Skip to content

reImagine.  rePurpose.  upCycle.

Our Mission

There is a vision…when I look at a piece of furniture like a rehabber looks at a house. We look beyond the scratches, loose knobs, and dark scuffed dull wood.   I look at the potential.  Does it have good bones to withstand time?  Sometimes I like to know the story behind it…so I can pass it along.  I have heard many, “It was my Mom’s she passed away she kept all her good china in here when her and my dad moved to assisted living they wanted to give it all away. It was my Uncle’s he moved away and left it to his children but they live across the country, we used to sit together at Christmas and all eat together around the table and tell stories, we had great memories.  I can always pass those great stories to new owners they love to hear them.  It is so nice to know who sat in the chair who wrote on the desk. Furniture is as important as a house because it does become a part of your living space and a part of your everyday life and a part of you and your history.

After accessing the structure and sturdiness of furniture, I look at the character, the shape, the lines, how will it look painted, what colors will look nice, what accents, what curves are pronounced, what era.

Not only can we paint a piece of furniture but we can repurpose/upcycle. What can it be used for? I think and evaluate.  I can take a China cabinet and take the doors off and make shelves.  Take a singer sewing machine stand and make a side table.  Take an old peeling broken table and make a kitchen island. It is fun and exciting.  Gets the creative juices flowing. I can bring life to old things and keep things out of the landfill!

When someone comes looking for a piece of furniture I can offer them a piece by recognizing what they are going for and matching them up with what we have available.  If that piece has not already been given a coat of paint or decided on its destiny we can customize one to suit a client who is looking for a specific and design something whimsical, conservative, or whatever suits their fancy. 

 

72

Make a Home Furnishings was cultivated from the need to do something with the items that were sitting in the warehouse and needed a fresh new look.

A portion of the proceeds go to help homeless veterans and families in need. What a concept!

Our Story

  • 2010

    The idea- 9 years ago my husband & I started a nonprofit called Make a Home Foundation (www.mahfct.org), helping homeless veterans and families in need. The idea was born from our love to go to tag sales and garage sales; we would ask everyone what they were doing with all the “left over items” after the tag sale was over and most of the time the answer was, they were going to the dump. We realized there were so many people that needed these things we decided to disperse them ourselves.

  • 2013

    We then saw an Oprah episode that talked about the female veterans that were sleeping in their cars and that our war heroes were coming home displaced and needing our help. We decided to begin focusing our attention on helping our heroes. Our men and women who had fought for our freedom were being neglected not having the basic necessities of life like dishes and a table to eat at or a bed to sleep on.

    We were doing some very good work with the help of our communities and donations. As time went on, we spread our wings to helping anyone who needed help. Victims of domestic violence, women and children, and many more in need.

    Working with many State and community agencies including DCF, DSS, DDS, New Opportunities, Catholic Charities, Columbus House just to name a few.

  • 2015

    Utilizing our warehouse in Waterbury, CT, which is where we held many of the tag sale items we collected, we were able to house all the donations, including the larger antique items. Some of the antique items needed a little sprucing up, which is where the idea to give items new life, instead of ending up in a landfill came from!

    Typically, Make a Home Foundation Inc. does not take anything broken, stained or ripped, but will take items that may be dated or have scratches in the wood.

    Make a Home Furnishings was cultivated from the need to do something with the items that were sitting in the warehouse and needed a fresh new look.

    A portion of the proceeds go to help homeless veterans and families in need. What a concept!

  • 2018

    Opened a beautiful Boutique shop Main St Monroe CT. Picturesque Perfect location and then

  • 2019

    COVID-19 HITS EVERYONE We had to close. 

  • 2020-21

    We moved to our Warehouse with our sister Make a Home Foundation which we support and reinvented ourselves.  We took over the abandoned dirty dilapidated third floor and created a beautiful showroom.  In this historic factory building you can see the brick and wood over 100 years old combined with our furniture and furnishings that look elegant, rustic, farmhouse, mid-century modern and completely eclectic. We are bigger and better than ever! 

Move the slider to see our restoration magic!

IMG_1320-e1553699202495-768x1259IMG_1236-e1553698850765-768x1024

Our Team

image9

Anthony Jackson

Warehouse

profile_anita

Anita Pettengil

Founder 
alex (1)

 Alejandro Albaran

Warehouse

mike

Michael McCarron 

Warehouse

bossman

Dan Telesco

Co-Founder

mitch

Mitchell Sherwood

Driver and Customer Service

crew_7

Edwidge Casimer 

Customer Service

profile_elsa2

Elsa Rodriguez

Office Manager

crew_4

Emmanuel Barron

Warehouse

and our veterans,
customers,
and well wishers…