Furniture painting question

Donna
by Donna
I'm a beginner of "furniture painting." (distress, chalk etc.) I have my 1st paying job coming up & don't know how to charge. How do the most of you charge? By the hour or per project? This job is for some friends, so they would get a discount, anyway. Just need some guidance on pricing:) Thank you in advance.
  7 answers
  • Lucid Designs Lucid Designs on Feb 08, 2015
    Are you just beginning furniture painting completely (like never did a project for yourself and know nothing about the products or have just done a piece or two that happened to come out cute) or are you just beginning to branch out and make a business of something you're already familiar with? If you're a brand-newbie to furniture painting all together, it would be so incredibly wrong for you to charge someone (especially your friends) for your lack of knowledge and expertise. If, on the other hand, you already know what you're doing after having gone out and tested/worked with a bunch of different products, know how to deal with wood and repairs, and are just branching out into making a business of it, you charge by the project. After working on some pieces, you should have an idea of what it's going to take (time, effort, and product) to get the piece from where it currently is to where you want it to be. Then you figure out how much that's worth to you and what your client is willing to pay.
  • The Shabby Chic Man The Shabby Chic Man on Feb 08, 2015
    Since you are a Newbie I would just charge the cost of the paint. Now let's say it comes out great and they love it. Most courtesy people will offer you more money.
    • See 1 previous
    • Carole Carole on Feb 08, 2015
      @The Shabby Chic Man Yes and if they like it, ask them to spread the word. Word of mouth is a good way of getting more business. Start with friends,then friends of friends and it just spreads.
  • @Donna that's a really big job. You will find painting that piece a chore. I speak from experience. I think it's great that you want to give your friends a deal on it. I hope they pay you more than the cost of supplies. All those cubbyholes, the inside shelves......very time consuming. I price a project by deciding what I will charge per hour then figure how long the project will take me. Then I add a few more hours to that because I always underestimate the time! Then I add the cost of supplies to my hours. Hope this helps you.
  • Carole Carole on Feb 08, 2015
    If you are new at this, use your friends to practice on and just charge for the materials used. If they are decent people, they will gift you something for your trouble - whether it be money or shout you a meal out or a drink. Once you feel more confident, set an hourly rate and cost in your materials. Experience will show you how long you will spend generally making over each item so you can make a good estimate and not give your time away too cheap. Good luck, I hope you will post in the future with how you are getting on.
  • Donna Donna on Feb 09, 2015
    Thank you for all your comments. I use Hometalk, Pinterest & YouTube for guidance & for bouncing ideas around, all the time. Luv it! Wish me luck:)
  • Jill Suzanne Nassif Jill Suzanne Nassif on Apr 18, 2015
    I have been estimating what the piece is worth originally then adding an hourly charge of 15 and hour.
  • Jill Suzanne Nassif Jill Suzanne Nassif on Apr 18, 2015
    Also, take a gander at some flea markets, thrift stores and the like and compare the items for future reference on what they aare charging. Believe it or not, I thought I was over charging but you really can't find an endtable for less that 40 thats decent. SO If your end table for example is solid wood, great condition and you painted it and it took 3 hours...Say $40bucks, plus your hourly charge, which you should pay yourself well, $15 hr, for a total of $85 bucks. So see if nice painted pieces similar are around this out at thrift stores... Then of course when offered $75 take it. lol.