I swear, sometimes I measure a wall and by the time I turn around, it’s grown an inch. Old houses are the worst for that—nothing’s ever level. But honestly, that unpredictability can make upcycling kind of fun… you get to improvise. “Rustic charm” might just mean you worked with what you had, and there’s a certain beauty to that.
WEEKEND CRAFTS: DO YOU PREFER BUILDING FROM SCRATCH OR UPCYCLING OLD STUFF?
That unpredictability is exactly what makes me hesitate sometimes, though. Like, if you’re trying to fit an old door into a weirdly-sized frame, do you just embrace the gaps and call it “character,” or is there a trick to making it look intentional? I’m always worried my projects will end up looking more “unfinished” than “rustic.” Is there a point where it’s better to just start from scratch, or do you find ways to make the quirks work?
