We're Jared & Stephanie, the DIY'ers of the Dogwood House.
Two people, one 1960s brick ranch, a lot of red clay and a running list of projects that never seems to get shorter.
A small budget and no idea what we were doing
We first swung hammers together back in 2008. Without a huge budget (or any real idea what we were doing), we bought a 1960s brick ranch that was in serious need of some TLC. That house served up our first projects - painted kitchen cabinets, peel-and-stick tile, a lot of patching - and taught us that most of DIY is just being willing to try.
Our son was born in 2011, and a few years later we moved our family of three to a new town and a brand-new house in a brand-new community. Honestly? We were over DIY by then. We loved that neighborhood, but the house was missing something. We wanted character. And more privacy.
Realtor.com became Stephanie's new best friend
In 2018, the week before Thanksgiving, Stephanie came across a listing for another fixer-upper - an established neighborhood, big trees and everything we'd been wanting. She drove to the open house that afternoon. The next week we made an offer, and by the end of December she was ours.
She came with two brick fireplaces, dark wood paneling, a bathroom wallpapered in the '80s, grout that had seen better decades and a front flower bed swallowed by six-foot boxwoods and hollies. In other words: a lot of projects. We named her the Dogwood House after the trees that bloom in our yard every spring.
We have our hands full with this one, but we're ready to turn this house into our dream home.
What Dogwood DIY is about
Real projects, real costs
Every tutorial is something we've done (or are doing) in our own house, with what it actually cost - our German schmear fireplace came in around $55.
Inside and out
Renovation, decor and the yard. Red clay soil, overgrown shrubs and the dogwoods that gave the house its name all get equal billing.
Not experts - and that's the point
We love DIY but we aren't contractors. We share the mistakes along with the wins so you can skip them.
Stephanie's tips around the web
Stephanie's beginner gardening advice - especially for people who are convinced they have a "black thumb" - has been quoted by Realtor.com in its guide to growing a beautiful garden, and picked up in Spanish by La Opinión. If you're new to gardening, start with our beginner tips for planting in red clay soil.
Say hi
Have a question about a project, or tried one of our tutorials? We'd genuinely love to see it. Email us at info@dogwooddiy.com or use the contact form.
Follow along as we renovate the Dogwood House.
Stuck halfway through a project? Ask us.
Tell us what you're working on - a brick fireplace, a stubborn shrub, a bathroom that needs some love - and we'll point you to the guide (or write one).