How the heck do you entertain 18 yr old's at a high school graduation party?  The DJ was a start.  But what else?  Even briefly?

I thought I had the answer!

It was this awesome, go anywhere s’mores tray on Etsy for my daughter’s party.  It was perfect.  Not too young for the crowd.  Who doesn’t love s’mores?

But it was not to be.  COVID strikes again! They were no longer making it.  Nobody was having parties, or so they said, and it was discontinued.

That was it! I was out of ideas.  What would keep these kids away from 

 the bar?

The former Shop teacher in me decided to make my own.  

It didn’t look complicated.  All the materials needed were available at Lowes and my basement for much less than what they were charging anyway, $169!    My cost was about $30 for lumber and $5 each for the handles. 

A few 1” by 4”s, a thin piece of plywood for the back, slap some old stain on it and we’re good to go!  Minimal math required!  Always a plus in my book.  

If you want more details, you can check out my Idea Pin on Pinterest, How to Make a Portable S’mores Tray.  (While you’re there, I’d love for you to follow me!)

I knew it would be easier with a helper, so I enlisted the graduate herself.   At 18, she knows how to measure, use a drill and can carry heavy stuff. 

She is a rare bird.  Most of her friends think a keyed chuck is a scary red headed demon.  

Did you just go ‘HUH?, Chucky?”  Stay tuned!  Answer key to come….

We built our own version of the s’mores box through stalking the original picture on Etsy and a little improvisation and wiggle room with the measurements, or lack thereof.

We completed the project in under an hour or so and it was a big hit at the party.  Happy ending, right?

It got me thinking about her going off to college.  Cue the waterworks!

What could go wrong? And do you know what to do?  

What if the sink overflows?  

What if a light shorts out during a storm?  

Can you really do your own laundry???

Anything can go wrong. But she’s ready.

The same goes for designing and building a house.

Anything can go wrong. Are you ready to design and build your dream home?

Do you know what to do to get the home you want for your future?  I certainly didn’t.  And I'm an interior designer!  

Designing spaces, specifying interiors, managing projects and still I had a lot to learn when we built our home.  Our future, our decisions.  It got real in a hurry.  No more playing with other people’s money.

The amount of decisions you will make during the design, renovation or new construction of your home can be mind boggling.  The material choices for a simple countertop can take hours.  Multiply that by 10,000 decisions and you need a head start!

Now, I’m not going to claim to have all the answers now.  Hell NO!   But, I do know some things.  And what I know about getting what you want from construction for your future home, I learned from teaching Shop.

If you want what you want, you have to know how to get there to get there.  

Makes total sense, right?

We built CO 2 race cars in Shop class.  Once students understood the principles of Newton’s Laws, they got to design their cars.  They had free reign to incorporate their ideas into any shape, style or colors that crossed the finish line at 60 miles per hour!

Shop is the great academic equalizer.  If you know what you want and how it goes together, you get the best results. 

Same thing in design. 

“This is all mine. I made a plan for what I wanted based on the rules, my needs and wants, and the resources I had.  I have all my fingers and btw, it’s fast as shit Ms. B!“ 

A glowing testimonial from Miguel, my fav.  

Yes, teacher’s always have favorites.

The best design didn't cost more, wasn’t more complex or out of reach.  It just took a plan.

Good design requires thoughtful evaluations of your needs and wants. 

Once you’ve got a handle on that, how to get there with your site, your budget and your dreams is so much simpler.  

If you can see past the latest and greatest, what my sister did, or how it ”should be done”, you can get a home that wow’s you every day!

The How is the skill that anyone can learn. 

People have been building houses for thousands of years, some better than others.  The good ones study the choices available to them after they figure out what works for them first.

All the race cars made it across the finish line, slow or lightning fast.  That was a requirement.  After that, it was up to the students to shape and paint them into whatever they wanted.  That was where the magic happened.  Ice cream cone shaped race cars that go 2 miles per hour?

A+ 

Creativity for your home comes from within you!  My clients are generally better interior decorators than me.  They know what works for them better than any professional.  Once they understand the basics of designing a house, they are free to make their own choices confidently.  

That’s the thing.  

If you take an active and INFORMED role in your interior design and how your home gets built, magic happens!  

You also get to feel the pride of a 7th grader that just launched their sweet ride.

Lauren’s a client.  She told me about the rave reviews she gets for her new home from family and friends.

“It’s the ‘details’, the oversized pantry or the walk-in closet of my girl's dreams that they go on and on about!”.  

It wasn’t the tile or the countertops, (although they were stunning) it was how the house worked! 

She was able to incorporate spaces that weren't originally planned to make their home special for her family.  Lauren took a good look at what was important, storage and her daughter’s happiness, and made the appropriate design changes for how she wanted her family to live in the space.  

Once she was clear on what she needed in her home design and why, the HOW was easy peasy.    

Understanding how your home gets put together and works, 

in the most basic way, 

is an essential part of getting the home you want, built the way you want.

"Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as to best accomplish a particular purpose"

Charles Eames (the 'Friends' chair guy)

But most people never learn what’s possible.  

They say,

• “I wish we thought of that…
• “I didn’t know we could do that..

Or my least favorite,

• “My (contractor, architect, FILL IN THE BLANK) said I can’t do that…”

There are endless solutions to the design challenges we face when building a home for our family.  And there are endless questions.

• Will I do it right?
• How can I get what I want from my designs and stay on budget?
• Who can answer my questions about the design of my house?
• Is this plan going to give us what we need?
• How can I get a design that fits my REAL life and not a pretty picture?
• What should I be doing and when?
• How can I get a design that’s special to my lifestyle, family?
• What should I know that I don’t?
• How can I be sure I’m getting what I want from my drawings, contractors, materials?

Now, I’m no expert in the construction arts.   I still call the plumber just like everybody else.  But when I do, I’m confident that I get what I want because I know what’s possible.  When I don’t, I ask questions like a two year old that has just discovered, “WHY?” 

Do you know where to start designing your dream home?

Wanna know what’s possible?  You are my people.  Where are you in your design journey? I'd love to help shorten the trip.  Drop me a line,  [email protected] 

Best,

Liz

p.s. Get my Free Checklist of the Right Questions to Ask when, Hiring a Contractor

For all of you millennials and beyond, deprived of the basic life skills and joy taught in 7th grade Shop class, Chucky and I have a few lessons left to teach.