Many people have reservations about a Do-It-Yourself lifestyle, but some individuals love it. For them, it is a way to take control and enjoy doing things by themselves, curating a life filled with creativity and self-reliance. Not to mention the money you save. In short, DIY is fun, frugal, sustainable, and empowering. One such personality whose soul thrives by diving into DIY projects is Nicole Francis. The projects initially started as a way to amp up her home’s value but eventually turned into a full-time business, now known as 1776 Faux Farmhouse.
Hailing from Springville, a small town south of Salt Lake City, Utah, Nicole comes from a DIY family and is the oldest of her siblings. Growing up, Nicole witnessed her parents taking on small-scale projects around their house and believes that her parents passed on the DIY gene to her as well. In 2012, she met Michael, and they were happily married later the following year. The duo are the polar opposites of each other; as Nicole says, “he is the calm to my crazy.” They complement each other regardless of the differences in their personalities. Even when it comes to DIY, Michael hasn’t been as well-versed as Nicole. “We could say his teenage years weren’t really the DIY kind of background.”
In 2017, Nicole and Michael purchased their first home when she was working as a teacher and he was starting out as an analyst. With their tight funds, they were the cheapest house in their neighborhood, but they were overjoyed to finally own a house. So to increase the value of their home, they started little DIY projects around the house. Unsurprisingly, Michael was highly hesitant about this entire ordeal, but Nicole assured him they could take on this challenge.
“Once a few project estimations were received, and supplies calculated, my analytical spouse quickly realized that it was worth our time to figure out how to do the projects ourselves. We purchased power tools and learned how to use them, and slowly but surely, we eventually figured things out and started getting more confident,” shares Nicole.
Before the birth of their daughter, Little Miss, Nicole parted ways with her teaching career. After their daughter was born, they quickly moved into another builder-grade home that would happily accommodate her family, including their pets, Hazel and Lucy. Once again, they decided to indulge in DIY projects on a bigger scale, eventually setting the course for 1776 Faux Farmhouse.
Currently, Nicole’s and Michael’s brainchild is a thriving brand showcasing their custom projects to their community, having worked with numerous brands. 1776 Faux Farmhouse’s social media presence keeps growing, and Nicole hopes it continues on an upward trajectory.
Follow 1776 Faux Farmhouse on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Youtube, and Facebook to learn more about Nicole and her DIYs.
