Shelly:: I grew up around home improvement so the first project I ever did was a master bathroom. I gutted it, did the copper pluming, added a Jacuzzi tub, put in marble tile, a new toilet and vanity and faucet.

Shelly:: It's a lot cheaper than hiring a contractor. I grew up in a house where my father built our house and fixed everything in it. To me it didn't seem all that difficult and I decided to take it on my self.

Shelly:: The old kitchen looked like 1960's nasty old very plain cabinets built out of ply and stained with a magenta tile. Yuck! So the kitchen needed to be totally stripped kitchen of all cabinets and appliances. So we completely gutted it (I had some help from my fiancé). The only thing that was left from the old kitchen was the flooring which we left because it was new. Then we literally redesigned it, measured for the cabinets, started building them (putting them together) and put them up. The new cabinets are light maple with an inset arch design in them. Then came the fixtures and appliances and Corian countertop (this needed to be done by a professional.) After adding a new oven, microwave, sink, faucet, dishwasher and peninsula/bar countertop this new kitchen was gorgeous!

Shelly:: That would probably have to be a kitchen in one of my last houses. I took a very tiny kitchen and a dining room area and made it into a big kitchen. It came out beautiful! Even though that's my favorite, I think it's going to be a close second to one I'm about to start doing on my master bathroom.

Shelly::

Pretty much every house I've ever owned I've done a kitchen in, I added a master bath to one of my previous houses (completely from scratch!). Of course I've done some painting, and marble and tile in one of my previous kitchens.

In May my fiancée and I are getting married in our backyard so we just finished building a deck, took out a few trees and will be doing some plantings so that it will be beautiful for the day.

Shelly::

Doing home improvement gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. I love being able to look at a project I've done and say, "Wow I did that!" And to have others ask me, "Who did that?" and be able to say, "No, I did that." The response it usually, "No way!"

It gives me the confidence that I can do anything. I don't' have a problem just jumping in and trying anything.

Shelly:: Make sure that it's do-able before getting started. I lay it out measurement wise to make sure what I want to do will actually fit in that space. I also check to see if I can do it myself or if I will need to hire someone and if so, how much it will cost?

Shelly::

It has saved me tons of money by allowing me to do designer type projects that I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. A good example is a kitchen; most cost at least $30k to hire someone, while doing it myself I can get the entire thing done for around $10k and that includes the appliances!

As for my personal life, my fiancée is very handy and wasn't used to being able to these types of things with a girlfriend. What I love is the fact that when we work on projects we work really well together. He even got me my pink tool belt.

Shelly::

Just knowing I have the ability to create things that not many people can do, or may need to pay a professional to come in and decorate or do. I can walk into a house and be very inspired by all of the things that I know I can do.

I loved that when I put my last house on the market, my realtor told me that people came in and thought I had hired professionals come in and stage, but it was just the way I had it with my everyday stuff.

Shelly:: Always allow for more time than originally planned and don't be afraid of it. You can always call in a professional if you do something wrong. Don't be afraid to take it on.