Giving Vintage Furniture New Life

If you’ve followed my Instagram over the years, you went on the back house journey with me.  The back house as we lovingly call it, is a little one bedroom, one bath, house behind our office.  When I purchased the office, I felt a calling about this place - like I needed to make it something special, furnish it and create a haven for people who needed a short-term rental. 

The hard part about this was that I needed to do it on a budget or else I’d have to charge a high rent and that would defeat the purpose.  I thought it would be fun to outline the things I purchased second hand and gave new life to as well as some of the DIY things I accomplished to create this little one bedroom oasis in Rockwall, TX.

Kitchen

I got super lucky and found cabinets at Discount Home Warehouse that fit the space.  After they were installed and painted a dark plum, I added reclaimed hardware, and a sink skirt made from extra fabric.  For the backsplash I was able to purchase tile from our procurement manager Amanda, who had extra from a personal project of her own. 

Living Room

You can’t really call it a living room because it’s so small but it’s still a great space.  The chair and sofa were both bought off Facebook Marketplace and reupholstered and I got the rug dirt cheap because it had a tiny hole in it that the sofa covered up.  The fabric is happy and works perfectly with the plum cabinets from the kitchen.  Behind the sofa was wallpaper that I hung myself and just put on that small wall.  Low cost, big impact.

Bedroom

Again I found a bed on Facebook Marketplace and had it reupholstered.  The wallpaper is Spoonflower, which is reasonable, and I put it up myself.  I had the end tables and desk and I found the chair in Roundtop for $50 then used fabric that I had accidentally double ordered one time so it was sitting around waiting for a project.    The drapery and bed skirt fabric I found on Etsy for a steal and I also had the lamp shade made from the extra.

Bathroom

For the bathroom, I found this gem during my trip to Discount Home Warehouse. This dresser was already fabricated into a vanity AND it had Sherle Wagner plumbing fixtures – which is really, really exciting.  For the tile, I used penny tile but hand placed a beautiful design on the floor to make it interesting and the cost was more my time then materials.  I also hung the wallpaper myself.  Like I said before, it was a labor of love and something I really felt the need to do - so spending my weekends hanging paper was not so bad - especially when it turns out like this. 

The great part about finding interesting items second hand is that the price point reflects that it’s not brand new.  The downside is the time and luck it takes.  If you have a passion for all things Facebook Marketplace, my advice is to have a plan first.  Know what sizes you are looking for, what will work with your space and work together with what you already have.  It won’t save you money if you make a lot of mistakes choosing the right item. So go with quality, shape and size and then find yourself a good work room to complete the rest!

Since we’ve had the backhouse complete, we’ve had 6 tenants reside in the space.  Each of these tenants were in need of someplace for less than 6 months and were in a transition spot of their life.  For example, four of the tenants were DPS officers (Department of Public Safety).  My husband works for DPS, and we know that when someone is promoted, it often means they are heading to a new city.  If the rest of the family doesn’t want to move until school ends or some other reason, a lot of times that officer needs a place to land until their family joins them or they find a house or sometimes even get another promotion that takes them back to where their family is living.  So, this little one bedroom, one bath is a great place for them to rent while they figure out where the best spot is for them to move permanently.

Another family had a house fire and needed a place to stay while the damage to their home was fixed.  They were thankful for a place that was still close to their kids school and since their furniture was also being treated, this meant they could move right in and not have to worry about anything else. 

Finally, it’s home to someone going through a crossroads in life and really needed a short term, furnished, reasonable place to stay for a couple months while figuring out what’s next.  When they heard through a friend that it was available, they told me they cried because they’d spent all day looking for something like it and I just happened to put it on my neighborhood Facebook page that day.   

I really feel like the I know when someone is in need of a place and we always seem to find one another.  Call it women’s intuition, a gut feeling or the Holy Spirit but I know.  I had a great time designing it and did as much on a budget as possible.  Did I spend more then I should have, well ya – I’m a designer, I can’t do things halfhearted – but for the most part I did stay within budget and I had the best time with this project.

 To watch the whole process, check out my stories Instagram and click on the “Back House” button.