Alice and Terrance Adams with daughter Gia in their retail shop. Photo by Lauren Payne
Alice Scottidantuono Adams has an indefatigable can-do spirit. “I was at a yard sale with my mom and sister, and a woman said, ‘Look at this furniture I painted,’” Alice says. “I thought, I can do that.” Alice promptly returned home and refinished a pair of old nesting tables, painting them turquoise with a distressed finish. She sold them for $30 after posting an image on Facebook. “They sold like that,” she says, snapping her fingers. “I knew I was onto something.”
One project led to the next, and before long, she’d convinced her husband, Terrance, to join her efforts. In 2013, they launched Renu by Alice, a custom-furniture and cabinet-refinishing business. A retail shop followed in 2016. “She has the vision,” Terrance says. “I just do what she says.” That’s not entirely true, Alice is quick to counter. Terrance, a maintenance mechanic, is a skilled carpenter who’s also handy with a paintbrush. HGTV viewers might recognize the couple from a 2018 episode of Flea Market Flip, which they won.
While the retail shop stocks the couple’s handcrafted barnwood decor, gifts and other unique accessories, the bulk of the business is custom painting and refinishing. “I’ll look at a piece and know what it can be,” Alice says.
Renu by Alice showcases Alice and Terrance’s painted furnishings and offers eclectic beachy items. Photo by Lauren Payne
For a cabinet redo, prep is done in the customer’s home. Alice and Terrance then remove the cabinet doors to be sprayed in their garage. Terrance does most of the dirty work. “The garage is like a spray shop where everything is covered,” he says. “It’s all factory finishes.”
Cabinet refinishing is a booming business for the pair. “We get lots of referrals,” says Alice. “In fact, there’s one street in town where we’ve refinished the cabinets in six kitchens.”
The addition of their daughter, Gia, now one year old, hasn’t slowed them a bit. “We have zero problem getting all dirty,” Alice says. “We’re constantly covered in paint.”
Renu by Alice, 1213 Beaver Dam Road, Point Pleasant, 732-908-9480.