Meet Kelley Waterfall | DIY & Home Improvement Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelley Waterfall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelley, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
One of most important factors behind my success is the fulfillment and passion that drive everything I do. When you truly love what you’re doing, it no longer feels like work—it becomes a source of energy. True success for me isn’t measured by money, notoriety, or achieving goals, it is about enjoying the journey.

Personal happiness plays a crucial role in what I do because it keeps me motivated. When you love and are passionate about what you do it allows you to approach your work with enthusiasm and genuine excitement. That energy becomes contagious, inspiring others and creating a brand or career that feels authentic and meaningful.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My passions are woodworking, DIY, and home improvement projects! I’ve come a long way over the years since starting this endeavor and I’m beyond excited to see where it continues to take me.

Woodworking, DIY, and home improvement projects truly came out of no where for me. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be woodworking, I would have laughed.

Waterfall Woodworking started 5 years ago when I bought my first home. I wanted a very specific style of dining table, and quickly realized how expensive custom furniture is. So, I thought to myself, I bet I can build that! I then went down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos on how to build a dining table… and a few weeks later I was asking my father-in-law to borrow some tools and got to building. As someone who has always been scared of most things in life, I never thought I would be using saws and power tools. But I did and I built a dining table that we still have and use in our home today!

After that, I realized I absolutely loved building things from scratch, with just a vision in my head. From there I started making and selling dining tables, building all sorts of home decor items, shelves, end tables, and then I started making cutting boards, charcuterie boards, and working with epoxy. I participated in a number of local art fairs selling my work.

This entire time, to this day, I also worked a full time corporate 9-5 job. This definitely makes things hard as I am limited to after work hours or weekends to build, and it can be very hard to get the motivation to do this kind of work after working 8+ hour days. The art fairs became too hard to keep up with, most weeks leading up to an art fair I would have to pull in my husband to help and we would be working on building cutting boards until 11pm most nights.

I was getting burnt out so I took some time off when we moved to Colorado in 2022. I worked on some smaller level projects that year, but taking time to reset, explore Colorado, hike, and make new friends was really important and rejuvenated me.

I think it’s important for anyone who owns a business or has a side hustle to remember to take time for yourself. I love what I do and I want to continue to love what I do and not get burnt out by burying myself in work.

After falling in love with Colorado, we bought a blank slate home that I had big plans for! This is when I really dove head first into home renovation. I want to redo every inch of our home and truly make it our own. So far I’ve renovated our master closet, built a vegetable garden, a pergola, outdoor furniture, a murphy bed with built in shelves, and gave our powder bathroom a makeover. The bathroom and the murphy bed are my favorites!

I am constantly learning new skills and how to tackle projects from YouTube and other social platforms. Every time I start a new project, I leverage social media to learn everything I possibly can. The amount of videos out there to educate people on how to do these things is incredible.

Just like I do my research before a project and learn from others, I post all my work across social platforms because I hope I can teach and inspire others to do these kinds of projects as well. I used to watch home renovation videos and thought I could never do that, but here I am. I really hope those that see my projects can feel empowered if they want to do this as well.

There is something so special about creating beautiful spaces in my home that I get to envision and build from scratch.

I still have a ton of projects to do in my home and am always offering to help friends and family with their homes. I love creating spaces that people fall in love with an can enjoy for years to come. I’m excited to see what the future brings for Waterfall Woodworking and all the incredible spaces I will create.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love taking everyone and anyone who visits to the mountains! I have such a love for the mountains and outdoors; it’s why I moved to Colorado (of course)!

If we are staying in the Denver metro area, a visit to one of my favorite restaurants Beyond Thai or Kawa Ni is a must, followed by the best ice cream at Sweet Cow! I love all of the close hiking that is available in Evergreen, Golden, Red Rocks; all great areas to get outdoors!

If we are going on a little weekend trip, one of my favorite mountain towns is Crested Butte. The people are so kind, the food is great, and the views… stunning! I love wildflower season and fall, both equally incredible times to visit. The town has beautiful colorful shops, and the Butte is on full display almost wherever you are. The hiking in the Crested Butte area offers some of the most stunning views.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m so fortunate to have an extremely supportive family and husband who are my greatest champions in everything I pursue. Growing up my mom always encouraged me to be creative, try new things, and that I could do whatever I put my mind to. The creativity I get from my mom definitely plays a large part in who I am today and the business I am building. We were a crafty household; everyday there was always a new craft or art project we were doing.

I watched my mom not only have her own successful photography business, but also paint everything and anything in our house. I remember for my 13th birthday I wanted a beach themed room and my mom proceeded to hand paint flamingos, palm trees, and beach scenery on my bedroom walls. It was beautiful!

Growing up in this fun and creative environment instilled in me a love for creating things and being artistic.

Website: https://www.waterfallwoodworking.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waterfallwoodworking

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093060677787&mibextid=LQQJ4d

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKxYHB5TguA6agg4ItQIg7A

Other: TikTok: @WaterfallWoodworking