From stay-at-home mom to DIY royalty, Lithia woman turns home into social media masterpiece

LITHIA, Fla. - From wallpaper to decorative trim and light fixtures to ceiling beams, Lindsay Dean is a DIY master in her Lithia home. It's loaded with projects Chip and Joanna Gaines would even ogle at.

But more impressive than the number of projects is the number of people watching her every step of the way.

"It’s just mind-blowing to me," she says.

Lindsay is the founder of the blog "Frills and Drills," and its accompanying Instagram page, which has more than 200,000 followers; 93% are women who get DIY tips on a daily basis.

It's a path she started out on as a young first-time homeowner.

"Here I was a 22-year-old who couldn’t afford any of these things, but I was determined to have a nice home," Lindsay recalls.

Her first project was a headboard she built using a borrowed miter saw.

"It was just so empowering! I just created this and I only spent $14. It just kind of spiraled from there."

"Frills and Drills" was born as a hobby in 2013. Lindsay transitioned to being a stay-at-home mom while still posting on the side.

"I felt like I really needed to make this my creative outlet and I just needed something more," she says.

In 2019, she ramped up her number of posts.

"I just started being consistent with posting all of my projects and showing all of the tutorials. Showing everyone, here is how I’m doing this on a really tight budget and I have two kids at home with me. You can do this too!"

Lindsay says each post gets between 60,000 and 90,000 views and in today's social media-based world, that equals big business.

She works with companies like Home Depot, Lowes and Minwax. They provide products to Lindsay, as well as a paycheck with numbers that still shock her husband.

"My husband is not a DIY guy at all. He has no idea how to operate a table saw, or miter saw, or any of those things."

One thing she wants her followers to know: there's no escaping mom-life.

"You might see one square, but right behind that is a complete disaster."

Lindsay says her Instagram-lifestyle can be hectic, but her motivation comes in the form of project photos she receives from followers.

"They did that in their house because of something they saw me do and that just blows me away!"