ORC Spring 2023 Week 7!

ORC Week 7

The Investment of DIY

As we wind down the One Room Challenge I find myself reflecting on the process and thoughts about DIY in general. When we moved into this home 6 months ago, I had a list of projects I wanted to complete and a desire to transform every room of this house into a home. I felt an urge to do the work myself, and in-fact had felt that urge for years before finding this home. I felt compelled. As a physician, I don’t get a lot of time in my day to be creative, and I think this desire to DIY as a creative outlet has been growing to a point that I can’t stand not working on a project. It helps me feel grounded, centered, and aligned while allowing me the space to get lost in my thoughts and let go.

That said, as we’ve moved into this home, I’ve come to realize that not every project is worth DIYing. We moved into our house in November and within two weeks had a leak from the dishwasher that flooded underneath the floors and eventually made its way through the basement ceiling. Needless to say, this was covered by warranty and easily taken care of, but it was also an OPPORTUNITY.

We were given boring gray uninspired poor quality LVP that we did not love, but went with it knowing that we would eventually replace it with something that inspired us. Now was our time. After looking at options and lots of pictures I knew I wanted white oak with that rich coloring. Between researching supplies, how-to’s, labor costs, I knew it would be cheaper for us to do it ourselves, but was it worth DIYing?

For me, the answer was a clear “No!” For the floors, they felt ‘meh’ to me…frustrating, less inspired, more effort that didn’t feel it was worth it. But when I thought about the skilled installers and their precision and finely honed craft, it made me happy to find the right people to do the job for me. On the other hand, Jaxson’s room was an easy “Yes! Let’s do it all!” From skim coating, to trim work, to paint, and the crown I wanted to do it ALL! At one point, I was even considering installing new carpet in Jaxson’s room myself so it wasn’t about the level of work. The bottom line for me was that I wanted to be a part of the creation of his room. I wanted to be the person bringing this vision to life, experiencing it coming together, feeling the details fall into place, learning the craft and skills necessary to bring it into existence. I didn’t want to just see the end result. I wanted to feel the process as I went through it and feel who I became as a result of doing the work. You see, each project has an impact on us in some way. From learning a new trade, to the things we work out in our heads as we focus on a project, these DIY projects serve as so much more than a transformation to a space, they transform us along the way.

There was so much learning that happened in this project that helped add to the joy of doing this room. Not just technically with our DIY and design skills, but understanding what makes this room Jaxson’s– the intangibles that make it unique to his little (really quite big) personality. From choosing paint colors to the right fabric for his drapes I would find myself saying “This is him!” when we came across the right sample. It made me feel closer to this little guy in a way that I hadn’t before and I’ve been able to see his joy and laughter grow as he got to explore and experience every phase of this room.

I think it’s these aspects that make me think more about DIY as a metaphor for what’s important to oneself, what growth you need and desire, and what adventures you want to enjoy. From a cost perspective, the room wasn’t cheap. Wood and trim is expensive. There were also new tools (skim coating blades, coping saw, and new chop saw), but these will serve us for many years to come across numerous projects. There was furniture to buy. The supplies were also expensive: 5 gallon buckets of joint compound, paint, fabrics, art, rugs, linens, and more. Would I change a thing? Nope.

It’s not about the money, it’s about the experience and for some reason this experience was worth every penny and every moment of my time. In contrast to the floors that I would have felt like it was a frustration and a waste of my time. Doing Jaxson’s room ourselves is paying out in dividends in what we learned, how we grew as a couple and came to appreciate each other more, what we learned about recording the process and making it approachable and hopefully interesting for people to follow, and feeling our boys’ excitement as they got to be a part of the process and see the results of each phase. Most importantly we are getting to spend time sitting on the carpet together in this room, as a family, feeling a moment of serenity and bliss as we experience their joy and feel proud about this room that we created with some wood, paint, and a whole lot of love.

DIY isn’t just dollars and cents, it’s the expression of who you are. Any creative outlet is. That’s why this project has meant so much to me. It’s my way to express how much love I feel for Jaxson and how much magic I want him to feel in this space. I will always take the opportunity to create special magical spaces for those that I love as a way to say thank you for bringing their magic into my life!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the process of the #OneRoomChallenge along the way. We’ll definitely be joining again in the Fall. Stay tuned for next week for the final reveal of Jaxson’s Buffalo Check Board & Batten Nursery!

In the meantime, follow along for more DIY adventures and periodic ponderous moments like these on instagram @lueckyhome. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest info on what we’re up to.