How I got Into Woodworking-My Story

I never imagined I would be doing what I do. And LOVING it!! I never thought of myself as being creative. I would often go to my sister and mom for decorating advice and just didn’t feel adequate when it came to that department. I not only didn’t feel like it was my strong-suit (at all!), I also didn’t enjoy it AT ALL. There were plenty of other things I would have rather done to fill my time. Interior design/home decorating was NOT my thing!

But then, I never thought our lives would be turned completely upside down either. A couple weeks ago, I shared my family’s story and the “WHY” behind my woodworking ventures. As promised, today I’m completing that story and sharing with you “HOW I got into woodworking.”

About the time of Corey’s accident, there was this little search engine called “Pinterest” that was starting to make some big waves. Corey moved from full-time hospital care to full-time outpatient therapies. I went from a stay-at-home mom to a full-time driver/caregiver, doing everything I could to nurture the greatest extent of recovery possible. This meant many hours spent day after day in waiting rooms while he was in speech therapy or physical therapy or occupational therapy…you name it, he had it!!
I had my own therapy too—Pinterest! I know that may sound cheesy. But it truly became an escape from my reality. I would peruse all of the beautiful room makeovers and dream about making our home look like that. It was the craziest thing, all of the sudden I was excited about interior design. Pinterest made it look so easy and showed me that anyone can renovate a room or why stop there!? An entire home!!

After about a year of Corey in therapies and Pinterest becoming my new found love, I came home one day—inspired. I had been admiring wooden staircases and had read several tutorials of how to get the same look.

So, totally on a whim, I announced to Corey and the kids, “I’m ripping the carpet off the stairs and we are going to have a beautiful wooden staircase!” As they all watched me, with a look of, “oh no, it’s happened, mom has completely lost it!” I confidently started peeling the carpet back, revealing the naked wood underneath.

Of course, there’s a little more to a Pinterest-worthy wooden staircase than just ripping back the carpet and calling it a day. But thanks to Pinterest, I was ready to tackle this project head on! And so I did!

And so began, a domino effect of room makeovers. Our home has been in continuous chaos, I mean renovation ever since. And I ABSOLUTELY love it!!!

My grandfather was a furniture builder and I have since followed in his footsteps. What started out as my own much-needed source of therapy, has become a passion/hobby that is so fulfilling and rewarding. Have I mentioned, how much I love it??

My favorite thing to build? Sliding barn doors, farm tables and my latest love—industrial style desks. Room makeovers are probably my most favorite building projects to tackle. Watching a room transform from BLAH to WOW, is so rewarding!!

So, where did the writing come in? Of course, I dove into this new venture with both feet! And was tackling project after project. A friend of mine, suggested I start a blog to share my story AND my projects. With my second (maybe close 1st) love being writing, I was very much intrigued with this idea. After looking into it and consulting with my techy nephew, I bought a domain and so began Repurpose Life. And there you have it! The full story behind WHY and HOW I started this venture.

Of course, I couldn’t do it without all of you. Thank you for coming along with me on this journey!! We have learned a lot together!! And I can’t wait to see what is to come!

Until next time,

Happy Building, Friend!!

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