DIY & Design
Even though I initially went to school to be a nurse, it’s really no surprise I ended up in interior design and now DIYing.
When I was maybe four years old, my Mémé (short for Grandmére) took care of me quite often and used to take me shopping for material and patterns. I loved touching all the pretty fabrics in the store, mimicking her every move. And I really don’t remember a time when we didn’t return home with yards of pretty fabric for her next project. She was a remarkable seamstress as was my Mom. Between the two of them, both my walking doll and I were little fashion plates in matching outfits. There was nothing they couldn’t imagine, make or do.
As I grew up, Mom became a DIYer long before it was a thing. Besides sewing, she sanded, painted, planted, embroidered, needlepointed and refinished anything and everything. And her workmanship was impeccable. I remember her always saying that “Carol, There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things, so save the time, and do it the right way the first time”. Her sewing was a perfect example of this mantra. She absolutely believed that the inside of a dress should be finished so well, that you could wear it inside out, and it would still look nice. Without fail, hers always did.
My grandfather was a fine cabinet maker and woodworker. He and my Uncle Rex built my uncle’s house and were always making something. One of my most vivid memories is standing next to the table saw, with my nose close to the edge, watching them cut wood for whatever project they were working on. To this day I love the action at construction sites and the smell of fresh cut wood. It’s the perfume of my early childhood and always makes me think of them.
By the age of 21 with a toddler and another on the way, I started a home-based business creating and fabricating decorative pillows and window treatments for interior designers and anyone else needing those services. It was a great way to make extra money and I loved it. At the same time, I did a lot of DIY projects in our little house and soon after the birth of my second child, worked at a Sherwin-Williams paint store every Saturday as well. So even though I had attended college for a year, convinced I wanted to be a nurse, the creative world was beckoning.
But it wasn’t until a wonderful interior designer named Elisabeth, who brought me lots of pillow work, spoke up and asked if I had ever considered going to college one day. When she learned I already had a full year of college credits completed, Elisabeth pushed me to return before they expired and encouraged me to switch majors to interior design. And that’s what I did.
It was an incredibly difficult five years commuting to school, working parttime and raising a family but I finally got that degree. And within two months of graduation, I began my interior design career. It was exciting, challenging and hard work. I loved it for many years as an employee and eventually a business owner, but as we all know, life has a way of happening in spite of your best laid plans and you have to learn to roll with it. I did my fair share of “rolling” and the years flew by until I suddenly woke up on my 70th birthday a couple of years ago thinking, “Hey! Wait just a minute! I’m not done yet!”
So here I am, inviting you to join me as I kick up some dust while sewing, sawing, building, sanding, drilling and painting my way through house and home! I promise to blog about it all – the trials, the tribulations and successes.
And hopefully, no matter how old you are, you will be inspired to give DIY a try or at the very least, be entertained. 😉
