Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
As a young mom, I had a fixer-upper home to live in. Two items were my inspirations.
First was the living room paneling. Dark, old, and cheap—it had to go. I bought wallpaper made to cover rough surfaces and then painted it white.
Second was the kitchen cabinetry. Similarly, it was dark and cheap wood. I was deluded into thinking this would be easy. Ha! It was work—sweaty, hard work. I scrubbed every surface with a chemical to remove the oil and dirt, went over the same surface with low-grit sandpaper, and cleaned the debris. Did I mention I had to remove the doors and place them on sawhorses in the garage? Oops! Forgot that.
I primed and painted those cabinets and doors until they were a glossy white. They were lovely. Actually, these improvements sold the house.
When I started, I thought, what am I doing? Overwhelm hit me. The job was big, and I didn’t know if I could do it. But I had to finish. Half-painted is not pretty. Forget failure, do the work.
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