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All Things Renovation
14 Female DIY Renovators We Can’t Stop Following
Y’ALL. Being a design content creator looks easy but it’s not (I have a large team of people who have YEARS of experience and we still scramble to get it all done). But being a DIY renovation content creator, and a good one, is so much work I can’t even imagine. What normal people (non-content creators) can’t possibly see is how hard it is to not only do the thing, but be filming it the entire time (often in multiple formats), setting up interesting shots for a fun concept, making sure you get a variety of angles, getting a timelapse when possible, and have it all actually make sense and look good. THEN you have to organize all the footage (often multiple phones are involved so that you can use your actual phone while filming), cull through the footage, edit it together, and then post it. Again, I’m not talking about myself here – I am privileged/lucky/experienced enough to have so much help from my team, but some of these solo women renovators are impressing me so hard that I just HAD to call them out here and make sure that you are following them on social. I don’t think many of them have a blog (because that is its own full-time job) so if you aren’t on social (which I get) I’m sorry. But they deserve all the follows, all the likes, all the engagement, all the comments, all the saves. I IMPLORE with you to like/comment every single time -it’s the most generous thing you can do as someone who is consuming the content because the algorithm often makes our job feel impossible and every bit of engagement helps. If you watched a reel until the end that means you probably enjoyed it, so give it that like (obviously feel free to do that on my posts as well LOL). I also want to just call out how badass these women are, using all the tools, with such expertise and command. Literally building their own kitchen cabinets with beautiful joinery! And then having the awareness and bandwidth of how to shoot while doing it. Now it might just be my algorithm but I feel really comfortable saying that women are dominating in this specific world and I’m here to watch, love, feature, and support ANY WAY WE CAN. I’m just so impressed with these badass carpenters and DIYers that we wanted to do a feature on them today so that you all could follow along with them. Jess is going to take it over, but this post was my baby and I felt compelled to pop in and write a bit. Give them all love (and if you want to steal my mantra about how to interact with something on the internet it’s pretty simple “If you liked it, please LIKE IT”. Don’t withhold your likes because you don’t want to give them up – we all have endless and it’s not a zero-sum game. Ladies, I’m very very impressed with you. Now take it away!
Renee Bruner (@reneerenovates)
From her sweet little bio reel, Renee bought her 1914 Craftsman two years ago and has been renovating it on her own. Just to be clear, she only started teaching herself her new skills when she bought her home! She didn’t come ready with a bag full of tricks. Her work is incredible and watching her journey has been SO inspiring. A must-follow.
Ashley Basnight (@smashingdiy)
We got to meet Ashley at the Meridian Experience a couple of years ago and were instantly taken with her and her talent. Her skills are incredible (I mean look at this closet system she built on her own…even the drawers!!) and the designs are full of texture, pattern, and clearly a ton of style. Oh, and her team won HGTV’s Battle on the Beach! This woman is unstoppable.
Fariha Nasir (@pennies_for_a_fortune)
This isn’t our first time talking how Fariah and it certainly won’t be our last! Her talent and creativity are endless and we can’t get enough of her warm, pretty English cottage-inspired style. Scrolling through her Instagram page will amaze you (totally self-taught) and put a smile on your face. She also has a show on the Magnolia Network called Problem Spaces that is so good and creative. Go check it out!
Brit Arnesen (@britdotdesign)
I’m already going to sound redundant but the talent this woman has knows no bounds! Brit’s “whimsical and collected vintage modern style” feels so special and her DIYs are so wildly creative. She isn’t afraid to take a design risk because they always pay off (well that’s what we think).
Kate Pearce (@katepearcvintage)
Kate creates the coolest boldest vintage-filled spaces and renovates them. You have to go look at all of the spaces she’s done because we promise you will be blown away!
Valeria Jacobs (@rebeccaandgenevieve)
Getting to watch Valeria transform her home over the past few years has been amazing! Her style is a mix of old and new but is full of color and pattern. If you love cozy you will love her home.
Cass Smith (@cassmakeshome)
Cass is newer to us but we are completely stunned by her! Another self-taught badass gal who creates incredible designs and really fun content to watch. Her joy is infectious.
Carli Alves (@madebycarli)
Carli is such a talent and a joy to watch! We’ve featured her a bunch because she keeps creating amazing work. From large to small projects, she has something for everyone!
