Today we’d like to introduce you to Mercedes Mcgee
Mercedes, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Back in 2017, by husband and I moved to Arkansas fresh out of college and we purchased our first home there. I had been teaching High School Biology while my husband finished his degree, but after we moved I left teaching so we could start our family.
As we struggled with some infertility, I found that house projects because a great creative outlet for me! We started with ripping out all of the floors in our house and replaced them – talk about diving into the deep end! After that project, my husband decided he hated projects and I decided I loved them. I haven’t looked back since!
That house is so special to me. It is where we eventually welcomed our son, and also where I found this whole side of myself I never knew existed! For the first time I bricked a fireplace, built a porch, gutted and rebuilt a shower, tiled floors, and so much more.
I tell people I got my DIY degree from the university of YouTube. I would spend hours watching videos and researching projects before starting. Now, 7 years later, I have easily spent hundreds of hours doing projects and sort of “speak the language.” I can draw up plans for custom built ins and build them without needing to watch someone else do it, so I hope other people can see that they can learn how to do these things too!
We’ve since sold that first house in Arkansas and now live with our 3 kids in Utah.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have had a mixed bag of experiences with DIY and my business. As far as the actual projects, they have – for the most part – gone smoothly. I try to keep a positive attitude when things don’t go exactly to plan, and treat hiccups like a puzzle to solve.
My business has definitely had ups and downs, though. I mentioned that we struggled with infertility, but I also struggle staying pregnant. I was on bed rest for most of my pregnancies and have had two preemie babies. I’ve been growing this while I’ve been growing my family, but you can’t do manual labor during a high risk pregnancy in which you’ve been put in bed rest.
During these slow periods, it’s hard to feel productive and rebounding from them isn’t easy. When we welcomed our daughter almost a year ago, we completed our family. So I’m happy to say at least those particular speed bumps are behind us. Who knows what the future will hold, but I’m ready for it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
10 years ago, there were some DIYers on social media, and they really kicked off a revolution! So many women are now DIYing their homes and we really owe it to those pioneers for paving the way for us.
What sets me apart from many of the other DIYers is that I involve my kids in my projects wherever I can! As soon as they can hold a paint brush, they’re painting with me. My 3 year old just helped me install window trim. My 5 year old helped me hang wallpaper. I strapped by baby to my chest while I installed built ins in her closet. DIY is something that I love doing, and I love sharing it with my kids.
It is so hard to pick a favorite project because they’re all great for different reasons. When I gutted and rebuilt a shower, I felt like I could conquer the world – who rebuilds a shower? Me, apparently. When I installed beams in bedroom I felt at peace – I had created such a a beautiful sanctuary. When I redid my kitchen (which I’m still in the middle of), I felt accomplished – the design is coming together and it feels so great to make the room I spend the most time in feel like ME.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I am not naturally a risk-taker, but there is a lot of inherent risk involved in DIY. What if you mess up your house? What if it doesn’t come out as expected? What if it costs more than you’ve budgeted?
One way that I help dissipate the risky feeling is by always having enough saved to hire a professional to finish the job, if needed. I’ve only ever had to do this once, but I was so glad I had a plan in place. I decided to paint my home’s exterior and unfortunately discovered that I am very afraid of heights when I had a panic attack in my roof. So we hired painters to finish it up. It’s actually not all the way done still, but one day we’ll get around to fully completing it – sorry neighbors!
The other thing that I think is good to remember with DIY is that everything is fixable. If you don’t like the color you picked, you can repaint! Almost every selection can be switched when you have the right skill set and I think that helps me feel freer to make risky choices.
Pricing:
- DIY Consultation – $39/30 min $59/60 min
- E-Design – $40/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.withlovemercedes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/with.love.mercedes
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@with.love.mercedes?_t=8ppILCio8be&_r=1
