02 June . 2017
Flight Attendant by Day, DIY Maven by Night
Heidi Darling and her husband, Bobby, were living in downtown Seattle in a 600-square foot apartment when their good friends started building a home in Tehaleh. At the time, they weren’t thinking about buying yet—until they drove out for a visit. “We fell in love with the neighborhood and decided we had to buy here,” recalls Heidi. They realized that homes were being snatched up quickly, so they jumped into the market, and within a short time, they found their dream home.
Heidi works as a flight attendant, which allows her to travel 3-4 trips in a row and then have stretches of time to spend at home. After living the bustling city life, Heidi said that she and her husband are enjoying cooking for themselves, spending time with friends in the community, and learning to do things around the house.
Once settled into their Tehaleh home, Heidi thought, “We have a lot of rooms to fill!” Heidi’s brother-in-law, who does woodworking back in Texas, came to visit soon after their move, and introduced her to DIY home projects. He helped her complete her first build – two side tables. “I fell in love with the process and have been slowly teaching myself along the way,” said Heidi.
She has since created several pieces: a headboard for the primary bedroom, custom show storage shelves, and a bench she created by staining and sealing a piece of wood and then affixing pipes as the legs. According to Heidi, the toughest part of building is doing the calculations. “You have to get the math perfect – a 2x4 piece of wood isn’t even exactly 2 inches by 4 inches!” she said. Heidi works on her projects in the garage, and uses the yard for messier steps like staining and sanding. Her husband helps out here and there, offering an extra set of hands for the heavier items.
There is also a cost savings to her DIY projects – she’s made furniture equivalent to store-bought items and spent far less money than she would have in-store. When choosing the materials, Heidi ensures they are of the highest quality, so that they are sturdy and will last through the years. She gets inspiration from websites and has a list of projects she is hoping to tackle, including outdoor furniture and bedside tables for the primary bedroom. If Heidi decides to expand her hobby into a business one day, she could run it out of her home, like her neighbors who have founded lucrative in-home businesses in Tehaleh.
When she’s not hard at work flying the skies or mastering DIY projects, Heidi enjoys walking the trails around Tehaleh and enjoying everything the community has to offer. “We’ve got really great neighbors on our street,” Heidi said. Now that the weather is warming up, they’ve started to barbecue, but they are also huge fans of dining at The Mantel. Heidi proclaims that their banana parfait is the best thing she’s ever eaten! The family is anticipating a new member soon – a French bull dog puppy – who will soon be trekking around Big Sky Park.
You can follow along with Heidi’s latest projects through her Instagram page, SawdustNSweat, and get inspired by other Tehaleh homes by searching our Homefinder.