I had the pleasure of meeting Karianne from Thistlewood Farms at the Haven Conference I attended this summer. I admit I did not know her or her blog at the time. We met, exchanged cards and when I finally settled back home I went through my cards and started reading hers. I was hooked! I loved her rustic home, her creativity & her sense of humor in her posts. I read her “about” page but still felt like I wanted to know more about this insanely talented DIY blogger.

I bet you’re curious about her, too. Grab that coffee, tea, mimosa or whatever suits you, and join me for a fun read!

Q. Is Thistlewood a creative outlet or is it a full-time job for you?

Thistlewood is a full time job. In 2012 when I returned from the Haven Conference, I realized the potential for a blog to make an income. I treated the blog like it was a business, set hours for myself and established an editorial calendar. That was a turn around point. From there on, the blog evolved into a full time business.

Q. What did you do prior to Thistlewood?

When the twins went to Kindergarten, I had a lot of free time on my hands. I was looking for a creative outlet and started my blogging journey.

Q. What inspired the blog?

We completed the renovation on our farmhouse, and I wanted to connect with people who were on a similar journey. I wanted to share all of the projects from our farmhouse and the blog seemed like the perfect outlet to do so.

Q. You left the city for country life. How has that changed your life?

We have such a slower pace of life living in the country. I’ve learned to appreciate sunsets over the back of our property, the sound of crickets chirping under a starry sky, and a glass of sweet tea on a farmhouse porch shared with friends.

Q. Your projects are just fantastic; I especially loved the shutter wall. What inspired that?

The room that is home to the shutter wall was a tiny overlooked space, tucked under the eaves next to the attic. I wanted an architectural feature that would really make the room stand out. So, I started collecting shutters from the 500 mile yard sale. It took a while to collect them all, because I was on a “shutter budget”. But in the end, I’m so happy with how the project turned out.

Q. Where did you get this DIY talent? Have you always been creative?

Before I ever had a blog, I decorated and crafted and created. I think it all started with my doll house when I was seven. I used wallpaper scraps to decorate the rooms and made salt dough food for the kitchen. I wish I would have taken pictures, it would have made a great blog post. 🙂

Q. Hardest project you’ve ever done?

The hardest project I’ve ever done was renovating our kitchen. There were four layers of flooring ranging from linoleum to indoor/outdoor carpet. We had to pull up all four layers before we got to the original antique pine flooring. The process was challenging, but after the floors were refinished, it added so much charm and character to the space.

Q. Most favorite project you’ve ever done?

I think my most favorite project to date is the Gatehouse. It is a space where I could completely change my design aesthetic and bring out all the bold colors and patterns that I don’t have in the farmhouse. It makes me smile everytime I go to work.

Q. If you could take off and go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I’ve always wanted to visit the English countryside. Escape for me is a good movie based on one of Jane Austen’s books or the latest season of Downton Abbey. I would love to experience England for myself.

Q. Tell me something the readers don’t know about you.

I’m pretty much an open book on the blog. One thing they might not know is how much I love to run to the song, “Roar,” by Katie Perry. I’ve sung the song out loud and “roared” more times that I can count.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Karianne as much as I have! Have a great week friends and thanks for coming by!