My poor hubby. He just didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he married me. I come from a family of DIY’ers. I have family and friends that are in construction, so there was always a barter system going on while I grew up. Everybody helped each other out, with the expectation that it would come back to them and that the fridge would be full of beer and Mom would feed them well. The expectations were always met. 😉
We have been renovating most of my life, so it is just a part of life, like the changing of the seasons. When we moved into the old farmhouse when I was three, it needed a lot of work. I remember pictures of the white paint peeling off the house and the interior tore up from the many different renovations. Mom and Dad did a great job in updating the old place, but then we lost it in foreclosure when I was twelve.
They bought another old farmhouse (only smaller), and started again. They could only do so much at a time, though. When I was in high school I wanted to get rid of the red shag icky carpet in my bedroom, so I bought new carpet for my room from money I earned. That was a happy day, let me tell ya! I also put up new wallpaper, on the “wall” between my sister and I’s bedroom. It wasn’t so much a wall as it was a few pieces of paneling thrown up on some studs. I was just trying to make my little space as homey as possible!
They put on an addition while I was in college and living at home, so we all pitched in and put on a new roof, as well. Hanging off the chimney with a rope like a monkey didn’t faze me at all. Now, well, I do believe it would be another story being old and decrepid, and all. 😉
One update I loved, was when they took old weathered boards from my Grandma and Grandpa’s falling down barn and used them for a wall. The farm has been sold since Grandma died, but they still have a piece of where my Dad grew up.
When Brian and I bought our first house, it was a brand new townhouse. We signed on the building contract about a month before we got married. We love stress, so it was just a natural thing to do. 😉 When we got the keys we took a week of vacation and painted our great room and three or four other rooms. Brian thought that we were DONE. Silly man!
During our five years of owning it, we put in ceramic tile, a wood floor and I painted and repainted just about every room in it. When we went to sell it our realtor told us we didn’t have to do anything to stage it. Too bad we did TOO MUCH to it and were priced over what the market wanted to pay. And this was when the housing market was GOOD! I’m not bitter at all about having two mortgage payments for six months. Not at all!
Now this house. We have now taken off all of the 20+ year old nasty, dirty, annoying, ugly and bothersome wallpaper. Can you see me doing the happy dance?? Oh wait, I just remember the pantry has wallpaper in it…GAH! That will be another day…
I hardly ever use painter’s tape anymore, since I’ve gotten to be a pro at edging. We also put up a chair rail in Kai’s room and now the moulding in the kitchen. He has replaced lots of lights, too. A requirement of each home improvement project has been a new tool, and men like to collect tools, so that keeps Brian happy. It is slowly reflecting our personalities and what we like. We plan on living in this house for a long time, so we are putting effort into making it beautiful to us.
There is just something about doing it yourself that gives you such a sense of satisfaction. I know not everyone wants to do it, for obvious reasons. It’s a lot of work! It makes updating your house so much more affordable, though. I hope our kids learn how to DIY, too, because it is a great skill to have. It’s wonderful to be able to sit back and say, “I did that”. 🙂
Moulding is much more difficult than you would think. It requires MATH! Those corners are hard!
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Gratuitous kid shot since I didn’t have time to photograph anything I wanted to for DIY. Of course, I did DIY this, too. 😉
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What did you DIY?
I love DIY projects (your last line had me cracking up!)
Mr. Daddy put down some wood flooring and basically will never let a hired hand touch our place… he takes care of it in his free time – lucky he’s got the skills (even if not much free time!) 🙂
The moulding looks great… I miss my red crown! Already planning some for the new place – don’t tell Mr. Daddy 😉
I agree – DIY really makes it worth more to you after all that hard work!
It looks great!! I swear, is there anything that you DON’T know how to do?! 🙂
it looks gr8…
And yea, guys like their tools….LOL
I’m with Maggie – I don’t think there’s anything you can’t do!
Awwww…Thanks!
Killashandra wanted me to link to her post since she is out of town, so here is her Theme Thursday post:
http://www.killlashandra.org/wordpress/?p=1728
The first thing I learned about DIY is that having the right tool makes any job 100% easier. I don’t even want to think of doing molding without a miter saw. Thus far we’ve been tool-free on this remodel since we already had the miter from the chair rail upstairs, but I think the tile will result in a couple new tools since this will be purely on our own. The tile was a joint effort in the old house and most of the tools were borrowed at that time.
My childhood was similar. My father and grandfather could build anything. I helped with laying tile floor, building walls, tons of painting, removing and installing carpet. I have found all that experience to be very helpful now. I also secretly like it 😉
I forgot my link I Miei Due Bambini.
Stacy we are the exact same way. Growing up, my dad did everything. My husband’s dad is really handy too. So there’s not much that my husband doesn’t think he can do, which is a good thing most of the time. New tools are definite motivation too!! We also ripped down 30 year old wallpaper and repainted the whole house. We have lived in the house for 7 years and 3 of the rooms have been repainted again. We have pulled up carpet and put down wood floors. We have knocked down walls and redone our kitchen too. I just didn’t get my stuff together this week to get any pictures.
I love that you recarpeted your room when you were still living with your parents. I guess you were born to DIY!!
This DIY-ness and craftiness started a LONG time ago, now we know! I can’t believe how amazing the crown moulding looks! It is incredibly painful and trying to do corners!
My parents are crazy DIYers too…I’m excited to jump in and start some projects. I’m always looking at houses to buy that are in need of extreme makeovers! 🙂
I have just one quick story/pic of Em’s DIY today.
No wonder you are so good at all that. My dad did the usual home fix its but not much more than that. I’ve always wanted to take on something big so I will one day.
Somehow your DIY is a wee bit more impressive. 🙂 Either way, coming from someone with ZERO DIY skills, I’m impressed with you both!
I love that you have the boeard form the old barn. That adds so much character. I am not a DIY’er at all. I just dont have that kind of energy. I envy those who whip things up like this. Its funny though, the first thing I noticed in the picture is your ceiling. My husband works for his family business doing drywall and ceiling texture. It has become natural to me over the years to look at ceilings when I walk into a room because he does. Isnt that sad!? The moulding is a really beautiful touch.
I am so sad I didn’t get to do a DIY post for this Theme 🙁
When I moved to the UK and had the BA and was all on my ownsome, I bought a rundown old end of terrace house (with help from Dad) and we proceeded to make it our own. I raked out wall cavities, knocked down gable ends, stripped plaster off walls to repair salt damp, tiled walls and floors, painted, painted, painted, put up guttering and dug a sump drain! With friends we completed changed the garden by digging out and removing 13 tonnes of dirt to create a sunken patio! There was a lot of imperfection in that house but we sure put a lot of love into it. So when I married Himself and he announced he knew nothing about DIY I thought we would be OK. Little did I know that knowing nothing also means assuming that others also know nothing and being too terrified to attempt anything I suggest! *sigh* nowadays, who has time?