Meet Family Handyman’s Creators: 4 DIYers Share Their Journey

The DIY community is built on people who love making things and sharing with other DIYers along the way. That’s why Family Handyman launched our Creator Program. Over the next three months, four DIY creators will bring their projects, skills and everything they’ve learned along the way to our channels. We talked to each of them to get a little taste of who they are, what they build and what they’re still learning.

When and How Did You Get Into DIY?

Steve (@sdotdiy): I’ve always loved building and making things, but the real excitement happened when I got my own place. I quickly realized I was broke, and if I wanted the things I envisioned for my home on my budget (or lack thereof), I had to learn how to do it myself.

Carissa (@houseonravine): In 2021, I was still feeling cabin fever from COVID, and I started to get a little antsy. I had always hated the green marble slabs covering our fireplace surround and knew they were anything but original. We had never done anything more than a paint job when one day, while Larry (my spouse) was out, I grabbed a sledgehammer and started whacking at it to see what was underneath, knowing we’d have no choice but to fix it. That ended up being the start of our DIY journey. We did uncover the original brick and tile, but it wasn’t in great shape, and the tile probably contained asbestos, so we had to learn how to fix it all. So, really, everything went according to plan. It’s still a strategy I use to this day, much to Larry’s dismay!

Dustin and Chi (@_scarletoakhomes): We abruptly got into DIY back at the end of 2014 when we were looking for our first house to buy. We were both 21 at the time and, for some crazy reason, decided to buy a fixer-upper and flip it. I was an engineer and still in school at the time, and Chi was still in nursing school. What I thought would be an easy house to fix ended up being a ton of work that literally needed everything done. We had more time than money at the time, so we got to learning so we could do as much as we could ourselves, which is where the DIY came in. I wouldn’t call it a nice or peaceful entry into DIY, but the intensity of it made us learn so much and really love construction all around.

What’s Your Favorite Part of the DIY Process?

Carissa: I love the planning process because it’s where you get to be the most creative. But honestly, I love it all – during the process we learn so much (often the hard way!), and afterward we get to see how the hard work paid off. You don’t get that when you hire it out. But the very best part is having the stories and memories tied to the projects you’ve done. Those stay with you forever. And they’re something our kids will remember too, I hope.

Steve: The idea phase. I love the challenge of taking a concept and figuring out, “How does this fit my space?” It’s like a puzzle of making your thoughts a reality.

Dustin and Chi: We can’t say together we have a favorite; we genuinely love all of it. We love being able to walk into a house, space, or project, and just have or create an idea or vision. I love the actual “doing” it part because I get to do something with my hands. I love the learning and the challenges. I believe you should always be learning, for the rest of your life, there is always more to know. Then, of course, the completion, which consists of getting to see it, enjoy it and being proud of it.

What’s One Project You Wish You Could Redo?

Dustin and Chi: The first house we flipped. We’ve learned so much since then and are so much more experienced now. We’d love to buy back that house one day, see everything we did, maybe make a little fun of how much of amateurs we were back then, and then redo it all again. Getting to redo that house with all of the experience we have now would just be such a crazy experience, and with that experience, we would be able to do everything more correctly with even better functionality and style.

Steve: I’d love to take another crack at the playhouse I made for my daughter. I’ve learned so much since then, and I know I could add some really unique features now. Plus, my daughter is already asking for a new one, so that’s definitely a possibility for a future build. I’m sure I would get carried away quickly and need a massive budget for that one!

Carissa: Our primary bathroom was the first “big” project we completed, and we learned a lot that I wish we could go back and apply now. It doesn’t look bad, but the tile —particularly the floor tile — could definitely look much better if we had known then what we know now (e.g., use self-leveling cement!).

Also, we had no idea we were taking tiles off the wall individually when we could have just torn it down to the studs and saved ourselves weeks of work. The internet had a lot of fun commenting on that one.

What’s the Favorite Skill You Learned on the Fly?

Steve: It’s not so much a technical skill as it is a mindset. Through all these projects, I’ve developed the confidence that no matter what problem pops up, I can solve it. That shift in perspective has really changed not only my projects, but how I deal with the joys of home ownership (aka, everything randomly breaking).

Dustin and Chi: All of my skills were originally learned from a DIY project, they just improved over time and with practice is all. I’d say my favorite skill is general carpentry, from rough framing to more of the finer finish. As you can see in our videos, we love building decks, which is a lot of rough framing, but I also enjoy the more intricate finish wood projects like those custom entry roofs we do where we make all of those wood pieces from scratch.

