5 Mistakes to Avoid When You Flip Furniture, Experts Blame

Whether you’re interested in reselling or recycling a piece of furniture for personal use in your home or to resell as a side hustle, you’ll want to avoid common mistakes that professional resellers see novices make.

Not using the right type of paint for furniture

It’s easy to buy paint from your local hardware store or reuse leftover paint from a previous home project. But be forewarned that paint meant for walls is not suitable for furniture.

“Wall paint is not designed to withstand the wear and tear that furniture typically endures,” explains Deborah Meyers, a furniture refinisher. “It lacks the durability, hardness, and adhesion properties needed for a high-traffic surface, resulting in chipping, scratching, and peeling.”

She recommends that DIYers look for paints specifically designed for furniture applications that are self-leveling to minimize brush strokes or roller marks. In particular, she recommends water-based enamel or mineral paints.

Want more tips and inspiration for your home improvement project? Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest home improvement tips, tutorials, and more!

Not properly prepared

Before flipping a piece, it must be properly prepared, from cleaning and sanding to priming. But one of the most common mistakes DIY enthusiasts make is failing to take these necessary steps.

Carrie Spaulding, founder of the DIY home decor blog and YouTube channel Lovely Etc, explains that it can be easy to jump right into painting, but taking the time to prepare will help the paint adhere well and create a smooth foundation for a flawless finish. Spaulding often spends more time prepping than painting when she tackles a project.

Meyers added that DIYers also need to confirm the materials they are working with in order to prepare them properly. Scalpers may mistakenly believe a piece is solid wood when it is actually plywood or particle board, and as a result, they apply incorrect techniques such as harsh sanding or using finishes that can actually damage the piece and reduce its value.

“Check the edges and underside of the product for signs of plywood or particleboard,” Meyers says. “Learning to recognize wood grain patterns and textures can also help identify the material.”

Hardware not considered

For furniture that may have missing or broken hardware, whether it’s a table that once had drawer pulls or a cabinet with a door that’s missing a knob, you should first explore hardware replacement options.

Spaulding reminds us that hardware choices can make a huge difference in the look of furniture, from making it look modern or dated to looking like a clear (and bad) throwback with mismatched or missized hardware.

“What bothered me the most was when Slippers used two small cabinet knobs to replace a single wide drawer pull,” she said. “They obviously couldn’t find new pulls with the correct hole spacing and the hardware was an afterthought.”

An alternative is to find an additional pull point and if the hole spacing is slightly off, use filler in the old holes, sand the area, and then drill new holes to match the pull point. All of these steps should be done before staining and/or painting the furniture.

Don’t Think Veneer

While most people today assume that furniture that is not made from solid wood is cheap, it is important to note that finished plywood pieces from ancient times can actually be well crafted and valuable, until tampered with.

Meyers tells us that veneer is often used on high-quality antique pieces to create a consistent grain pattern as well as to increase durability. “Removing or omitting the veneer can devalue the piece and ruin its aesthetic,” she says.

She advises DIYers to research the history and quality of the furniture they are making and focus on restoring and preserving the veneer to maintain the integrity of the piece.

No color mixing

Some DIYers tend to try to match a piece of furniture to all of their existing furniture by using the exact same color and finish. But by using a single color, DIYers can miss out on creating visual interest and depth that can be achieved with contrasting or complementary colors, Meyers says.

Instead, she recommends experimenting not only with different colors but also with different finishes and techniques to highlight any distinct features of the piece, which can ultimately add personality and charm.

Likewise, Spaulding adds that not all furniture needs to be painted. If the furniture is made of natural wood, try staining it.