools that would be incredibly helpful if I decide to start refinishing furniture: an air compressor. I thought Husband was a little nuts to buy a huge air compressor but things have a way of coming full circle. (Can anyone else hear God chuckling?) All I would need is a sprayer attachment and then I could get painting!

Some beautiful examples:

A hutch I probably would have left behind...
But Holly could see the beauty, and I love it too.

We've all seen coffee tables like this...
Look at this lovely and charming after.
Both of these items were in Holly's New Tranformations post.


I adore her little girl, Wren's bedroom. I would love to have such beautiful furniture. Holly found this little side table and headboard at a thrift store.

Wren is a very lucky girl. She's got a such a sophisticated but fun room!
These pics are from Holly's post about Wren's Big Girl Bed.

How fun would it be to buy cheap, over looked pieces and sprucing them up for a new home?! I know it would be a lot of work and there's still a bunch I'd need to learn, but this definitely seems feasible to me.

I'm open to even building furniture and selling it. The fabulous and funny Katie from Bower Power recently built a bed with her hubby. What a sweet idea! To rest your head with your hubby on the bed that you built together.

Isn't this beautiful!? Here you can read all about how they made it.
And here it is with their new bedding. It looks so cozy!

What are your thoughts on starting your own business? Have you thought about it? Tried it even? I guess I'm just looking for some feedback to gauge whether I'm going a little crazy or if this is a good idea to pursue.

6 comments:

  1. love it! even if you don't have the money or time to completely refurbish furniture, you can still make a room look thrift-store chic by mixing and matching different patterns, wood grains, colors, etc. that's the beauty of shopping at these places--you don't have the luxury of usually getting a complete set, so you learn to mix it up and go with it!

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  2. YES! I think having slightly mixed and matched items adds to the charm and personality of your home. Thrift stores are awesome for flexing your creative muscles. :) I'm glad you support the idea!

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  3. Very cute idea! The chair in your study is soo cute too. You could totally learn!

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  4. You're so creative, it's awesome. If you're thinking of refurbishing/repurposing furniture, you might get a kick out of this http://www.recreate.za.net/

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  5. Thanks ladies! This is really encouraging.

    @Rebecca - thanks for the site. I've never seen anything like this before and I'm really intrigued!

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