When Brandon lost his job in COVID he used his love of design to give upcycling furniture a go. He started with a coffee table he found on the street for free, then progressed to drawers, then to dining tables, bedside tables and even beds.

He’s now upcycled nearly 50 pieces of furniture and often sells items for double his asking price.

Additionally, research from Gumtree reveals that the trading of pre-loved, unwanted or unused items in Australia could be worth over $48 billion, and has grown 89% over the past 10 years.

With that in mind, here are 6 top tips for upcycling and selling furniture on Gumtree:

Paint to perfection – A splash of paint can do wonders in upgrading a pre-loved piece of furniture and doesn’t have to break the bank. You can get sandpaper and a small pot of paint – often they cost less than $50 – and can liven up a piece of furniture perfectly. Spray paint is another good option. For example, that popular gold mirror everyone is looking for at the moment can be easily made with a pre-loved mirror off Gumtree and a can of gold spray paint, for half the price. Don’t forget the sealant either so your paint job stays intact!

Best pick: Wooden furniture is one of the easiest things to upcycle as damage can be easily sanded down and painted over. There’s generally more wooden pieces of furniture ready to be upcycled than anything else too, making it simple to find. Tip: antique white-washed finishes are always a big hit and probably the easiest style to replicate.

Picture perfect – A potential buyer will be more likely to be interested in a listing if there is more than one image. You can upload up to nine images on a Gumtree listing,  so there’s no reason to not share every angle of your piece of furniture. Make sure you take the photos in a well-lit space and show any detail that the item might have.

It’s all in the detail – Don’t simplify your language or skimp on the details when putting your upcycled piece of furniture up for sale. Instead, you should describe the item you’re listing with unique phrases and words, like “French Provincial” or “perfectly imperfect”. See how other items are being advertised to get some inspiration from the language used.

Research is key – Do your research to see what’s currently trending in the furniture space both on Gumtree and online. See what’s currently for sale and compare your product to it. If you’re wanting to upcycle some furniture, do some research on the kinds of items getting the biggest bucks on Gumtree. This research is also great inspiration for what you might want to create, so start a vision board with items you’re eager to find and upcycle.

Timed to perfection – Aim to post your ad just before the weekend to maximise the views and interest you’ll get. With many people at work during the week, they might not be checking Gumtree as often. Buyers want something to do on the weekend and it’s when they’ll have the most time to look for something new to purchase for their homes. Do your best to respond quickly to potential buyers too; stay on top of interest by turning on notifications in the Gumtree app and be friendly and helpful in your dealings with fellow Gummies.

Want to learn more about upcycling, renovating for profit and more? Read more advice from our experts

The post 6 top tips for upcycling on Gumtree appeared first on Completehome.

Philip Murphy is a true artist and lovable creative. A chef by trade, Philip made a somewhat bold decision to hang up his chef’s hat, move to Stanley in Tasmania, take on a luxury holiday retreat and, as if that wasn’t wild enough, build his own home.

 
Philip fell in love with Stanley — also affectionately known as the edge of the world. So much so that he was almost content residing in the rundown character-filled windmill, small timber-clad shed and old duck house that sat on the site. Almost content for many years.

 
The cluster of buildings had a certain charm for sure. Each small building had its own little piece of history wrapped up in it. And for Philip, who explains that this was the first place he had ever lived in that he enjoyed coming home to, he found something magical in both the town and the collection of buildings on the site.

 
For this reason, Philip wanted to retain as much of the bones in the old collection of buildings as he could in the new build. But perhaps without the dash from the bedroom to the kitchen that was unavoidably sprinkled with rainwater on wet days, and with the addition of a covered area to sit and relax in.

 
To work with him on this new home, Philip contacted his best friend and architect, Greg Prentice at karmatecture. And the two came together to bring a dream to fruition that had been many years in the making. Philip’s brief to Greg was fairly simple. He really just wanted to connect his kitchen and bedroom, create a small seating area to relax in and provide a sleeping space for short-term guests. Other things that were also very important to him included recycling and upcycling as much as possible, as well as wanting his home to have a voice. Philip wanted that voice to be playful, encourage interaction with the home and tell a bit of a story of the home’s history. These factors became a driving force in the build, with many, somewhat unorthodox, decisions being made in the name of celebrating history.

 
The duck shed and many timber features including windows and doors were the first to be upcycled. Philip wanted to salvage as much as possible, much to the frustration of the builders who felt the work could have been recreated cheaper, stronger and better from scratch. Philip stuck to his guns as much as he could, though, digging in his heels and hammering home his vision for an upcycled home that carried in its bones a story. Hats off to him for his dedication and for seeing potential in something others would quickly throw away.

 
On only a couple of occasions did this plan not work out for Philip. The windows had to be replaced twice, due to the fact that the old ones simply could not fit. And much to Philip’s dismay, the salvaged timber from the previous shed could not be used as cladding as originally planned.

 
Not defeated, however, Philip — ever resourceful, creative and far from fussy — still made the most of these timbers as artworks in the living space. Taking his creativity a step further, he also laid them as floorboards, on an angle no less, just to reiterate his carefree attitude to traditional building techniques. While the upcycled floorboards aren’t necessarily straight, they are a piece of art and they are intriguing. And, most importantly, they tell a story. Perhaps even more so given their abstract positioning in the home and the fact they couldn’t be used as originally intended.

 
As architect Greg explains, the resulting home does a fine job of crafting an “Alice in Wonderland” experience. It features fun spaces filled with art, colour and an upcycled selection of mishmashed items. It also encourages curiosity and exploration at every turn.

 
The space that achieves this the most is the piggly-wiggly room. Guests must duck to enter and must lie on the bed to enjoy the view. Also, the entry to the home deserves mention. It serves as a seating area with a wardrobe and bookcase and it follows through to Philip’s bedroom. The ceiling lowers and forces a slower pace as you journey through it. And, lastly, the ceiling is lit up with backlit artworks that sit flush with the ceiling.

 
The budget ran out during the build, putting it on hold for some time. This did not stop Philip, though, who explains that there’s no need to rush through anything in life. The work slowed on the project, but soon began to gather moss again at the hand of a few good local handymen, this time as a labour of love, and of course in exchange for the odd meal cooked by the town’s newest chef: Philip.

 
This is a labour-of-love project — a cubby house if you will — built on the passion of joie de vivre and a lust for life. Philip carves his own path, not interested in flashy marble benchtops and squeaky clean bathrooms. He has his feet firmly on the ground, connected to life’s stories, but his head up in the clouds, where he is free to dream.

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