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Meet Christina of @holymackerelhouse! The Queen of fabulous DIY, we love watching her dream up the most beautiful spaces in her home. Read on to learn all about Christina and how she styled her Coley Home pieces!
I’m originally from Ohio, a proud Buckeye! I attended the Ohio State University and spent the first 10 years of my career doing IT project management, and then management consulting for the Department of Defense. I met my husband in Annapolis, and his career in the Navy moved us several times, back and forth across the country. Our 6 children are the absolute light of our lives, and I am fortunate to stay home with them.
My journey to becoming a DIYer started when I had to fix things while my husband was deployed, and once we bought our 2nd home, that learning curve was pretty steep. It was very outdated, and in need of so much. I started renovating things on my own to save money, and discovered that I loved doing the work. I’ve always enjoyed art, design, and making things function better for our family. I never envisioned sharing my home projects with an online community, but in the process, I’ve gained hundreds of friends, been encouraged by so many, and learned so much. It’s turned into a career that is incredibly fun and rewarding.
My projects push me mentally, and creatively, and I love to learn new skills. I don’t have tips for finding balance, because making progress on anything comes at the sacrifice of other activities, but I do prioritize. My family comes first, and I choose projects that will make our home better for us, and in the process I get to enjoy doing work I love.
Thank you! We worked hard to make the leap from our home that we worked so hard on, into this new fixer upper. There’s A LOT to do. The kitchen and bathrooms will take the longest, but I’m really looking forward to designing the living room and the dining room. Our old home didn’t have a dining room, and we have always wanted one. The new living room has wonderful light and tall ceilings, and I am so excited to revive it, without any demo!
I definitely leave roofing and major electrical work to professionals. I also love to hire people for work that I know is back-breaking, if we can make it work with the budget. After drywalling a ceiling and tweaking my neck, I also swore off doing that again!
There have been a lot of long nights that I put out of my mind, until asked that question. I was pregnant with our 5th baby, and my due date was so close. We were working on our master bathroom, and so many things just didn’t go to plan. Plumbing had to be changed, things arrived broken, the custom vanity I ordered wasn’t at all what I’d drawn, and I pinched nerves in my neck by holding drywall on top of my head, trying to screw it to the ceiling. That project felt like it would never be over, and I was so tired because of the pregnancy.
I love to pick my splurge first, and then work everything else around the splurge item. Splurge Worthy: classic, quality furniture that will stand up to kids, gorgeous light fixtures, the kitchen range, a unique antique, or art. Save areas: decor for rooms that will evolve over time, like playrooms, children’s bedroom decor, seasonal decorations. We accomplish most of our “save” areas by doing the installation work, so we can still install high quality fixtures on an overall modest budget.
I love to shop Facebook marketplace, eBay, and several Instagram accounts that specialize in resale. Anytime I pass a Habitat for Humanity Restore, I stop.
I love the key lime pie recipe on the back of the Nellie and Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice bottle. It takes 15 minutes and it’s amazing!