Danielle Guerrero (@ournestonpowell)
We will never forget watching a few years ago Danielle transform the doorway from her hallway to her living room into an arch and that was just the beginning. We love all of her ideas and she is such a great follow.
Claire (@claireakennedy)
Claire is a DIY renovator that Em sent to me to include so clearly she’s a great one! Currently, she’s renovating a Victorian home, and boy is it special.
Ryia Jose (@kinandkasa)
In an attempt to feel grounded in a new country, Ryia decided to teach herself how to use power tools so that she could renovate her family’s home! The results are clearly stunning and the process is so compelling.
Erika (@peonyandhoney)
Erika is unstoppable and her beautiful home is a testament to that! Her cozy, moody Victorian-style home transformation is unreal and she is full of great ideas (we did feature her in our 2024 kitchen trends post:))
Jenni Yolo (@ispydiy)
It’s hard not to fall in love with Jenni’s work! It’s so creative and awesome and because of that, she has a great show on Magnolia called Makeover By Monday where does weekend makeovers that everyone should check out:)
Amanda Walker (@dwellaware)
Amanda was another wonderful DIY creator we met at Meridan and I love following her projects. They are approachable, beautiful, and fun!
Honestly, there are so many more so maybe we’ll do a part 2:) We of course didn’t include our EHD family like Ajai, Keyanna, Rashida, and more since you’ve been introduced to them more fully here:) I do have one request though. I realized that we’re completely lacking female-identifying queer or trans DIY renovation-specific creators despite searching. Clearly, I’m just not looking in the right places. Please drop any names and/or handles in the comments!!
Hope this list is as inspiring to you as it is to us and have a great week. xx
Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: The Farmhouse Kitchen Design Post – A Classic + Stylish Plan For This Hardworking Room (Wish Us Luck)
Fun list! I want to add Angela Rose Home, I was sure she’d be on this list! She has a fun instagram page and also a you tube channel
I assume Angela Rose already has a large following, similar to EHD. This article is to support one-woman accounts, which is a great service and help to them.
Agreed, she’s fantastic!
Thanks for all the leads— just what I needed today as I prepare to repaint and refresh our guest bathroom! Does anyone know what’s going on with Magnolia network, by the way? They have a lot of shows that seem like they’ll be full series, but only drop one episode.
I have been wondering the same thing @Colleen!
Check out @erinzubotdesign I’m always super impressed with what she builds and creates!
I just wanna throw a shout out here to Anna White, the OG. Anna paved the way for all the women who followed. She is definitely much more humble and not as flashy as the current crop, but everything she shares is solid, solid, solid.
I adore following DesignMom to see all the incredible and painstaking renovations to their French home. She’s much more than just home renovations… I’ll let you find out!
Yes! Your approach is soo different. Uncommercial and hands-on. Her craftsman Gijsbert is a special gem, simply to admire and learn from.
Surprised @Styleitprettyhome was not on this list. The transformation of her laundry room has been so fun to follow.
This a great list — so many accounts that I’m already following and love, plus a couple new ones to check out — but I was expecting to see @styleitprettyhome too!
Yup! Shocked that Zenia was not on this list. She is amazing plus she is very candid about her struggles and the male-based hate she gets.
Love this roundup and will definitely be hitting the follow button!
This reminds me, I feel like a long time ago (years!) EHD did a roundup of female general contractors? I wonder if there’s any chance of getting an update to that list, plus maybe including some architects, landscape designers, landscape contractors etc? We are doing a ton of projects and I’d love to support the ladies in the industry!
Was it this post?
Just followed all of them. Thanks for the great recommendations!
Love Kate Pearce! Her style is so inspiring and I love her sense of color!!!
I love House of Esperanza!
I’d bet if you dig into the archives of Design Sponge on IG (and probably the OG blog) you could find some Queer designers. Great list so far, I followed some new people.
Design*Sponge! :cry:
Great list! Some of my favourite female DIYers on YouTube are XO, Macenna, Tine Le (@tinadoodles) and DIY Wife. Also, from Canada, the Sorry Girls, who yes, have a large team but they’ve paved the way for the past 10+ years and cover alot of different content and care deeply about sustainability. Also DIY Danie and Alexandra Gater, both super talented and fun to follow!
@imaniathome is a great DIY follow as well! she’s always doing something new and interesting.