And so it begins… For a couple of years now, people have told me that I should ‘definitely have a blog’.  And for a long time, I truly wondered what I could possibly have to blog ABOUT.  Many of you know me from social media.  I started and run a large Facebook group called ‘Furniture Rehab Bootcamp’, where I give advice (along with many other professionals) to up and coming ‘furniture flippers’.  If you’d like to check it out, go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FurnitureRehabBootcamp/

I’ve been working with furniture for years, how did I even wake up one morning and decide – ‘I shall be a hero to all things furniture’?

Quite a few years ago, I partnered with my husband and dad to buy storage units at auction.  You see, people have a tendency to fill storage units with all of their worldly possessions, and then STOP PAYING the storage fees.  It was my bright idea to go to these places and bid on these units, and hopefully find treasures galore!  More times than not, you get literal junk.  Clothing, food, bugs, pictures, kitchen items… you name it, we’ve found it.  Sometimes, you hit a jackpot!  It was hard work, and sometimes that hard work paid off!

Now you may be asking yourself right now, ‘What does this have to do with furniture restoration and refinishing?’  And to that I say, ‘GOOD question!’ You see along with all of the aforementioned items, we found OLD furniture.  Furniture that was in such bad shape, that really, it should have gone to the dump.  BUT, I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t just toss it away.  I didn’t know WHAT I was going to do with it, but I knew I had to hold onto it.  I put it into, yes, you guessed it… a storage unit!

So now, I’m buying other people’s forgotten ‘treasures’ all while paying for my own storage unit FULL of broken, neglected furniture. Some of it wasn’t broken, it was scratched and ugly – but with such potential.  Unfortunately, WE were running out of room.  With threats of my husband and father making a dump run, I decided to pull a piece and see what I could do with it.  I was SO scared!  But I did it, and it wasn’t perfect, BUT it sold!  I thought ‘maybe I’m onto something here!’

First ever piece sold!

The picture above is the very first piece I ever sold.  I think, if I remember correctly, I sold it for like $40.  Pretty sure I put at least that many hours into it!

Over the years, I’ve lost my fear.  I’m more than willing to try new techniques and make repairs that I thought were impossible.  I’ve learned that if you do things ‘right’ and don’t like the outcome, you just re-do it.  I’ve also taught people from all over the world how to refinish furniture.  It’s a gift to be able to do this for a living.

Sheri Painting

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