Meet Jennifer Contreras of Furniture Flips in Greater Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Contreras.

Jennifer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Back in 2015, I decided that my bedroom needed a little bit of an update. At the time, I was sharing my space with my two years old son and there was no balance between the nursery style and my style. My room had pretty much been taken over my a crib and a bunch of baby toys. I wanted a space that was relaxing and inviting and a space that said: “I live here too”. So what better way than by updating the furniture, right? Unfortunately, to my surprise, I found that furniture wasn’t very cheap at all. So I got to thinking and I got to looking at my favorite app Pinterest and found that maybe I could avoid the high prices and try a little DIY. So I embarked on my first journey of learning how to paint furniture. I found a used dresser on one of those re-sale websites and followed the Pinterest blog instructions of How To Paint Furniture. I painted my first dresser a silver/gray color and replaced the hardware with some stylish Home Depot handles. I later found some night stands that matched perfectly with the dresser so I bought those and painted them the same color.

Of course, to keep the balance, I added some Dr. Suess books to the bottom shelves of the nightstands. I came to find that painting furniture was actually really fun and something that I really enjoyed. It was also really neat to see old outdated and out of style furniture turn into something new and stylish again. I began looking for more dressers to “flip” and was encouraged by a co-worker to create an Instagram page to show off the pieces I had painted. That’s when I came up with the name “Furniture Flips”. It was a nice feeling of all the support and compliments that I was getting from my friends/followers (all 25 of them at the time). Over the years, I was able to paint more than just dressers; I did coffee tables, hutches, and dining tables. I started adding my own touch to pieces and then this year I started making my own furniture! I absolutely love taking a pile of wood and turning it into something awesome and something that people can use everyday. I’ve been able to make my own furniture now, such as coffee tables, dining room tables, benches, console tables, shelves, cute signs. It’s been so much fun.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first started off, I was living at my parent’s house so I would work out of their garage. But once I got married and moved out into our first apartment, it was a bit of a struggle to get work done inside the apartment. If I had large projects, I would have to go to my parent’s house and work on things there for a few hours at a time. I found it difficult to get myself to want to go there and set up and clean up each time. But thankfully that was only for about nine months. Now that we moved out of the apartment and into a house, my super supportive husband has let me take over the garage so I am able to work much more comfortably and without any worries.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Right now, I am transitioning into making my own custom pieces. I still paint and redo old furniture as well, just not as often. I have made dining room tables, coffee tables, side tables, and much more. But what seems to be the most popular is console/entry tables. I have been busy making plenty of those the past few months. It’s neat because all the tables I’ve made are different in their own ways. That’s what makes them custom. Different in colors, sizes, styles, you name it. I am so proud of the fact that I have repeat customers. I am fairly new to this, but I love that people keep coming back. It makes me feel good and it makes me more confident in what I make and sell. One thing I think that sets me apart is that I like to pray for the families or people I am making my furniture for. It can get a little lonely working as a one-woman business, but thinking about where the furniture is going next and being able to say a little prayer along the way as I’m creating it is comforting.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was always active. I loved playing sports, particularly basketball. I have always been a Laker fan and enjoyed watching as many games as possible. I loved being outside and trying new things. I also loved spending time with my dad. He is so good at fixing things and building. Spending time around him and learning from him has taught me so much. And so much of that I use everyday as I build my furniture.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 5625363894
• Email: jennifer.alvarez616@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Photo credit for the staged console: Vanessa Mancera

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