Wanting to combine her philanthropic side with her love of interior design, she set about opening Restor'd - a furniture store with a difference.

The Shellharbour shop only sells upcycled boutique furniture, donating all of its profits to charity.

Smith admits she loves the thrill of turning an unwanted chair or table into a covetable piece.

"We will take anything and everything and recycle it," she said.

"We've had people not want to bring things in because they're broken. I've turned wobbly, old chairs into bookshelves and a cracked table into two hall tables; I love being able to repurpose furniture into other things."

And she's not the only one - recycled furniture is having a serious moment, thanks to reality TV shows and the general focus on reusing and restyling.

"I think people enjoy having something different in their home," Smith said.

"We are a society that buys so much and throws so much away, it's nice to know you own something that's useful again."

Smith and her husband, Rick, who owns Illawarra building company Talon Construction Group, have long been keen to use their design talents to give back. The couple have made several trips to Uganda to build schools and hospitals for orphaned children and were inspired to open Restor'd on a 2010 holiday.

"When I saw [that] little girl sitting in the dark in this mud hut while her mum was out digging the fields, my heart just broke," Smith said. "I looked up and saw this single line of clothes and realised that was all they had. I thought: 'Why is it that our children and grandchildren have so much and these children have nothing?'

"From them on, we set about using our skills to open something that could help children everywhere."

The store will donate its profits to missions in Uganda and India, along with the local William Campbell Foundation.

Smith is hoping other people will help by donating preloved furniture that could do with a makeover.

"We've had a few things come in slowly, but we need much more," she said.

"I use Annie Sloan chalk paint to upcycle all my pieces, because it allows me to do it quickly.

"It used to take me days to turn something around; now I can do it overnight and that's what we want: furniture on the shelves fast."

The store is also set to offer workshops and space for budding furniture makers.

Restor'd is located at 152 New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour.