The Project That Financed It All

PJ’s Projects was inspired by the encouragement of friends and family about the projects that I was producing for my home. I continued these projects and transformed a table and chairs that I had no space to keep in my home. I decided to place them for sale during a multi-family yard sale. I liked the way that they turned out but I didn’t have faith that anyone would like them enough to spend their hard-earned money on them. Thankfully, I was wrong!

This first sale is what financed the beginning of PJ’s Projects. I have made the rest of the decisions for the business using the money from this first sale. I decided from the very beginning that I didn’t want to go into debt for this venture. I told myself that it was because my husband and I are trying to avoid debt. Truthfully, it had more to do with the fact that I didn’t want to hurt my family financially if/when I failed. Whatever the reason, I am glad that I have done it this way. It has forced me to be creative, frugal and move slower than I originally planned. While I am not yet where I want to be, I have many plans on how to get there. I hope that you will remain with me during this journey.

Now, let’s discuss the details of that piece. I obtained the table from a friend that has always encouraged me in this endeavor. She was purging items from her home and decided to send it my way. It was a solid piece but had a few rough spots.

I sanded the top using an electric sander and a lot of elbow grease.

I stained and treated the top with a light stain.

Then, I painted the legs with cream chalk paint and protected it with coat of wax.

The chairs were also found by the same supportive friend on an online site that was giving them away for free. Just what I needed when starting out!

I took the cushion off of the chair and used white chalk paint for the backs and legs. I used white paint instead of cream because I had intended for the chairs to be sold with another table that I had already finished. It had a darker top with white legs. (This table is still available at https://pjsprojects.com/collections/furniture/products/kitchen-dining-table)

I used clear wax mixed with a bit of dark wax to protect the chairs and bring out the intricacies of the wood and shape of the chair.

I replaced the cushions on all four chairs and applied new coverings. This was my first attempt at reupholstering so I used a lot more fabric and had to redo it a few times to get it right.

This was the intended effect of table and chairs (minus the messy garage).

I brought all of the pieces to a friend’s home for a yard sale and arranged them in a haphazard manner.

Even though, the chairs did not exactly match the table (white versus cream), the gentleman that purchased the items felt that they were a better fit for his space than the larger table.

The money from this sale allowed me to cover the cost of the materials used and have just a bit left over to use for future projects. More importantly, it gave me the confidence to proceed with more projects and the idea to grow a business of my own!