Elaine @CurbVulture: Hi, welcome to the Curb Vulture podcast! I’m your host, Elaine Mingis, owner of Curb Vulture, a vintage furniture company based in Austin, Texas. You can check out our inventory at curbvulture.com. I’m excited to restart this amazing podcast, now in video format. Today, I have my very first guest, Sarah from Home Dwellings. Sarah, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: Hi, Elaine. My name is Sarah Lowry, also known as @HomeDwellings on Instagram. I do furniture flipping and reselling here in Austin, Texas. I’m a mom of three, married, and growing my business.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s awesome! How did you come up with the name Home Dwellings?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: When we first moved here, I got into furniture flipping. I wanted a name that reflected my love for being home. I homeschool my kids and love all things furniture, so it just fit.
Elaine @CurbVulture: How did you get started with furniture flipping?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: You were actually part of that! When I moved here three years ago, I wanted to get into house flipping. I picked up a table at a thrift store, but it sat in my garage for months. I realized if I couldn’t flip a table, I couldn’t flip a house. So, I finished the table, sold it for almost nothing, and realized I could do this better. I saw you speak about how you helped your family by selling items found on the curb. That inspired me to combine finding pieces for free and flipping them.
Elaine @CurbVulture: I didn’t know I was part of your journey! That’s so awesome. What was your favorite piece that you found and flipped?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: It wasn’t on the side of the road, but a free listing for a Cloud dupe couch from Living Spaces. I picked it up, cleaned it, and resold it for $600. Zero investment other than a 20-minute drive!
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s incredible! You mentioned you take a lot of your finds to the car wash to clean them. How does that work?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: During the hot summer, I couldn’t clean couches manually in the sun. So, I started taking them to the car wash to power wash them. It worked perfectly. I scrubbed out stains, rinsed them, and let them dry in the sun.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s so smart! What advice do you have for someone starting in this business?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: Learn how to list your items well. Good quality photos and detailed descriptions are crucial. I mainly list on Facebook Marketplace but am exploring options for shipping to expand my reach.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s great advice. So, tell us about your home life. How do you balance your business with family and homeschooling?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: My husband and I split the week. He’s a tattoo artist, so he’s home half the week, and I do my furniture work the other half. We manage homeschooling between us. It’s a hustle, but it works.
Elaine @CurbVulture: It’s amazing how you make it work. Your kids must see you as a role model. Do they get involved?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: They love to be involved as much as they can. They come along for furniture pickups, making it a family event. It teaches them the value of hard work.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s wonderful. What’s your favorite type of furniture to flip and resell?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: For reselling, I love the speed of flipping couches. For furniture flips, dressers are my favorite because they always sell well.
Elaine @CurbVulture: Your business has evolved over the years. How has your style or focus changed?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: I used to think reselling had to be vintage, but it can be any style. I choose items I think will resell well, regardless of their style.
Elaine @CurbVulture: It’s important to adapt. What are your long-term goals?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: My long-term goal is to get into house flipping. The skills I’ve learned from furniture flipping will definitely help with that.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That’s fantastic. You mentioned offering an online course. What can we expect from it?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: The course will cover everything from sourcing items to reselling and flipping furniture. It will include tutorials and tips on staging, listing, and finding items.
Elaine @CurbVulture: That sounds great. Where can people find you online?
Sarah @HomeDwellings: You can find me on Instagram @HomeDwellings.
Elaine @CurbVulture: Thank you so much, Sarah. I appreciate your time and insights. I hope our listeners have learned a lot about starting their own vintage furniture resale business and keeping history out of the landfill. Join us again next week!