I think, when I had the Sunday Editions last month, I mentioned that we were in the middle of moving. As of today, we’re now in the new house. All our things are here (still mostly in boxes, ha) and the old house is still waiting for the right buyer to find it.
Now that all our things are out of the old house, we’ve been trying to figure out what we need to do to make it a little more appealing to potential buyers.
And as part of that, we decided that we probably needed to paint a good portion of the house. Because I love color. And maybe the colors weren’t what house buyers were looking for.
It killed me a little. I’ve never been one to walk away from a house project, and I will admit to not really understanding why anyone would let paint color in a few rooms keep them from loving a house. But that’s okay! Because, like I said, I’ve never been one to walk away from a house project.
I grew up in a family full of DIY aficionados. I don’t think there’s much my dad can’t do around the house. And I grew up helping. (I think, sometimes, Dad probably put quotation marks around the word, but he was still happy to have me and my sister there and show us how to use the tools and get the jobs done.)
In addition to actually doing projects, we watched all the old-school home improvement shows growing up – I don’t think we ever missed an episode of This Old House or The New Yankee Workshop. And when HGTV started up? The whole family were fans.
All of that fed the development of Deidre McIntyre, the heroine of the first book in my now complete Peacock Hill series, A Heart Restored. Deidre is a handy-woman. She grew up working with and for her dad, who was a handyman and had a small business. And when Deidre was old enough, she took it over and turned it into something big and amazing.
And then, of course, it all came crashing down.
So Deidre headed down to the mountains of southwest Virginia, bought a dilapidated mansion, and rolled up her sleeves to get to work.
As I was painting room after room this past week, I was thinking about Deidre and what a daunting task an enormous mansion must have
been compared to me and my normal suburban home. The slow, repetitive motion of rolling paint on a wall is great for imagining. And, for whatever reason, I spent a lot of the time thinking about Deidre and Peacock Hill.
Since I spent so much time mulling the stories, I thought it would be fun for you to get a chance to get to know Deidre and the Peacock Hill gang, if you haven’t already.
So I’ve set A Heart Restored free through July 11th.
Do you enjoy DIY projects? If you do – what’s the favorite thing you’ve done?
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
Congratulations on the move and the new home, how great to be able to do it in your own time. I’m not much into DIY, allergies make anything with paint and dust excruciating for me. As someone who isn’t particularly visual I find it challenging to imagine what a room could look like, however I do know friends who after white washing their colour schemes either sold or improved the price they sold for significantly. Good luck with the new stories and selling the house.
I don’t enjoy too many DIY projects but I did enjoy A Heart Restored. :-)
Thank you! I will say the paint we used in the old house recently is the first that I’ve had to open the windows while rolling on. It was a different brand (a “better” one) but man, the first day my headache was rough until I figured out the issue.
Ha. Thank you! Maybe it’s more fun to read about people doing DIY :)
Congrats on your new home Elizabeth. I enjoyed reading the Peacock Hills series. While I watched several home improvement series, I am not very handy. Two of my sons are. They have done many home improvement projects. I also enjoyed watching shows on how to stage a home to help sell it. So when my father passed in 2014, we spent 3 months doing updates (master bath and new kitchen flooring), plus new electrical fuse box, removed carpet (hardwood floors were underneath) and outdated window treatments, and did some painting. I staged the home with some selected family furniture, so folks could visualize how rooms were used. According to experts it is a toss up whether to try to sell the house empty or staged. Real estate agent had several open houses and twice I dropped the price. The open house gave us an idea what might help sell the house. I purchased kitchen appliances to help the sale. Sold in 6 months. But due to Covid, inflation, and high interest rates; it is a tough market. Best wishes on selling your home. Enjoy your weekend.
We are hopeful that maybe being empty (and a more neutral color) will do the trick. It’s so hard to know how much/what to do improvement wise.
I don’t enjoy too many DIY projects, at least, not major ones. I do like making my own cards, which is a good DIY project. I did paint the master bedroom and bath (or, really, “helped” as my friend’s hubby did the majority, as she also “helped” like I did!). I still need to work in the office/craft room and the guest bedroom. I’m like you, I love color on walls, which is why my master bedroom and bath are now a shade of purple called First Dance. The office/craft room is one day going to be the same color! All of the other rooms in the house have color, too, as Mom always liked color on the walls. My friend said she’d always gone with neutral colors (beige, off white), but she really liked my purple!!
welcome today. thanks for sharing the book. I do enjoy home projects. But my husband is a huge procrastinator so, some of them I physically cant do.
Card making is a skill I don’t have! I have a friend who sends me her creations now and again and they’re always so special.
It’s hard when you need help but can’t get it. We struggle with that sometimes here too.
I once assembled a bookshelf by myself. When I was done, there were pieces left over that I’m sure were supposed to have been included. But the thing was sort of standing, so I let it be. In short, I’m not good at DIY! But I love, love, love watching home renovation shows.
I used to watch a lot of HGTV and buy decorating magazines. Dreaming was so much fun! And I used what I’d learned in a previous renovation in the late 90s. But then we moved into a very small house and once things were in place, there wasn’t really any way to rearrange them. And we no longer had cable and magazines got expensive, so I locked that part of myself away and only let it come out to play a little in the stories I wrote.
Now we are renovating that very small house, and I am thoroughly enjoying Pinterest for all the updated design stuff. I feel like I’ve been able to open a window and get a fresh spring breeze in on my locked-away love! Sadly we are still in the dust stage of this renovation…
Loved the Peacock Hill series and watching the old house shine again!
Congratulations on your new home and your house will sell before you know it. :) Yes, I enjoy doing some DIY projects, I have done a few of them and it is so very nice after seeing what I was able to do. Have a great weekend.
Ikea furniture always has extra bolts or such and it makes me a little crazy because I don’t know if missed something. But yeah, if it stands up and works then it’s all good.
The dust stage. Ah yes. But that will go before long and you’ll have a lovely more workable space!
The end is always wonderful to look at what you were able to do with your own two hands!
Yes I like diy projects have did quite a bit of them.One of my favorites was making paper lanterns and my younger sister hung it up in her room.
Paper lanterns are so pretty! I’m glad they were hung up and enjoyed!
Seems like we are always doing diy projects. My favorite was just the two of us building our house.
Ooh, fun. I have never built a house from scratch. Closest we got were some very sturdy forts for the kids.
I will try this a second time. Thank you so much for sharing. I enjoy watching the DYI shows on HGTV, but I am not handy. Since I cannot walk or stand for very long, it limits what I can do. God bless you.
That definitely makes it harder! My knee was giving me fits (I think because I was up and down the step ladder for three days non stop) toward the end and it’s much less fun to DIY when you hurt.
I’m OK with simple DIY. Otherwise I call in a professional.
There is definitely a time for professionals! Plumbing and electrical come to mind :)
I prefer reading about DIY projects to doing DIY projects. I’ve heard that the smell of baking helps sell a house. Is there air fresheners that evoke that? Good luck in getting settled in your new home and selling your former home.
That’s a great suggestion. We have an open house tomorrow, I’ll have to see if I can find Febreeze or something that’s cookie scented.
don’t really do them
I don’t mind DIY projects & my husband and I have tackled many over the years. Replacing kitchen sink faucets, Shower-heads, changing door locks, slight remodel to a bathroom (replace a toilet & vanity sink), painting the outside of the house (NOT my favorite) & painting bedrooms. I’ve learned a lot from him and can do most basic things around the house.
For the major things, we’ve let contractors do (electrical, siding, roofing, gutters) since those are beyond our scope of expertise :-)
I love to write & take photos