This Couple Made Over $4K in One Month Flipping Furniture—Here’s How You Can, Too

Looking to make a little extra cash? Flipping furniture could be the way to go. This couple, Dean and Andrea, lost part of their income due to the pandemic, so they started flipping furniture—essentially making something old and outdated look new and beautiful again. Within one month, they earned $4,000. Yes, you read that right. Here's how they did it.  

"We average about four to five hours per piece and that includes picking up the piece to staging and listing it," says Andrea.  

First things first, it's important to clean the piece.  

"I like to use any good degreaser that I get at the local hardware store," says Andrea. 

Industrial Purple Ready to Use Degreaser

Industrial Purple Ready to Use Degreaser

Home Depot

$6

Buy Now

After cleaning, make any necessary repairs.  

"I fill in any scratches or gauges with wood filler—and if I'm going to do new hardware, I go ahead and fill in the old hardware holes at this point, too," she says.  

White Latex Wood Filler

White Latex Wood Filler

Home Depot

$10

Buy Now

Once the wood filler dries, sand down the piece.  

Andrea uses 120 grit sandpaper for this step. "This just gives the primer and the paint a little bit of a tooth to grab on to," she explains.  

Then, use a damp rag to clean off the dust from sanding, and then time to prime and paint.  

"I like to use a paint sprayer, but you can totally get a great finish using a high-quality brush. Whether you use a paint sprayer or a brush, you should do at least two solid coats of paint.  

Flexio 3500 Handheld HVLP Paint Sprayer

Flexio 3500 Handheld HVLP Paint Sprayer

Home Depot

$200

Buy Now

In between each coat of paint, Andrea does a light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper.  

220 Grit Fine Faster Sanding Sheets

220 Grit Fine Faster Sanding Sheets

Home Depot

$14

Buy Now

And then once the paint dries, finish it off with a water-based polyacrylic—sanding in between those coats.  

Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish Satin

Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish Satin

Amazon

$20

Buy Now

"Once the piece is all finished and the paint is dry, we move it inside for staging," explains Andrea.  

"On pretty much every piece, I use some sort of large-scale artwork and then a plant. I'll either leave it really simple like that or maybe layer in some extra things if I feel like it needs it. It's best if you can find a spot that's well-lit with a lot of natural light," says Andrea.   

After staging and photos, it's ready to list.