3 Renovations for under $3

In the past two weeks, I finished three major furniture pieces that have been waiting for some much needed TLC. The best part is that combined, I spent less than $3 for their amazing make-over by using supplies that I had around the house. 

Mid-century, 1800’s antique chair

Purchased for $1

Total cost of supplies $.25

Paint=already had it at home

Wood Putty to fix broken joint=already had it 

Batting for chair cushion=purchased two king size batting sheets at a garage sale six months ago for $2, so my estimated cost on the small amount I used….$.10

Material for chair cushion=already had it

Wood support for cushion=$.25 dismantled stool that I bought at a yard sale a few months back.

Labor for completed work=FREE…Samantha painted the entire chair. Really! I did a little bit of touch up work, but with about 5 hours of work, she painted the whole thing…with a one inch paint brush. Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment, but she can’t get enough of painting!

The bottom of the chair-the cushion supported by a re-purposed stool

The Finished Product-for sale $40

Asking Price $115

Project #2

The Ugly Entertainment Center

Why do I even have this? We got it off the side of the road about 9 months ago with the intention of re-selling it. But no one would buy this thing…not even for $10. Reality Check: Entertainment centers are old news. Nobody has tube TV’s anymore. So, I decided to hang on to it and use it as a storage unit in Molly’s bedroom for when she was old enough to change over her room from a nursery to a kids room. Well, she is finally old enough so I spent two weekends sanding and painting this gargantuan furniture piece. Jerry even had the brilliant idea of flipping it upside down so that the cabinet doors were on top rather than the bottom. It looks much less like an entertainment center and more like a multi-purpose storage unit. I used some hardware that I bought at a yard sale for the knobs on the door and distressed the edges, because let’s be real…it is going to look “distressed” after being in a kids room anyway. 

Problem #1: This thing is GYNORMOUS! 

Problem #2: It is SUPER GYNORMOUS and HEAVY

Problem #3: It barely fit down the hallway and no amount of twisting, flipping or turning was going to get it into Molly’s bedroom. We tried from every angle! 

The only way to get it in her room was to take apart the door frame. Instead, I will sell it. But, I’ll never re-coop the time that was invested in painting it.

Project #3
Thanks to a rainy day estate sale two Saturday’s ago and a watchful friend who saw this potential beauty, I nabbed this 3-piece vanity set with a matching full-size bed frame for $20.

Check out the hardware! Can you say “square”

This furniture piece was in such terrible shape, it ended up being super easy to sand down and paint. Plus, there were no curvy edges or decorative adornments that makes painting jobs more time consuming.
Total Cost of Supplies for this project: $1…maybe, probably less.
New Hardware: Had a super cool set of 6 from a bucket of hardware I found at a yard sale
Paint: Used my staple antique white paint
Fabric for Bench: Found some cute fabric I already had in my stash
Total Time: Less than 4 hours for both pieces

The Finished Product-For sale $195 both or $165 vanity, $55 headboard

It turns out that Valentine’s gifts found on craigslist are not cool!

I say that only because February sales were less than stellar. Remember my amazing week in January when I sold 14 items in a single week. I didn’t even sell 14 items total this entire month. That just leaves more for March!

Step Aerobics Board
Paid $3 (Original asking price $5)
Sold $20

Full Size Cherry Wood Headboard
Paid $0 (Mom and I found this in someones trash on a Saturday morning and grabbed it. It was actually the back side of a 3 in 1 crib. I just sold it as a stand alone headboard)
Sold $20

MOMMY PICKERS NEW CLIENT! 

Strings Music in Downtown Glendora moved store fronts and is liquidating what was the “old lady clothing store” to move into their space. With a little persuasion, we were able to acquire the furniture pieces that were being used as display pieces to sell. And, we already sold some stuff!

Clothing Racks with Decorative Chandeliers
Sold a set of 8 for $100 in less than a week  








Still for Sale…

Large Hutch with Matching 7-piece Dining Room Table Set
Made in the USA by Stanley Furniture Company
$1,500 for both or $1,000 each…for now.