Emily Fazio is one of the premier DIY + Design bloggers around. She started her site Merrypad in 2010 and has since been documenting all of her DIY projects, many of which include improvements on the home she shares with her husband Pete and their family.
Emily is a familiar face on the DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade and you’ll be seeing more of her and her projects for years to come.
Who introduced you to making and building things?
My earliest influencers were my parents. My Dad loves gardening and all things outdoors. My Mom has a love of architecture and Martha Stewart. Neither of them were much into power tools, but they had a definite respect for building things by hand, perfecting their home and property, and learning all along the way.
What feature of your workshop do you love the most?
The workbenches, for sure. What did I do before them? Work on the floor? In the driveway? I don’t even know. The surfaces serve as a nice, permanent place for our more used tools, like the miter saw. Clamps are pinched on all around the worktop. A bin with 3,000 tape measures keeps them all in one convenient place on the shelf beneath. It’s where all the magic happens!
What tool(s) always stay in your toolbox and never go in storage? Why?
A cordless drill with extra batteries, and assorted bits. They all get used a few times a week.
In a fire, what tool(s) would you save above all others? Why?
For the most part, they’re all replaceable to me. I have a wooden box of old, old sandpaper that belonged to my grandpa; that would be a nice thing to be able to save.
What tool do you covet that you currently do not have?
A planer has been at the top of my list for years. I probably wouldn’t use it enough to justify the cost, but I really love woodworking, and maybe I’d get really into it as a hobbyist if everything I built felt a little more professional in quality.
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