Local entrepreneur turns old furniture into stylish home pieces

Entrepreneur Kaylee Brouwer, of Ramara Township, is gaining a following through her business Furniture Rehab.

Brouwer purchases out-of-date furniture that may otherwise have gone to landfill and transforms them into stylish pieces for people’s homes. She hunts for furniture at discount shops, auctions and buy and sell online pages. Then she uses her artistic paint and woodworking skills to re-create them.

It started in 2014, but as her skills advanced, so has her reputation.

“I’ve been around but people are recognizing my name now,” she said.

Brouwer got started in the business when she was in a late stage of pregnancy with her first of two children.

“I went and bought a $10 coffee table because I wanted to spruce up our living room. I painted it, but it didn’t match, so I posted it online, and I got $80 for it. I went ‘Oh. I just made $70 profit, so it snowballed. I like painting, and it blossomed into this passion,” Brouwer said.

She started learning painting, refinishing and woodworking skills on her own.

“YouTube is a great tool. I am not going to lie. If I were ever stumped about something or a technique I wanted to achieve, I would always turn to YouTube,” she said.

Brouwer said her husband is handy and was a great help in teaching her construction methods.

“He taught me how to use all the tools. I learned a lot from him,” she said.

She now includes a chop saw, drills, Dremel tools, router, table saw, orbital sander, brad nailer and more.

Brouwer has experimented with paint, evolving from that sold at hobby shops to making her own and now purchasing premium.

“My business was flourishing, and some of the paints had built-in top coats and primers, so I wanted to explore that. I got into using fusion mineral paint,” she said.

She gets her paints from Tanya Grenkie of TJ’s Treasures and Custom Creations at 23B Booth St. in Hawkestone.

“She’s my girl. She’s the one I lean on when I’m stuck,” Brouwer said. 

Brouwer said she prefers to stay away from commissions because it’s difficult to estimate the work time needed and to meet client expectations.

“I like to choose what I work on and then if people like it, they buy it,” she said.

In her earlier days, she enjoyed re-painting antique buffets. Now, she does more woodwork.

“I’m now working on the big, bulky pieces with all the flair. I’m taking all of that off and refacing the dresser, or nightstand, or whatever it might be and redoing something that was going to go to the dump,” she said.

Brouwer has become a furniture artist with her own style.

“I love that. That’s the beauty of art. You are allowed to have your own style and own it, and everyone is allowed to like what they like,” she said.

She follows big names in the industry like Brush by Brandy, learning new techniques or tips. 

“I look at all the local artists around me and we all have our own style,” she said.

Brouwer is also a certified home stager, so she knows how to use materials and colours that complement each other in decor.

“That really helped me to properly showcase my furniture,” she said.

Furniture Rehab work is done in outbuildings at her home, one for woodwork and one for finished pieces.

“It helps keep things separate and protected, and when something is done, it can be showcased properly,” she said.

Brouwer posts and sells her finished pieces on her Furniture Rehab Facebook and Instagram pages and on Kijiji and other buy-and-sell pages online.

To see her work in person, Brouwer books by appointment. For more information, you can connect through Facebook/Instagram or email at [email protected].