What I Learned from Having a Hammer

Lesson 4: DIY Can Strengthen Your Relationship

My mother-in-law, Mary Clampet, also brought the home-repair skills into her marriage. "My parents used to buy old furniture that they would strip, refinish, and glue," Mary says, "and I always wanted to do it myself." So when she got married, Mary bought two oak chests with an eye toward refurbishing them. The first, her father determined, was too big a job and, as a wedding present, took it to a shop to be restored. Mary did the second herself. It still sits in a place of pride, in the family's entryway.