Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Ries
Hi Hannah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My creativity has always been a way for me to express myself – from childhood, I’ve designed clothes, written poetry and songs (I definitely thought I was going to be the next big Youtube sensation), and got really into painting as a medium for my crafting. As I transitioned into adulthood and it got more difficult to find time to commit to hobbies, my ability to use my creative side quickly fell to the wayside.
When my husband and I got married in 2019 and started looking for a home to buy, I quickly saw a way to use that creativity to create a place that reflected our lives. Shortly after we closed on our first home, COVID happened and , as a health care worker, things quickly went from standard practice to trying to stay afloat in the chaos. As Minnesota shut down, we found out we were expecting our first child – this little boy quickly became not only the most important thing in my world but my driving force to show up for myself and my family every day.
As I came out of the fog of newborn motherhood and postpartum depression, I realized very quickly that allowing time for reintroducing underutilized parts of who I am was such an important part of not losing myself in the shuffle. It was shortly after this that I created The Ries House – my instagram page where I focus on creating a home that not only fits and functions the family that lives there, but inspires them as well. That encourages home owners to learn how to use the tools they have to make their unique vision of home come to life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I touched on before, this journey has not been without adversity. I created this platform to find myself in the midst of motherhood and working full-time in healthcare during a struggle with postpartum depression and anxiety.
As I came out of the metaphorical fog of my first experience with motherhood, I had our second son, Two boys under the age of 2 (they are almost exactly 17 months apart in age). This second delivery met with a few more complications, one of which was worsening mental health, a second struggle with postpartum depression and a struggle within myself that I would not wish on my worst enemy. Coming to the table for anything that did not involve my children, going to work or basic bodily functions was hard. We moved into our current home during that time and it almost destroyed that little spark I had left that wanted to create. I pushed, I persevered, and I am happy to say I am on the other side and ready to help inspire others to do the same.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Currently, I am renovating my second home. I have opened my books to do online design and sourcing of projects for clients as well as taking on the occasional facelift for other homes. I specialize in creating content to show others that doing projects within their home, trusting their guts and learning new skills, is worth the chance – creating a space the reflects your family in your home is the ultimate goal and getting to do it with your two hands is such a rewarding challenge that I hope to inspire others to take on.
I am most proud of showing my sons that with a little hard work, a little determination and a whole lot of faith in yourself and willingness to try, you can accomplish your goals. It’s been so fun to hear my 4 year old tell people he wants to build houses like momma when he grows up and getting to see how bright their smiles are when they get to pick up a paint brush or a hammer to help on a project.
What sets me apart from others is that I show projects on a realistic timeline with a very middle class budget. Look, I work fulltime in an Emergency Room and have two young children – these projects sometimes take weeks and months to complete. If I have a big deadline, sometimes I have to make sacrifices to get it done, and I show that. I show the mess, the accidents, the mistakes that come up without the rose colored glasses the internet sometimes has. I talk about budgeting through projects, making bridge choices while I save for the big items, the long-term designs, and the things that are slightly out of reach at the moment. I think that the internet can sometimes seem unrealistic in the speed of project completions and the cost to complete them – I aim to break through that barrier and share a more all encompassing and relatable side to the DIY community.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Oh boy – this is a hard one. I think, the major thing I hope readers take from this is to never stop trying to find who YOU are. You are not just your job or a spouse or a parent. There’s so much more to everyone that we don’t see and so much more to learn about yourself as we age.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therieshouse/
Image Credits
By Rebecca Studios – Rebecca Slater
