About Happy DIY Home

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About Happy DIY Home

Happy DIY Home contains all the information we wish we had when we started remodeling our 100-year old home, a 4,500 sf Victorian house. From design inspiration to DIY tutorials and detailed walkthroughs, the site should prove immensely useful to anyone thinking about or in the midst of a home renovation project.

Trying to do it yourself can be daunting, but extremely satisfying when you get it done right and turn vision into reality. DIY projects can be excellent bonding for the family as well – everyone gets to play a part! Since then, we have helped many of our friends and family remodel their homes as well.

On this site, we pay particular attention to content curation. We make sure each piece of content is:

  • Tried-and-tested, Research-Backed
  • Practical and Easy to follow
  • Written only by home improvement experts with significant personal and/or professional experience. Our team includes master gardeners, interior designers, professional contractors / handyman, and more

Our Team

Jen Stark
Founder

Jen is a master gardener, interior designer and home improvement expert. She has completed many home improvement, decor and remodeling projects with her family over the past 10 years on their 4,500 sf Victorian house. She is also a passionate farmer who keeps goats, chickens, turkeys cows and pigs on her farm, and an instructor for her community's Organic and Sustainable Farming project.

Elizabeth Waddington
Permaculture Designer and Environmental Consultant

Elizabeth Waddington is a smallholder, permaculture designer and environmental consultant. When not designing food producing systems or advising growers around the world, she is to be found in her own garden. On her 1/3 of an acre patch of land she has a walled forest garden orchard (home to rescue chickens), a polyculture vegetable plot, a polytunnel, wildlife pond, wild woodland garden and more and is working every day towards greater self-sufficiency. She is passionate about sustainability and loves to inspire others about the wonderful things home gardeners can do for people and planet.

Brandye Barrington
Home Remodeling Contractor
Brandye Barrington is a real estate investor and Senior DIY Director of the Barrington Dynasty (even if in her own mind). Brandye and her husband, Kyle started their relationship over a busted hot water heater he replaced for her. Four dogs, two kids, and four houses later, they have two fixer uppers, a rehabbed travel trailer, and 2 1/2 full flips under their belts. Together they own KMB Contracting, a contracting company specializing in remodels, and Barrington Homes Real Estate Investments where they have the opportunity to breathe life back into houses that have fallen into disrepair, turning them into homes again and rebuilding communities.
 
Brandye shamelessly claims Kyle's 35 years experience in the construction industry as being 'their' experience. Texas is a shared property state, so at least half of his experience is rightly hers. Together, they have 12 years of personal and professional rehab projects and growing.
Kaila Krayewski
DIY Expert

Kaila Krayewski is a DIY expert with a borderline obsessive passion for condiments and a keen knack for furniture restoration. When she's not standing over a boiling pot of tomatoes or sanding down her neighbour's dining table, she can be found wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles of a craft store. Kaila currently straddles Thailand and Edinburgh as her global homes, together with her handy and handsome husband and super adorable little boy, Hudson.

Cailey Johanna
Gardening Expert
Cailey Johanna Thiessen lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Though born in Colorado, she spent most of her formative years in Morelos and Oaxaca, Mexico. She attended college in Vermont, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing and a minor in Foreign Languages from Champlain College. She writes about pest control, travel, gardening, and more. Though currently living in an apartment, she loves caring for her large selection of houseplants and is looking forward to owning her own garden. She’s an avid cook and interested in finding easy and enjoyable ways to be healthier and happier. She’s passionate about writing and creating and seeing finished projects come to life.
Peyton Warmack-Chipman
Sustainable and Self-Sufficient Living Expert

Peyton is an enthusiastic gardener and an activist for more sustainable and self-sufficient living. Along with being involved in several climate action and permaculture organizations, she’s actively working in her home garden to have more home grown food. Her love for healthy and wholesome cooking led her to use only fresh ingredients, and it doesn’t get fresher than straight from the garden. With a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economics, she’s focused on climate action in the form of organic gardening and self-sufficiency.