Raised in northern NB, Canada by a hard-working and determined divorced single parent, from a very young age, I learned how to make do with what you have on hand and the rest, you create yourself. Now fast forward a bunch of years!
We had made a good number of cosmetic changes already to our first home – a semi-detached 2 bedroom sitting on a lot a mere 16 feet wide – the house itself was only 13 feet wide! “Now if you wallpaper that dining room, I can get you another $10,000 for it”, said our listing agent 6 months after buying it. Skeptically, I will admit, I purchased the paper and border for $32 from a discount bin, put it up the same weekend, painted the trim, hung a bit of wall art and she did not disappoint! It sold that week and for the extra $10,000 as promised.
And there began my obsession with DIY home improvements, stretching a decorating dollar (thanks Mom!!) as far as it could possibly go in repurposing, refurbishing and refinishing in my newfound world of home ownership and DIYs. Making the most of what you have. Discarding nothing. A beautiful home didn’t have to cost a fortune! Invaluable lessons were learned.
6 houses later with a few rentals in between, would see a multitude of DIY projects spanning over the years and in 2004, My Painted Porch, an interior decorating business specializing in staging and faux finishes in NB, Canada, was born.
Moving the business to online with the added creation of a home décor line of vintage inspired signs, along with the addition of a blog in 2007 in promotion of the business and to share the inspiration behind the business, would combine my passions of decorating, writing and connecting.
Fast forward to 2021, with a few reignited passions in the mix and continued big loves in my life, the journey and constant need to be in a beautiful creative mess, continues where the DIYs are endless!
Hi there! I’m Leslie Woods Meyers, business owner on Canada’s East Coast, mom/smom to a blended lot of 5, wife to a tall handsome German man who loves my cooking (go figure!), and daughter to my elderly mom – our only remaining parent. Joe and I live in our perpetual project of a 100+ yr old home in beautiful northern NB with our teenage daughter and one very crazy Golden Retriever, Gunner, where most days you’ll find me with a paint brush knee-deep in house projects or a guitar in hand seeking to live my truth. Joe and I work hard together on our sanctuary – side by side and hand in hand, where every day is an adventure in this wonderful life we’ve created together – with forever grateful hearts and where we learn something new daily about each other, marriage, our home, family, parenting, aging parents, relationships and life.
Designing home while designing a life.
Welcome to Designing Scarlett!
