Yahoo News I'm a 'furniture flipper' who sells unwanted junk for £1,000 – here's how to do it
Kerry Willets learned her trade by charging people to repair or upcycle sentimental furniture they wanted to keep.
An entrepreneurial homeowner has managed to turn upcycling furniture into a profitable business – selling unwanted junk for £1,000 each.
Kerry Willets, 45, learned her trade by charging people to repair or upcycle sentimental furniture they wanted to keep. But she soon realised that there was plenty of unwanted furniture she could get her hands on for free and turning them into high-end decor items.
Stay-at-home mum Willets started her furniture-flipping business on 19 March 2021 - initially working on a commission basis. Having stumbled across a furniture-flipping Instagram account, she decided to upcycle her own pieces and sell them for £200-300 each.
But now people seek her out on social media and offer her bits headed for landfill which she takes off their hands for free – while also picking up other freebies on Facebook Marketplace.
Willets, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, considers herself a go-between for people wanting to get rid of their old junk and spends between £10 and £15 making over each piece.
She said: “Some of the pieces I get are particularly beaten up and in a bad way. But if you can see through that, you can unlock the true potential from pretty much any piece.”
‘Really popular’
The first item Willets ever upcycled was a picture frame – then a shoe rack made from old scaffold boards. She painted a dressing table navy blue – before she learnt how to give furniture a “natural varnish look”.
After posting her results on social media, Willets says her upcycles became “really popular” and she began working on commission for friends and family before offering her skills to strangers’ furniture.
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Willets said: “A woman once gave me a bureau her grandad had made – she couldn’t part with it because of sentimental value. I painted it and put an art deco design on it - lots of gold, diamond and triangle shapes.”
Willets spent a year upcycling on commission before deciding to take on items being given away for free, and selling them. Now, she saves items from going to landfill by flipping furniture for free, charging £1,000 for her flipped furniture.
Top tips for upcycling your furniture
Upcycling furniture can be a cheap and sustainable way to give items in your home a new lease of life. It could also be a way of making some extra cash on the side, selling items on places like Etsy, Facebook Marketplace or Vinted.
The main thing is to make sure you have all the tools and equipment needed for the job – it is better to plan and have everything at hand before embarking on a project.
You may be able to find a bargain in second-hand or charity shops. You can also find cheap items at car boot sales or in your shed or loft.
Furniture should be cleaned and wiped down before starting so that it is dust and cobweb-free. Upcycling experts recommend investing in good quality paintbrushes that don’t leave bristles and give good coverage. They should be stored in tinfoil or cling film between coats to keep the brushes moist.
If you are short on imagination, use sites like Pinterest to find inspiration. Once finished, it is important to wax or varnish it to give it longevity. Old socks can be an effective way to apply wax to furniture.
