About Me

I want to show you that if I, having NO experience with DIY, can do this, YOU totally can too!

Come join me and learn with me!

My Story

I grew up in India. Growing up, I was always crafty – the handmade card, macrame, embroidery, and a little crafts kind of person. I had ZERO exposure to power tools or DIY – it wasn’t really a thing in India.

I came to this country 18 years ago for grad school. I got my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, got married, and got a job.

8 years ago, on a quest for some cute furniture for my daughter, I stumbled onto the world of DIY blogs! I realized I could do this! I picked up a power drill for the very first time and built my first project.

I was hooked!

I started this blog to show others that it is possible!

It is possible to not have any experience and pick up power tools for the first time and build your own furniture.

That feeling when you walk into a room to see all the beautiful things YOU built… I want everyone to experience that!

Since building that little table, I have gone on to build almost 90% of the furniture in our home.

You can click here to see all my woodworking projects.

Not just woodworking, I have taught myself many facets of home improvement and updated many parts of the home.

You can click here to see my home improvement projects.

My mission however remains constant.

I always make sure to make all my projects approachable and doable for everyone. I want you to look at the project or tutorial and think to yourself – “I can make that!”

I believe it so much that I put it on a T-shirt 🙂

Get your T-shirt here. I have a few other fun designs too!

I am humbled, thrilled, and excited that my work has won me a few accolades and been featured by so many amazing magazines, blogs, and websites, including those listed below.

I won the Best Creative Skill Award (International) at the 2019 Amara Interior Blog Awards.

Features

I have collaborated multiple times with Jen Woodhouse and Rogue Engineer to design and build projects.

Click on the logos to go directly to the features of my work.

A few fun facts!

Now that you have a formal introduction, here are a few fun facts about me –

1. I am quite scared of touching anything non-human.
2. I have serious nausea towards tea! I could not even drink it to save my life! NOT KIDDING!! This is a big problem in social situations given that I am from India! I am not a big fan of coffee either (My friends (including my husband) wonder how I got  through grad school and Ph.D. without caffeine!)
3. I am a trained Indian classical dancer (in Bharatnatyam). I have also learned Jazz and Modern and I love all things dance and music!
4. I am a “pseudo” vegetarian… I prefer vegetarian food any day but then buffalo wings are my weakness 😉
5. I absolutely love earrings – the bigger, the blingier, the better!!

Write to me!

I absolutely love hearing from my readers! Send me pictures of your projects, questions, feedback or a note just because! Email me at anika{at}anikasdiylife{dot}com

Or you could write to me the old fashioned way (which I love by the way!) –

P.O. Box 974

Cypress, CA 90630