My first project was simple - just refinishing some all-wood furniture that I received as hand-me-downs. I'm like you, I don't like that pressboard stuff. Real wood, all wood furniture can last a lifetime if properly taken care of. I refinshed a dining room table, several dressers and various odds and ends, and that's what got me started!

When I was 24, I bought my first place -- a dumpy outdated townhouse in my hometown. I ripped out manky carpets, learned to install baseboard and trim, painted cabinets and practically everything else, taught myself to tile a backsplash, replace electrical outlets and countless other things, mostly on my own but with some help from my dad. Sold it five years later but what I learned in that condo was that I can do just about anything I set my mind on...

When I was around 20, bought first home in a small town for $21,000.00. It was built in 1912...small one and a half story with small rooms, an extremely outdated kitchen with some rumpled up burnt orange and green patterned kitchen carpet. Didn't take long and walls came down (with the assistance of some laminated beams), cracked stucco siding came off, resided, rewired, new heating system, new kitchen, new flooring, new concrete driveway, patio, sidewalk, re-landscaped, etc....About 12 years later, after just having completed the interior remodel...we sold for $64,000.00...Had over $40,000 to put down on our next place (not too shabby in the 90's-plus $ go further for small town real estate)!! Found ways to make maximum impact with limited funds...Three homes later..still at it!

@Jayme -- I bought the dumpy condo for $56k. Sold it for $65. Now they're worth $225k. Wish I'd kept it as a rental! Hindsight...

@kimdee...I hear u...as we went along, needed the $ for the next place...I did do rentals a long time...hard to find a good renter sometimes and can be a big pain..but it is a GREAT investment!!

Well, I got a better return on the next one. Bought the house for $137k and sold it for almost $400k, 14 years later! It sold in six days. We had a bubble here too, but ours only deflated slightly instead of bursting. So it all worked out in the end.

Awesome!! The first two homes were in a small town..now in a larger town..so values r much higher...Current home has appreciated 40,000 plus in 6 years. Good for our area. We have not had to put a ton of $ in it...lots was redone already.. painting, flooring & woodwork mostly..But looking at a kitchen/dining update soon.

My first house was bought from the original owner's family. He had built the house in 1923 and he lived there until going into a nursing home around 1990. When I sold it, I ended up selling it back to the grandson who had lived in the house with his grandparents as a kid. I guess that was my first major project...bought it for $15,000, put in about $6,500 and sold it back to the family for $22,000. In between buying and selling, I got married, left the small town job for the suburbs of Chicago, and had two kids. I was 9 months pregnant when the grandson got my phone number from the neighbors and wanted to know if I would consider selling the house. We drove out to the town (2 hours drive) and signed papers when my daughter was 7 days old.

Hubby and I enjoyed the idea of a weekend place in a small Mississippi river town but then came child one and our remodeling progress dropped by about 80%...then came child two and we just decided that we had enough other things to worry about in our lives without a second house which still wasn't finished.

The funny thing is now I could have that house done in a month or so.... new plumbing, electrical, heating, paint, roof...none of that intimidates me any more but at that time, I had lots of ideas but not so much practical skills. Now, I have bought several more houses of the same general size, and style...two bedroom craftsman bungalow around 800 sq feet with a full basement. For practicality and durability, I love the old bungalows.

I began at 18 on my first home which was a rental and you had to return it in the state you took it. I began using every trick in the book to turn an ugly white box with ghastly modular furniture into something that had light, colour and character. Soon friends asked me to do their places and I obliged. It never occurred to me to think of it as a profession for quite some time!

Growing up I used to love changing the furniture around and experimenting with different looks in the house, much to the displeasure of my mother. I'm thrilled to finally (at 34) have my own home to do whatever I want. My father is a finishing carpenter and has taught me a lot so far, but I still have lots to learn.

I am a designer not a professional "remodeler" but I got started when I built my own house. My dad's an architect though so I had a head start as I used to help out from the time I was a teenager and I always loved it.

I think my first real construction experience was with my father. We turned a 2 car garage into a new Master Suite. Blocked in the opening with two windows openings, raised the concrete floor flush with the rest of the house. Added a new bath and still maintained the laundry room. We did all the work ourselves except installing the AC/heating unit. I was hooked on the deep gratifying satisfaction of seeing positive results of a hard days efforts.

I am not a professional. I am a design enthusiast. I did want to major in landscape design, but realized I was allergic to too many plants :(
Then I thought I might major in interior design, but knew that if the economy was bad, no one would hire, and I had to support myself. So, those two areas became lifelong hobbies.

My first project was making a plywood sofa for my Barbie doll. My Dad put his big hands over my six-year-old hands, and we cut out the pieces on the jigsaw. We painted it metallic gold.
Now, my favorite tool is the lathe.

My father is one of the original Taliesin apprentices who went on to become an architect in his own right.
My first job was at Taliesin, but then my interests changed and I found archaeology. you just never know what life holds for you.