Louisa Freisenbruch moved to Bermuda and was shocked to see how much new furniture could cost.

Instead of whipping out her chequebook, she decided to get creative.

The mother-of-three has recently turned her passion for sprucing up old or worn furniture into a lucrative business. She posts about her creations and sells them through her Facebook page, The Creative Bug.

“I’ve always enjoyed upcycling,” Mrs Freisenbruch said. “I studied textiles at school and it’s something I’ve always been drawn towards.

“Then when I was in my 20s and starting out with my first apartment in London, I didn’t have much money to spend on furniture and decor. I ended up seeing things in store windows and saying, ‘Well I could do that job’. So I gradually started making little improvements — a tweak to a lamp or some paint on a wall — that’s really how it started.”

From those early experiences she learnt just how big a difference a little colour and added embellishment could make.

Then last Christmas she put those skills to the test to update her Paget home.

“We had this really dark wood furniture set in our bedroom that just made the space look really small and dim,” the 40-year-old said. “We knew if we sold it we wouldn’t get anything near to what we paid for it, so I painted it.

“It turned out so well I thought ‘I should do this for other people’. I also had friends who came to my house and would say the same thing.”

After running out of projects in her own home, she launched The Creative Bug in February to get her “painting fix”.

She’s found Bermuda to be the ideal place for it.

There’s a steady population of people coming and going, which means there’s also a lot of second-hand furniture lying around, Mrs Freisenbruch said.

“Furniture is also quite expensive to ship to the Island. On top of that some of the furniture shops have closed down now and you don’t get a lot of choice here.

“Lots of people want the Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn look — something more rustic looking — but there’s not a lot of that available here either.

“If you order it you are paying their high prices as well as the cost of shipping and duty. Plus you have the risk that when the furniture gets here it will be damaged. That actually happened to me.”

In just a few short months the business has taken off. Mrs Freisenbruch said most of her work has sold so far; she’s also been asked to do lots of custom pieces.

“Someone might already have a piece they want spruced up or they can tell me what they are looking for and I can keep an eye open for it at sales or on Emoo,” she said.

“I work closely with an interior design company, Eye 4 Design, and have started doing some custom work for them as well. I’ve just finished a custom coffee and end table with a custom finish for them and have talked to a few other interior design companies who have shown some interest as well.”

One of the biggest challenges is finding the time to get everything done.

She has three children between the ages of four and nine, which means she has to get the work done while they’re in school or asleep.

“We converted our garage into a workshop which means I can pop down for segments of time. If I have to do an overcoat of paint I can go down there for 20 minutes and then come back to my family while it dries,” she said.

It’s been extremely rewarding to see people’s reaction to her work.

“It’s something I really enjoy,” she said. “It’s relaxing in that I can do a little bit here and there. I don’t have to finish it off in one go.

“I also like putting my creative signature on the pieces and like seeing people surprised by what an old outdated piece of furniture can become.”

Mrs Freisenbruch said it takes a lot of imagination and experimenting in order to get something right.

She takes a lot of inspiration from websites Pinterest and Houzz; as well as from her travels around the world.

“I like showing people they don’t have to buy new furniture, they can recycle what they already have,” she said. “It’s definitely going to be a lot cheaper than buying a new piece. It’s secondhand, but it’s stuff that’s in good condition.

“There are times I will paint something and tweak it until it comes out right and that’s sometimes how I come up with the best things. I feel like I have a lot of good ideas and good taste and that’s been a useful combination.”

• Visit The Creative Bug on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecreativebugbda or send an e-mail: thecreativebugbda@gmail.com