Carissa: When we redid the fireplace at our old house, we ended up listing the house a week later, so we had no choice but to learn how to lay bricks quickly. And funny enough, when redoing the hearth and surround recently in our new (old) home, we messed up laying the mortar bed and had to quickly rent a demolition hammer to rip it out before it got too hard. Nothing quite like learning how to jackhammer in the middle of your own living room!

Is There Anything You Still Find Intimidating?

Steve: Heavy-duty electrical. Anything involving the breaker box still makes me slow down and respect the process. I definitely don’t want to blow up my house because I feel like my wife may be a little tiny bit upset with me.

Carissa: We know our limits pretty well, and while we push ourselves, we won’t take it too far when it comes to structural work. We’re not trying to take down walls and accidentally have the house fall down. We’ll get a professional opinion on that first!

Dustin and Chi: I wouldn’t say intimidating, I’d more say irritating or tedious. As an example, I’d much rather hire out drywall work. I can do drywall, and it’ll even look perfect. But it’ll probably take me 20x longer than the professionals because they do it all the time and are so quick. I do drywall work for small stuff, but for larger projects I feel like it’s just not worth the crazy amount of time it’ll take me versus just paying for it.

I would say roofing and painting fall in the same line for me, not intimidating and definitely doable, but we only have so much life left, and I refuse to use it being the slowest drywaller of my generation.

What DIY Skill Do You Still Want to Learn and Why?

Steve: I’m really interested in 3D printing and epoxy builds. 3D printing is so practical for creating custom jigs or toys for the kids, while epoxy is such a unique, creative niche. Both allow for a level of customization that is really exciting.

Carissa: Our attic is large and unfinished, so we’re hoping to learn how to insulate and hang drywall one day. That project is waiting for the right mix of courage, dollars, and free time.

Dustin and Chi: At this point, I feel like I’ve done or tried everything at least once. It would be easier to say which projects I’d like to try that would take some learning. I’d like to DIY a fancy greenhouse, which would be fun to learn. Then Chi can enjoy her plants through the winter without having to bring all 10 million of them inside. Another project that would be awesome to try would be building a quality chicken coop.

Tell Us About the DIY Project You’re Most Proud Of

Dustin and Chi: I’d say the one I’m most proud of is our first house we flipped, and that’s from the standpoint of literally everyone we knew thinking we were crazy and wouldn’t be able to pull it off. I’m proud of it because we were scared to do it but determined, and without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today. That one project was genuinely life-changing and helped us find our passion.

Steve: It sounds funny, but it’s the wine rack I made for my now wife (that no one will ever see). I had zero experience and almost no tools, but I made it work. Seeing it come out so well was the spark that really got my wheels turning to take on bigger projects.

Carissa: We turned our run-of-the-mill bi-fold door closet in our primary bedroom into a built-in wardrobe that looks original to our 1913 home. We found an old wood dresser on Facebook Marketplace and framed it into the space. It looks so much better and is such a better use of the space.

What Made You Want to Share Your Projects on Social Media?

Carissa: A couple of years after moving into our current 1913 home, we realized we had no photos of the before or any progress. I initially started documenting things on social media, so we’d have a place to see the work we’d done and share our ups and downs (lots!) with others. Eventually, it became a really fun, creative outlet.

I love sharing our progress through reels, and we also love sharing (and making fun of) the realities of DIYing with your spouse. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart and is the truest test of a marriage. But we keep it very real, and I think that is what resonates with people. I love sharing laughs with our community while creating beautifully and functionally designed spaces that stay true to the history of our home and our family’s story.

Steve: I noticed so many people were “house poor.” I wanted to show them that you can still have the home you want even if you don’t have a massive bank account. I also genuinely enjoy helping people learn in an easy, digestible way. It’s not just about saving money; it’s about the “how.” I want to give people the confidence to realize they are capable of so much more than they think. Every project doesn’t have to be perfect to be a success. Trying is literally half the battle.

Dustin and Chi: We actually weren’t that into social media back when we started. Chi was in grad school for her nurse practitioner career, and had some semesters where she wasn’t allowed to work because it was restricted during intense clinical rotations. With the time she had free from school but wasn’t allowed to work, she randomly decided to film some of our projects and post them. Our pages started to create some really interesting conversations and engagement that even we learned from, and it just kept building from there.

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