Turning Oak Furniture into Cash
Are you a person who loves the beauty and quality of oak furniture? If you had the room, would you keep every old piece you came across? There are untold numbers of people just like you whose passion for hard wood furniture drives them to look for old pieces they can restore and bring back to life. Unfortunately, many of these passionate wood lovers just don't have the room to keep everything they find. But, there is a way to feed your passion for oak furniture restoration without having to store every item. And as an added bonus, you can make a little extra money on the side.
What I'm referring to is a furniture restoration hobby which involves buying old pieces from household sales. I don't know if you have a special name for these sales in the U.K., but in the states we call them "garage sales". These are household sales where home owners are simply trying to clean out the clutter or dispose of extra items in preparation for a house move. Garage sales are a great place to find incredible deals on everything from clothing to household items. Where oak furniture is concerned, the advantage of shopping garage sales lies in the fact that many people either don't know, or don't care, about the value of their old oak furniture.
For instance, you might find an old oak dining table or set of chairs that's been collecting dust in storage for years. The home owner simply wants to rid himself of the excess furniture and might be willing to sell it to you at a pretty low price. If you know what you're looking for, and you're good at negotiating, you can purchase quality oak furniture at the garage sales for next to nothing. Then, all you have to do is restore and resell it.
The key to this hobby is making sure your restoration process is the highest quality work. You want to strengthen joints, replace fixtures, and refinish these furniture items in such a way as to retain their original integrity and beauty, while ensuring many years of future surface. A quality restoration could mean the table you purchased for 10 pounds will be worth several hundred to an antique dealer.
Once the restoration is complete, finding an antique dealer willing to purchase your furniture is the last piece of the puzzle. Once you find one or two dealers you can do business with, nurture your relationships with them so they turn into long-term affairs. A trusted relationship with one or two antique dealers can mean the difference between selling all of your restored items and having to hold a garage sale of your own.