'Furniture flipper' from Sussex has earned over £100K by upcycling junk furniture from Facebook Marketplace

Inspiring video (click to play above) shows how a 24 year old woman, who lives in Sussex, has managed to earn over £100k - by upcycling junk furniture she finds on Facebook Marketplace.

Lottie Naylor, 24, learned her trade at age 13 when she “started painting furniture for herself” and making money. And over the last six months, people have sought her out on social media, asking for “tips and tricks” on how she nabs deals online - and other freebies on Facebook Marketplace.

Repairs old items and sells for up to £350 each

By “repairing and polishing” the items, she then sells them as “decorative vintage homeware pieces” - as seen in the video above - pricing them from £100 to £350 each. She is “always on the hunt”, travelling around looking for “the next best bargain” - and rarely spends more than £15 making over each piece.

Lottie, who is originally from Cornwall but moved to West Sussex seven months ago, said: “It’s the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. Nothing made me happier than painting furniture. It’s sustainable and higher quality. It was all I ever thought about.”

Started ‘flipping furniture’ at aged 13

Lottie was just 13 when she started flipping furniture, by painting what she could find. It was during this time in 2014, that alongside her mum, she started a business in Cornwall called Vintage Living Home to showcase and sell her upcycled creations.

“The shop opened every weekend when painting furniture was the craze,” Lottie said. “I would sell around five or six upcycled tables or chairs a week that I would find from auctions - and they would go instantly. At the start, the items sold on my Facebook page for around £80 to £100, but I eventually managed to bump them up to well over £200 after a few years.”

‘Extreme upcycling’

Realising its potential, when Lottie moved to West Sussex seven months ago, she “took on the business full time”. When she arrived, Lottie noticed that “people weren’t as interested in tables and chairs as they were in Cornwall” and decided to “take on more extreme upcycling projects”.

Lottie focussed on buying furniture made from pine wood as it was “the most popular and would come up pale when sanded, which was what people wanted”. She also tended to “avoid furniture with major breaks and opt for ones that need minor repairs”.

Finds freebies on Facebook Marketplace

When upcycling, Lottie said how she leaned towards “French chic style paint” - a furniture paint that “can be used outside and gives a nice clean finish”.

She has also tried doing stencil designs known as bone and lace.

“Over the years, I perfected the paint style which has allowed me to charge a premium for my pieces,” Lottie said. “My most popular design is bone in lace stencil which reflects similar patterns found in Morocco. The first time I attempted my first bone and lace was on a chest of drawers - and that took me three and a half days.

“When painting a normal chest of drawers can take me a day or even just half a day.”

"However, my biggest sale was two years ago when I found an antique oak bench on Facebook Marketplace for £20.

“All I did was cover the bench in dark wax whilst filling in the repairs which only cost me £10. I later sold the piece on Facebook Marketplace for £350.”

From then, Lottie has been “constantly searching for better bargains” - and has even admitted to travelling from West Sussex to the Midlands in a three-and-a-half hour drive for a single piece of furniture - a chest of drawers made from solid oak.

She added: “If anyone is looking at flipping furniture as a hobby, pick up a brush and start painting. I promised myself I would only do this job. And I don’t think that will ever change as people will always be into antiques.”