This post is for all of you who think you’re “not good” at DIY stuff, but wish you were.
A couple weeks ago in the midst of a snowstorm I was sitting on the floor in our family room in front of the fire, and for once, instead of thinking of all the things we have yet to do here, I just sat there admiring our fireplace. We had talked and daydreamed and researched about remodeling it for so long before we did it, trying to decide if we should hire the project out or try to DIY it, and I’m so glad we decided to go for it ourselves. Mark helped me demo the old mantle, and then I refinished the existing built ins and tiled the hearth and surround, and it has made a huge difference to the feel of our house.
I have done the majority of the interior renovations and cosmetic upgrades myself, with no real DIY skills beyond the ability to paint a wall when we first moved here. Nothing is perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot better than where we started, and I did it without going into debt.
Current project: making very basic cabinet doors for the mudroom out of wood scraps in our garage.
I am still learning, still tackling projects that completely intimidate me, still working on improving my skills, but with each DIY I try I feel more courageous for the next one.
Adding stone veneer to the fire pit cast cement base after MANY MANY hours reading, researching, and talking to the guys at the stone yard.
All this to say >>>>
if I can learn to build and tile and remodel, SO CAN YOU
if that’s what your heart desires. If you are dying to DIY but don’t know where to start, take one of the free classes at Home Depot or ask a friend or neighbor to show you how to use a saw or look into what your local vocational high school offers at night. You don’t need a lot of big investment tools to start off. Begin with a small project and you will learn as you go!
The more you build and remodel, the better you get!
You are strong and courageous and creative and smart
and you can totally rock DIY with your own two hands!
Here are a few beginner DIY projects to get you started!
Check out the GALLERY for more project ideas!
Hope you have a great day lovelies!
Carol @ CAD INTERIORS says
This post was so encouraging and motivating – perfect for such a novice DIY-er like myself. But I highly doubt I’ll ever graduate to tiling something, much less building a fire pit (I’m much too lazy to tackle such projects)!
Lisa says
I never thought I’d do that kind of work myself either Carol, but once I tried it I realized it wasn’t that hard….just a bit of a learning curve!