Why hiring a pro is the best option

I know what you may be thinking. This has nothing to do with photography or sessions that I am highlighting.

True, but it does have one thing I am passionate about.

Supporting other small business owners.

Since we have been at home the last 3 months, I got caught up on some outstanding work, and then I decided to tackle a couple of projects that I have been putting off for the last 9 years of living in our home. The years go by quick, because I didn't realize how bad and not functional this space was until I sat down and decided to do something about it.

I'm going to show you guys my Laundry Room Renovation that I just recently finished. Now here is a quick disclaimer. I grew up with a Father who built EVERYTHING. He built the house I grew up in, his workshop, his orthodontic office, and he every year custom makes our Christmas gifts. It's something I am so proud of when I get to have the gifts in my home for people to see, and now my children get to enjoy them. The reason I am how I am, in terms of tackling projects, doing things myself, and the "get down to work" work ethic, is because of my father. "Always give 100% when you do something no matter if it's sweeping the floor or working with a client". That is my life and I live by that very strongly.

I lead with that statement because while I did do the actual hard work of this laundry room by myself, I don't recommend that part to just anyone if you do NOT have that ability to do it. If you want to learn, great, learn from someone who has done it or is doing it. OR hire it out. That is why there are so many tremendous contractors out there, because that is what they were put on this earth for, was to make things beautiful. I am just kind of a freak of nature who likes to tackle these big projects myself!

So lets get into the project at hand.

These images are of my very not picked up laundry room at the time of these photos. It did not generally look like that, but with COVID and Stay home, I didn't really care. But I love doing before and after photos so I had to capture them. Our Laundry room/ mud room is a very large room. Had a long cabinet and utility sink next to the washer and dryer, a large closet with bi-fold doors(these fell off a few years ago), and another large closet that houses our furnace and water heater. I am extremely grateful for this larger room but with 3 small children and two going to school, it was hard to have their stuff everywhere and not a distinct place to put things.

So I had the idea to build "cubbies" for them to each have a space for their shoes, coats and bags. I, like any other woman who wants to do something in her house, took to Pinterest. From there I was like, ya I could probably do this. But had NO IDEA how to actually do it and where to even start with my space.

ENTER Kari Paik from Kari Leigh Designs.

Kari is the one who designed my entire kitchen renovation and helped me pick out the details for that 2 years ago. I have also seen her other numerous renovations and designs and knew she was absolutely going to be able to pull off this design for me. She sent me some amazing renderings for the area(see below) and then since I am crazy, helped me draw out the areas to figure out wood and measurements.

It was a lot of hard work, especially all the finishing details but I am so proud of myself for having accomplished it and getting it done! My dad allowed me to bring his travel miter saw and hammer drill back home with me from up north, and my amazing neighbor and friend Jessica Falahee let me borrow her nail gun and circle saw for the last 3 weeks so I could get this all done.

I can't recommend enough, if you have a place you want to change up, completely gut or just make more functional. Hire a PRO. They are a pro for a reason. No matter how much I Pinterest, I could have NEVER finished this without Kari's help and design to guide the way. She knew what size sink and faucet to get, how to put in the cubbies I wanted in to the space that was there, and put all the right colors and finishing touches in place. I know this would have been a huge PINTEREST fail had I not done the investment with a designer first. So if you are looking to do it, give her a call ASAP!

Here are the final images!!

And while spending the last 3 weeks doing a project I wanted to share some things that I have learned.

1.) I can do difficult things.

-My anxiety was THRU THE ROOF the week I was going to actually start the building part. Doing the paint and the floor was fairly easy. I used peel and stick vinyl plank flooring and had used it in the past, so I knew it was simple enough to lay down. I also changed out the light stitches, outlets and overhead light to update them all. This was very simple electrical work that my dad had walked me thru before, ( I don't recommend just anyone doing electrical work, please hire that out!) but like I said, I'm crazy so I did it. But the actual building of the cubbies, top shelfs and trimming it all out made me want to throw up. It took me a good 4 days to get up enough courage to go to Home Depot and get the wood. But once I built the first smaller cubby in the closet, I knew I could tackle the next one. It took a lot of faith and some praying and courage and belief in myself to finish this. I am super proud of what I did and that is the best part of all of this.

2.) It's your house.

-So here is the deal, you do a DIY project, you know there are going to be parts that are not the best quality. You may have not sanded the wood good enough, you may have a few drips here and there. But guess what. It's your house. Do what you can to the best of your ability if you are doing a DIY and then be happy with it. Don't let any outside voices, or HGTV shows, or your own negative Nelly in your head tell you it's not good enough. If you love it, then that is all that matters:).

3.) Hire a pro- See above Text section for more info,

-But I cannot stress this enough. It is WORTH THE INVESTMENT to hire someone who does this for a living. If you needed heart surgery, you are going to a heart surgeon. You aren't going to go to the mechanic down the street who just happens to fix car engines really well. Same goes for creative businesses. Kari studied and graduated from design school so she can give the absolute best to her clients. It's worth the investment above all else to get help from a pro. Enough said:). Call up Kari and let her design your next space. http://karileighdesign.com

4.). Believe in yourself.

- This is a real difficult one, and ties in with #1. But I think if we all have a little more faith in ourselves, then we will be able to accomplish some great things in our lives. I love mindset work, and this project really made me hone in on that. Take a deep breathe and know you have the power to do what you want!

I hope you guys LOVE my laundry room redo. Please feel free to leave a comment and ask me any questions about it. I now get to organize it and get the kids in there using it:). Also you can head over to Kari Leigh's Instagram or Facebook Page and leave her some love too!

1 Comments

Jul 19, 2020, 2:39:49 PM

Nicole Barczak - OOOOH I looove a good before/after and you nailed it! This looks incredible. YEAHH!!

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Why going Pro in your own home is best

Why hiring a pro is the best option

I know what you may be thinking. This has nothing to do with photography or sessions that I am highlighting.

True, but it does have one thing I am passionate about.

Supporting other small business owners.

So lets get into the project at hand.

Here are the final images!!

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