Up Close and Personal with Nicole Curtis
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Candid as they come, Nicole Curtis is not one to shirk from being her authentic self. But there’s only so much you can see or reveal on TV. Well fellow Rehab Addict fans, it’s time to rejoice! Your favorite HGTV and DIY Network star is getting up close and personal in her brand new book, Better Than New: Lessons I’ve Learned from Saving Old Homes (And How They Saved Me).
Like the homes she renovates, writing Better Than New was a labor of love for Nicole that took over two years from start to finish. We had the chance to talk with Nicole about her new book and how this new creative adventure came to be. Read on to find out more and pick up your copy today!
Private Struggles, Personal Battles
So what inspired Nicole to write a book? She says, “I felt it was important to answer all the questions people have been asking over the last 7 years.” While it might look easy on TV, “there is a real struggle that happens” says Nicole.
Described as part memoir, part self-help book, Better Than New is composed of eight revealing chapters about Nicole’s personal journey and the homes she’s renovated along the way. Although she says she doesn’t have a favorite chapter, the projects she chose to write about and feature in the book are the ones closest to her heart.
Better Than New
Coming up with a fitting title for a book can be a difficult task, but not for Nicole. “It [better than new] was something my grandma always said and everything I love is always better than new. You hear people say it all the time. It just fit.”
“I see treasures where others see garbage,” says Nicole “Just the other day I found some bamboo my neighbor was throwing out and used it to fill my fall urns. Anything that can be saved and refinished is always good.”
How to Save a Life
Nicole describes the work she does restoring old homes to their former glory as “larger than life”. When starting a new project, Nicole explains, “You don’t go in with a plan. You can’t.” While we often focus on successes rather than failures, Nicole says she believes we learn more by examining and finding the life lessons in our failures.
In Better Than New you’ll find plenty of Nicole’s life lessons as a single mom and entrepreneur, as well as over 75 never-before-seen photos from her personal collection.
Find Your Fire
Transforming communities for the better is at the heart and soul of Nicole’s work. Inspired to help your own community? There’s still time to submit your project idea to the 2016 Bernzomatic Find Your Fire Community Grants program.
“Getting money for community grants has been one of the hardest things I’ve faced in my career,” says Nicole. “Bernzomatic has the made the process so easy.” Submit your project idea by October 31 for the chance to win a $15,000 grant. For more details, visit findyourfiregrants.com.
Second Photo by Diane Bondareff/Invision for Bernzomatic/AP Images
Channel your inner “Rehab Addict” with 6 great tips from Nicole Curtis
Clarissa is a wife and stepmom embracing life in the Land of Enchantment. She works as a nonprofit communication specialist by day and blogger by night. Some of her favorite things are Dr. Pepper, green chile, baseball, country music, and her yellow lab.
Love you Nicole! Love your show, watch it every opportunity I get. You are such an inspiration to women, that we can get things done and it will always look beautiful. I believe in recycling everything I can. I grew up on a dairy farm and we reused everything as we didn’t have much. We always had love , plenty of food on the table and everything was healthy for you. We worked really hard and enjoyed making things from scratch. Even though my family is very comfortable today, I still grow my own vegetables and enjoy being creative. for our latest craft project, my husband and I are mounting moose antlers from a moose he shot in Canada. It’s not been easy but they will be beautiful hanging on our wall. Both of us volunteer a lot in our community too so we can help others. May God bless you and keep you in his heart.