It all started way back when, in freshman year of college. My university has a Spring Carnival every year, where organizations build these carnival “booths”. They are usually 8×10, sometimes multi-story, elaborately decorating structures where people can take a tour through the inside and play games. I signed up to build a booth with my freshman dorm. It was the first time I had done anything in realm of construction. True, I was just painting, mostly. But from there I was hooked. The following year, I joined an organization that built a bigger booth. And the two years after that, I was the Booth Chair for that organization.

Since then, I have gotten into a ton of renovation and small construction projects. Almost no room in my house has been untouched. I’ve done electrical, refinished hardwood floors, built furniture from scratch, installed floating shelves with lighting, done so.much.painting, patched holes in drywall, laid tile, refurbished furniture….the list goes on. Honestly, I love it. But more importantly, I’ve learned so much. And that’s why we’re here. As much as I love sharing my projects, I also want to share my resources. I am a chronic researcher, so lots of projects I’ve done have hours of reading and asking questions and researching. So hopefully what I’ve learned will save you some time. And, of course, you can always share your own thoughts and feedback as well.