antiques – ReVamped Furnishings

Atlanta Couple Upcycles to Create Chic Furnishings for the Home

(Picture provided courtesy of ReVamped Furnishings)

While some people spend their free time watching television or shopping, Andrew and Deanna Cauthen, owners of ReVamped Furnishings, spend a large amount of their free time driving around looking for discarded furniture to upcycle.

“We both have an eye for the potential in a piece that someone else may have discarded, but it’s not the same eye,” Deanna said. “Often he sees something I don’t see and other times I see what he doesn’t see.”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, to upcycle means “to reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original”.

“Everyday is a quest and no two days are alike,” said Deanna Cauthen. “Most of the stuff we find is sitting at the curb, so it’s not exactly dumpster diving, but it’s close. As they say, ’One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, said Deanna. “We like to consider ourselves urban conservationists,” said Andrew. “We give new life to trash and keep it out of a landfill. So what we do is good for the environment.”

Andrew shared that sometimes upcycling an item can be as simple as adding a few basic elements to the piece. “I recently added casters and a few hooks to a large antique dresser that I refinished and made it into a kitchen island. It ended up being one of our most popular pieces,” said Andrew.

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Although they primarily focus on refinishing and selling antiques, and restoring heirloom pieces of furniture for clients, the owners enjoy the creative side of finding items to upcycle and using them to make original, organic pieces such as the bistro table in their home that Andrew made from a packing crate and washtub.

“I originally had a much larger table in that area, but I wanted to streamline things, so we came up with the idea of a bistro table,” said Deanna.

Andrew also designs and sells rustic headboards, custom wall art, and raised flower beds and boxes, out of reclaimed wood.

“The beautiful thing about an upcycled item is that you have a one-of-a-kind piece. It’s not mass produced, so you know that no one else will have exactly what you have. So if you’re looking for something special for your space, ReVamped Furnishings can make that happen for you,” said Deanna.

For more information about ReVamped Furnishings, visit their website at www.revampedfurnishings.com.

August 13, 2018July 29, 2019 by writermom

Trash to treasure—furniture flipping becomes booming business

July 26, 2018, by Kathy Mitchell–The Champion Newspaper

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” according to an old saying, and Decatur residents Deanna and Andrew Cauthen have made a business of turning what some have regarded as trash into treasured pieces of furniture.

What started several years ago as a hobby and an inexpensive way to furnish their Decatur home, the married couple has turned into a lucrative home business, Revamped Furnishings.

Andrew said he started years ago refurbishing furniture and has built his skills over the years. Now, when he comes home from his job with DeKalb County he usually spends a few hours restoring a piece covered in scuffed paint or marred with nicks and scratches to its former beauty.

To read the article in its entirety, visit The Champion Newspaper.

July 26, 2018 by writermom

Decatur Residents Flip Furniture for Financial Freedom

Andrew and Deanna What do an old oak dresser, a mini refrigerator, and a Lane coffee table have in common?

They were all curbside furniture finds discovered by Andrew and Deanna Cauthen, owners of ReVamped Furnishings.

Although they are both successful communications professionals, helping several family members in crisis over the years had left them struggling financially.

“We had gotten behind on some things and we knew we needed to increase our income, but the question was how should we do it,” said Deanna, who works part-time as a writer and public relations/marketing specialist.

The Cauthens took a close look at their furniture-flipping hobby and ultimately decided to monetize it.

“We essentially gave ourselves a pay raise instead of waiting for someone else to give it to us,” Deanna said.

As longtime thrift store shoppers, Deanna and her husband, a communications manager, have been finding and fixing furniture for almost two decades.

“We started out purchasing and refurbishing stuff just for ourselves to set up house and home when we first got married. Over time it became a hobby and we began to fix and sell items to other people,” she said.

These days, most of the furniture that they flip is from curbside finds.

“Every time we go out, we’re always on the lookout for the next piece. Sometimes we will come across a piece that I think is awful, but Andrew will see the potential in it. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust his judgment about those kinds of things,” said Deanna, who primarily does the marketing for the business.

She also talked about the adrenaline rush they get every time she and her husband find a piece of furniture.

“Actually, the rush is three-fold. We’re thrilled when we find the piece, excited to refinish and restore it back to its former glory, and we’re always ecstatic when we sell it.”

Deanna said the business is growing by leaps and bounds. They recently built a workshop so that they can have a dedicated workspace and have had to rent a storage unit to house the furniture that needs to be refinished.

“People talk about finding their passions, but I think that it’s up to each of us to discover our passion as we go about the business of life. If you work long enough and hard enough, you’ll develop a love for something, and who knows, it could end up being a money maker.”

“We haven’t reached all of our financial goals yet, but we’re definitely on our way,” Deanna said. “It’s such a blessing to be able to make the money we need doing the thing we love to do the most.”

July 4, 2018July 4, 2018 by writermom