Hey, building bestie!
I’m Christine, a self taught DIY teacher, hyper focused 95%er who believes you’ve gotta stop waiting, and start creating a home you love.
My story really began with a sledgehammer.
read my story
My story
begins in nursing school.
Well, sort of. I grew up with a single dad who was a plumber. On the weekends he would work odd jobs and I would tag along. I quickly got to know the names of all the tools as he shouted, “Christine, hand me the ____.”
So when my husband, Lance, and I got married in 2010 it was no surprise when he came home from work one day and I had taken a sledgehammer to our 1950’s bathroom, instead of studying for finals.
I FOUND A LOVE FOR DIY. BUT IT CAN’T BE MY CAREET. CAN IT?
I dabbled in interior design courses, thought about switching my major a few times, but I also felt called to be a nurse and was SO CLOSE to accomplishing that goal.
I became a Registered Nurse and got hired on my dream unit, Labor and Delivery. But still felt unfulfilled.
So in-between my 12 hour shifts I created Honey Built Home and let it sit for two years without a single post. I didn’t know how to blog, or grow a designer social media account, and let imposter syndrome defeat me. .
The summer of 2016 changed everything. Lance’s mom, who often watched our kids while we worked, suddenly passed away. Lance had changed careers a few months prior, and with two babies (13 months apart) it became too stressful for us to balance our kids with our unpredictable work schedules. We made the decision for me to stay home.
THE TRANSITION WAS HARD. I FELT LOST AND WITHOUT A PURPOSE
the start of honeybuilthome
In 2017, I found our “could be” dream home, and was determined to
prove I could do it.
After DIYing our basement in our first two homes with the help of Lance’s uncle, and a few bathrooms from scratch with the help of my dad, I found our “could be dream home.”
It was a two bedroom home, with 2400 sq ft of UNFINISHED basement space that we would quickly to turn into bedrooms for our kids and over half an acre of dirt to landscape into an oasis.
OH THE POTENTIAL.
But with a bigger home, came a bigger mortgage. I had to go back to work. At this point I had 3 kids ranging from 6 months to 4 years old, working 12 hour hospital shifts wasn’t feasible with Lance’s coaching and real estate schedule. So I became a telephone triage nurse. It felt like the best of both worlds. Predictable schedule, working from home while my babies slept, and DIYing on days off during nap time.
Within the first 6 months of living as a family of 5 in 2 bedrooms we built out three bedrooms in our basement for the kids. Once carpet was in, I felt like it was time to show up on @honeybuilthome and start sharing.
3 days before Christmas 2018. It really all began.
In the middle of the busiest time of the year (basketball and holidays) and with 3 kids 4 and under I did my very first instagram project, a herringbone board and batten accent wall & a playhouse under the stairs complete with a mini door.
I spent 6 years transforming every square inch
of our homes interior and exterior.
I took the greatest part of being a nurse, patient education, and began to apply that to an online community of
(mostly) women to make power tools and the complexities of home renovations not so intimidating.
And have been fulfilled beyond measure to see thousands of women pick up tools to DO IT THEMSELVES too!
We loved our house
but…
still found ourselves looking for land to fulfilling a life long dream of designing and building a home from the ground up. For a decade, literally, we looked and looked, but for one reason or another it was slightly out of reach financially.
Each time “settling” on an existing home that we thought we could update into our dream house. And we WERE doing just that, renovating, updating, and building equity in our home one project at a time. But still had the yearning to build, from scratch.
Finally in 2022, after 10 years of looking we found a lot and began to design our home. In hindsight, the timing was exactly what was meant to be. From not knowing how to use any tools to becoming a tile and woodworking intermediate, I was able to build the home of my dreams along side our contractors.
There’s still so much to learn, and that’s the best part.
I’m so glad you’re here to learn, build, and create alongside me.
– Christine
Ready to work together?
Let’s do this – contact me today!
Fun facts
get to know me better!
My fav music
Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, and Usher 🙂
Favorite tv show
Greys Anatomy & Suits
