Leucadia Woman Takes Furniture from Discarded to Dazzling

When Leucadia resident Jenn Ainsworth sees an old couch on the side of the road, her heart skips a beat. A lot people may see junk on that curb — but she sees the potential for something beautiful. With a little handiwork and some well-chosen fabric, she can breathe new life into discarded furniture.

“I like the idea of using what we already have,” she explains. “So much furniture ends up going to landfills and not all of it has to.”

Her home is dotted with proof of that. For example, the chair in her bedroom was destine for the dump — but now it’s one of her favorite places to sit with her young son. 

Ainsworth is now in the business of turning old chairs and couches into treasures for other people via her company Liven UP Design. Customers can browse her inventory online, and in many cases, select the fabric they’d like for a piece.

“The crazier the print, the better,” she says. “Bold, bright patterns always make for good conversation pieces.”

Remarkably, Ainsworth has pretty much taught herself how to reupholster furniture. Several years ago she covered a couch in fabric, relying mostly on the directions she got over the phone from her mother. The more Ainsworth dabbled, the more she realized she had a knack for it. Her hobby finally hit full throttle when she and her husband purchased their circa 1971 Leucaida home. 

“Every weekend we had some project to redo part of the house, and some of that creative energy must have carried over because that’s when I really stepped into it all the way, much to my husband’s chagrin,” she jokes.   

Ainsworth says most of her finds come from thrift shops, online sales, or curbsides — just so long as the piece “has really good bones.” 

After she does the tough job of stripping down the piece — the “man work” as she calls it — the fun begins. Her real passion is transforming the pieces with a modern, bold twist, which often comes from the fabric. 

Most days Ainsworth works out of her home while her son attends Paul Ecke Central Elementary School. Though her business is homegrown, most of her clients are not local — but that's something she hopes to change.

“Most people find me online, so they don't live around here,” she says. “People in this community are excited when they find out what I do, so I think this is a good fit for Encinitas. I’d love for more locals to know what I’m doing, and know that I’m doing it right here in this community.”

If you'd like to checkout Ainsworth’s work, visit her Facebook page or checkout her online Etsy shop.

Do you know of another unique Encinitas business? Email editor Marlena Medford at marlena.medford@gmail.com. 

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