A “DIY-obsessed” woman has transformed her backyard into a luxury resort for approximately AU$38,000 ($25,000).
Jade Strang, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Australia started getting into DIY when she was a child and is in the process of totally renovating her ‘90s home. She says she taught herself to do everything because she doesn’t “overly trust” tradespeople to do as good a job as her.
Her latest incredible transformation involved the backyard at her family home in the Northern Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, which took her around 15 months. It was a basic garden with a forest of trees, but, now, it has a renovated pool, artificial grass, and a pergola.
And she did the entire thing herself, with the help of her husband, Joel, 31, her daughter Lacey, 11, and her son, Nixon, 6.
Ms. Strang’s online fans love her backyard pergola, which she was able to build for a lower cost by doing everything herself. She estimates that if she'd hired tradespeople to do it for her, labor alone would have cost around AU$3,000 ($1,900). But thanks to her DIY skills, she kept costs to a minimum.
“I am super proud of it,” she said. “I love that my husband and I put all that effort in and how it has turned out.
“I get really excited about creating something and feel super proud of myself and my husband when we have completed a job.”
Ms. Strang bought her home in the suburbs of the Gold Coast for $1.3 million and has been renovating it ever since.
She said: “There was never really a day that I decided to start doing it. I was painting walls, and the projects just got bigger and bigger. DIY has never been a job.
“I have always been hands-on, never been ‘book-smart,’ and I am not the one to sit down and sit still. I don’t like to sleep in at weekends until midday. I would much rather jump up and get started on a new project.”
Ms. Strang says she has never let the fact that she is a woman hold her back from doing what she loves. She says her passion for DIY is because she “stupidly believes she can do everything” herself.
“I think I am the ‘Jade of all trades,’“ she said. “I don’t overly trust tradies. I have hired two and both have messed me around with punctuality and capability of completing a job with professional results.”
Ms. Strang says it is the “dopamine kick” that drives her to post videos to her personal DIY social media account.
“My personal page came around after we posted some videos on the business page, and they went viral—it gave me a dopamine kick,” she said. “Generally, the support and reaction on my page is fantastic.
“I get a lot of direct messages asking me for advice on DIY and how to style something or to help with working on their home.”
She’s happy to give some advice for anyone venturing into DIY this summer: “Make sure you have a budget and a plan before you even start. Everyone is struggling right now with inflation and the cost of living.
“Check to see if you have any spare material lying around before you go and buy anything new from a store.”
Ms. Strang said the next big project she wants to work on is an outdoor kitchen. She would also love to have a Japanese teppanyaki bar, which literally means “grilling on a metal plate.”
She also owns her own business, Imagine Vinyl. The company sells custom prints and crafts to customers around the world, including the UK and North America.
