BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Home Improvement Female Do-It-Yourselfers

Hi. My last several articles have been focused on women in home improvement. What do you think about women today in a field that has mostly been dominated by men?

Just thought it would be fun to discuss your opinions about this topic.

Donna

I have a girl-friend who does everything in her house. And usually other people's houses. She isn't afraid to tackle anything from painting to refinishing to ripping down the walls in the bathroom and putting up new ones. She amazes me. Myself... I have grand ideas but usually find someone else (DH) to follow through.

Hi Moe,
I'm with you on the grand ideas! I have more than I can possibly manage in one lifetime. I do mostly small projects myself and hire out and supervise larger projects. My hub is still the main do-it-yourselfer in our home, but I'm the one that gives him the "honey-do" list - poor man. Still, I like to try new things and feel so cool when I have figured out a repair or problem on my own. The more I do - the more I want to do. And things I thought I never would figure out, I now know I can.

Donna

I have the ideas and i could probly do them if I was taough how to but.....no one wants to teach a girl around here and they dont want to do it themselves or they charge WAY WAY WAY to much for doing it!!!!

Hi Freebubbles!

That's great that you have lots of ideas! I'm like that too - I have a passion for design and have tons of projects in my head.

I'd love to encourage you to try out some workshops at home improvement stores for free! You can learn everything from hanging drywall to installing floors to faux painting! Try Lowes or Home Depot if you have one near you. They post their "how-to" clinics at their stores, and you can also find them online at their main website.

Also, you don't have to wait on someone to teach you. You can teach yourself because there are fantastic books out there - many geared to women - on how to do home improvements from simple repairs to bigger remodeling projects. I've reviewed several of them on my site that can easily be used for step-by-step instructions. You can find the links here -

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Hey Donna, be sure to take before photos. I would love to see them! I would like to redo our bathroom. It has big roses wallpaper right now. I also want to change out the vanity and put something that looks more appropriate to our house and put new linoleum in. My dad (one day LOL) is going to teach me how to tile so that could be an option. Really I am leaning towards beadboard with a ledge for decorations.

Hi Connie,
I need to go camera shopping. Mine fell in the lake when our canoe tipped over. Thanks for the reminder, tho - I forgot to take before/after when I redid my daughter's room. I tend to just dive right in!

I love beadboard. I actually would like to beadboard all our ceilings and then add trim.

Our powder room really needs help. It is really small and has the builder's standard cabinet vanity in there which hogs up too much space. I'm thinking I will put in a small pedestal sink to feel more spacious. Or maybe a smaller cabinet that I can spruce up. If I go with the pedestal, I'll still need storage for guest towels, tp, etc so am thinking of mosaicing a cabinet over the toilet for that.

The lighting is ugly, too, and the floor is vinyl and has been worn down by 5 kids for 8 years. Then there's the walls. It's painted in solid pink. I did it in a hurry one day because it was just builder's white and I had company coming and needed to give it some color. I had an old can of pink paint so I rolled it on real quick. But, I hate it. Violates my rule - never have anything in your home you can't use or don't love.

I have seen pictures of beadboard ceilings...I think they are pretty. I think that "tin" ceilings (I know tin backsplashes in the kitchen) are in now. We have a pedistal sink in our upstairs bath. It is a tiny room and I think the pedistal sink definately makes it look more roomy. There is a toilet and sink and that is it for that bathroom. It was added in the 50's I think.

I also like the use of a ladder like shelf in the bathroom to hang towels from. I think that looks nice.

I wish more women would pick up a hammer and see how easy it is to do things themselves. I'm a general contractor and probably the last person you would think who spent her last 10 years working as a carpenter (i'm really on the girly side!), but I love what I do and never really liked office work. I was once on a jobsite with roughly 500 men (we were building a huge government building), I was the only female on the job!

Now I run my own company in fact some of the guys who use to give me a hard time have come to me looking for work!

I think it is great that you run your own company. I get much satisfaction from doing something with my hands and it feels even better when someone looks at you funny and says "you did that"