Meet the Guy Behind the Blog

Emmett Gibson - Room for TuesdayI thought it would be fun to share a little interview / Q&A with Emmett… the talented guy behind our renovations. Obviously, none of this would be happening without him. This post is also super fitting because tomorrow is our 5(!) year anniversary. Lots of people don’t realize, we both have ‘real’ full-time jobs. In addition to being a great handyman and house fixer, Emmett’s actual job is in finance and accounting (yes, a total numbers guy). Click through for a fun Q&A and meet the guy behind the blog…

Q & A

Sarah: Happy (day early) anniversary! Ready for this little ‘interview’? Thanks for letting me do this, by the way.

Emmett: Are you recording me? No? Ok. Happy early anniversary to you too. Ready when you are…

S: Will you tell them about how we sorted started this whole thing? Caught the renovating bug, per say.

E: Umm… well I’d like to say it was your idea, but unfortunately- it was mine. We were looking for our first house and absolutely zero homes we looked at had anything you wanted inside of them. Soooo I jokingly made the comment “we should buy one that completely needs redone, so I can make it how you want it”. We found the cheapest, crappiest house known to man and bought it for a mere $30k. All of that lead to this and I don’t think we can ever go back. Plus, I like renovating… I hate to admit that- but it’s true. I like projects.

S: What is your favorite room to date? It can be from this house or our Ohio home.

E: I would have to say the guest room… in this house. From a craftsmanship standpoint, everything turned out exactly as it should have. That never happens. All of the other rooms have at least one little hidden mistake that I can’t stand to look at.

S: What is the one project you literally wanted to strangle me? The worst one? Where we just couldn’t see eye-to-eye… Ha. I think I know what you’re going to say.

E: Can I have a top five? HA. Just kidding. I’m definitely going with wallpapering the hallway in our last house. That’s all I need to say about that.

S: I knew it!! I guess I’ll elaborate- basically, we can’t wallpaper together ever again. It was terrible, it was during the winter Olympics (which we both love), and let’s just say it ended with one of us walking out mid papering job to ‘take a drive’. Olympic viewing for the day was totally ruined, but the hallway somehow turned out okay.

S: What is your favorite type of project to do?

E: I definitely have to say plumbing and electrical. Roughing it in, hooking it up, I like it all. I think it’s awesome to take the time to make something work as it should, even if nobody will ever see the work. Fixing it from the inside out, sort of thing.

S: What is one thing you wish this house had?

E: I wish this house had insulation. Aside from spending money on needs instead of wants, I’d rather have a garage.

S: If you could build me anything, what would it be?

E: I really want to build a cool wood dining table for you someday.

S: What is your biggest pet peeve with the blog?

E: Deadlines.

S: What is one project you keep avoiding and procrastinating? I obviously already know what it is.

E: Probably cleaning the crawl space out. No… that’s not super exciting. I guess I’m really avoiding finishing the bathroom. I have to wrap up the electrical and install an exhaust vent.

S: I started to say…. screw the crawlspace. I want the bathroom done!

S: Did you ever imagine when we got married 5(!) years ago that we’d already be in our second home? And renovating? And in Utah?!

E: I definitely would not have thought we would have already moved onto our second home. I would’ve also never guessed that we would have taken renovating to this extreme, but looking back- I can’t imagine doing it any other way.

S: What is one design idea I’ve pitched to you that you immediately shut down or second guessed?

E: The attic at our old house was a big one. That space was way too short.

S: On the contrary, is there any project I designed and you finally had the ‘aha’ moment after it was finished? Because *maybe* (just maybe) I know what I’m doing… haha! Sometimes you don’t get my vision right away.

E: Probably the kitchen bulkhead at our old house. I typically don’t like bulkheads… I think they look crappy, but you wanted it trimmed out like a continuation of the cabinetry and it made it look really nice and custom. Soooo- you win that one. It looked really good, and I doubted it the entire time.

S: What do you envision our new kitchen to look like? Once we get to that point (I haven’t shared my design plan with him yet, so this should be good).

E: I’m expecting a lot of color. A patterned / color tile. And I’m really hoping for things you might not see in all the current kitchen photos floating around the internet. You can only see so much white subway tile. I don’t want that.

S: For some reason scenes of Willy Wonka popped into my head while you were describing the color and pattern. Ha! We’ll see. Folks, expect to see some crazy in the kitchen (according to the hubs).

S: What is one project you’ll never ever do again?

E: Probably a complete backyard renovation. Haha! During the middle of summer. Not the smartest plan we’ve ever had.

S: Your biggest Pinterest fail? Believe it or not- Emmett LOVES Pinterest. I’m pretty sure he pins more than I do.

E: My biggest DIY fail was definitely tiling. I’m not good at it. We should hire our next project out, for sure.

S: What’s your favorite piece of furniture in our house?

E: Hands down, our bed. I just love the quality and the leather material.

S: Ok let’s do some fast ones… this or that type of questions. Sound good?

  • light or dark wood? dark
  • Finn or Johnny Cash? Finn
  • black or white windows? black
  • kobalt or dewalt? dewalt
  • pendants or recessed lights? recessed
  • marble or quartz? quartz
  • new or vintage? vintage
  • garage or fenced in yard? garage
  • extra bedroom or additional bathroom? bathroom
  • green or navy? navy
  • sectional or regular sofa? sectional

Well that was fun! We should do these more often. Please ask us your questions in the comments below (about whatever!), and we’ll answer them in person on Insta stories later tonight!!

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17 Comments

  1. Laurie Anne says:

    Does Emmett like being on camera?? He always seems a little camera shy in insta stories 😂

    1. Ha!! I’ll let him answer this one tonight :) xox

  2. Great Q&A. I wish there was a “Like” button on each of the individual questions!

    1. Thanks, Becky! Haha! I’d love to hear your favorites. xox

  3. Tracy Phan says:

    This was a great post, loved reading more about the “muscle” behind the team. A handy dude is the best!

    1. Thanks, Tracy! I’m a lucky lady :) xox

  4. Nice post! Handsome guy and he can build/create/do things! How much more could one woman want? Haha

    1. My thoughts exactly!! haha

  5. Officially Enviousâ„¢!

  6. Handy and cute!! And it made me swoon a little when he said he wanted to build a table for you someday…. sigh.

    1. I know!! I was like, “really?!” … excited for the day he gets to do that. I’m a lucky lady. haha xox

  7. Hi Sarah-
    I’m a long time reader and a huge fan of your work and blog. I love your style and you willingness to share information-I’ve learned so much from following you and Emmett! I was curious if you all are DIY self-taught? Especially in the areas of plumbing and electrical-do you ever hire out the more complex parts of those trades?
    Thanks so much!

    1. Thanks so much, Rebecca!! We really appreciate you following along. Tricky question… for the most part, we are self taught- but we come from a family that has a construction background. My step father taught Emmett how to do plumbing and electrical to code (he’s certified) on our first home. This time around, Emmett has done everything himself since we now live across the country from our family. He’s honestly really great at it and a perfectionist. Hope this helps to answer the question. Happy Friday! xox

  8. SO fun getting to know the brawn behind the blog, Sarah! LOL! Honestly, given his talents and as someone who searched and searched for a perfect dining room table (and found one thanks in large part to you!), I personally cannot wait to see the table he builds for you. So sweet!

    1. Haha!! I also can’t wait… someday, maybe it will happen :) I hope you’re loving your space, Anne! xox

  9. He’s such a hottie. Lucky girl :)

    1. Ha!! I’d have to agree.