When mother-of-four Cara Brookins fled domestic violence with her children, she was determined to put her family back together again. Just nine months later, she'd not only built a home from scratch – with the help of YouTube tutorials no less – but had also rebuilt her family. Surprised and delighted at the success of her project, she turned her experience into a best-selling book and a successful career.
Click or scroll on to discover her remarkable story...
Not long after their escape in 2008, Cara decided a family project was just the thing to help her and her four young children heal. The challenge? Building a brand new house for them all to live in.
"My kids were 17,15,11 and two, and had been knocked down so many times that they needed something big as badly as I did," said Cara in a 2018 interview. Pictured here years after the home's construction, the family was brought closer than ever by the building process.
A former software architect, Cara grew up in rural Wisconsin and always harboured a love for building things, but never had the chance to as an adult.
"After I grew up and had four kids of my own, I should have built big things but I was in several situations that made me feel smaller than ever, so my goals and my future stayed small too," says Cara.
Cara started the project by purchasing one acre of land in Northern Arkansas and selling the property she already owned. She spent the money from the sale of the house on $130,000 (£103k) worth of building supplies, but soon realised she had nothing left to hire construction workers.
It was then that she decided to build her new home herself, with the help of her children; Roman, Jada, Hope and Drew.
To gather the final supplies, Cara needed to take out a loan, but as she wasn't a contractor and had no building experience it proved difficult to find a company that was happy to give her the money.
In the end, she agreed to complete the build within nine months or she would default on the loan that she'd managed to get.
The whole family pitched in and Cara started researching and watching videos about the different stages of building a house, starting with how to lay a foundation.
This was no easy feat: the group had to hike down a hill to their neighbour's pond in freezing weather for pails of water so that they could mix the mortar by hand in a wheelbarrow.
Step by step, the family worked together to build every element of the house themselves. With no experience of the construction industry or building projects, Cara and the children learned how to pour concrete, frame the walls and even lay bricks.
Everyone had their own part in helping with the build. Oldest son Drew helped to draw the blueprints, Jada helped create the home's foundation, while Hope cooked for the family. All the children also had to keep an eye on two-year-old Roman, who loved nothing more than to play on the construction site.
“I didn’t know yet how to frame a window or a door, how to snake pipes and wires through a wall or how to draw up blueprints or obtain permits. But I knew my kids, and I knew we needed this,” Cara wrote in her book, Rise: How a House Built a Family.
The family worked for 20 hours most days, fitting the build around jobs and school.
“While our toes nearly froze off as we mixed concrete in a wheelbarrow, our back muscles ached from hauling two-by-fours, and we sweated and itched our way through fibreglass insulation – we also rebuilt our broken family,” Cara wrote.
In a time before smartphones, the Brookins family spent their evenings watching YouTube videos about the various stages of home construction, memorising the steps for when they were on-site the next day.
This online library of knowledge helped them master the complex skill of homebuilding, along with a little help from the experts.
Of course, a bit of professional help was needed from time to time. As well as watching countless videos online, Cara sought help from workers at her local Home Depot store, who provided advice on the different steps of building a house.
She eventually hired a man with experience in residential construction and paid him $25 (£20) an hour for a helping hand.
Despite the Brookins' lack of experience, the house managed to pass every city building code inspection with flying colours, although the inspectors were a little surprised when they found out that a family of novices were behind the impressive building work!
After nine months of back-breaking work, the family's beautiful new home was complete.
The Brookins recieved a certificate of occupancy and finally moved into the residence in March 2009. With its grand columned porch and charming shutters, the home certainly isn't short of kerb appeal.
The stunning 3,500-square-foot house is spread over two floors and offers five bedrooms – one for every member of the family.
Named Inkwell Manor, the property also features a library, a large three-car garage, a workshop and a two-storey treehouse.
Throughout the home, the living spaces are light, bright and beautifully crafted. The dining room features white tiled flooring, a decorative wood-panelled hearth and a glittering chandelier – a stunning space for the family to enjoy a meal together.
The perfect haven for such a hard worker, Cara's bedroom is an elegant blend of modern style and classic touches, and features a gorgeous mahogany sleigh bed, a repurposed antique bedside table, and a statement gallery wall.
The whole room feels bright and airy thanks to the light colour palette, and makes the ideal spot to unwind after a busy day.
No detail has been overlooked, as you can see from this stylish gallery wall. The stunning finish of the property, both in its construction and its decorative elements, is a testament to Cara's drive and determination to create a beautiful home for her family.
One of Cara's favourite spaces is the library, which caters to her love of books. Fitted out with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to store all of her prized volumes, it's a cosy nook where she can enjoy some creative downtime.
The handcrafted kitchen with its exquisite painted cabinetry is beautifully finished, with plenty of homely touches added to soften the space.
The house is also dotted with artwork, including these framed tiles, which depict Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Five Characters in a Comic Scene'.
Everything has its place too – ideal for organising dry and canned foods, this clever pantry cupboard has space to store plenty of produce to feed the whole family. We love the coordinated white wicker storage baskets and their chalkboard labels!
In the stylish living room, with its neutral sofa and cosy throw cushions, a beautiful piece of wall art makes a statement. Spot the kitty! You can see more of Cara's home updates (and family pets) on her Instagram page.
One piece in the home that holds a special place in Cara's heart is the heat barrier behind the wood-burning stove.
Made up of different materials that mean something to the family, including shells from an ocean trip, stones found in the property's grounds and fool's gold from a nearby river, it also features hidden pennies for each member of the family from the year they were born.
Even the smallest spaces in the home are imbued with personality. This pocket-sized powder room has a quirky feature wall clad in yellowing pages from books, a nod to the home's literary name, Inkwell Manor. A gilded mirror and ornate metal taps complete the Victoriana look.
The remarkable family home has no shortage of spaces for relaxing and unwinding. This cute reading nook, with its comfy seating and white staggered storage shelves, offers a peaceful spot to kick back and get lost in a good book.
Elsewhere, Cara built this impressive bookshelf and storage unit with help from her daughter, styling the unit with old books, gemstones, shells and mementos. She intends to replace the black-and-white drawings with her own watercolour paintings in the future.
Cara decided to share the family's incredible experience with the world and wrote a book about their journey, from home-building to healing. Rise: How a House Built a Family was released in January 2017 to critical acclaim and her story has reached more than 75 counties.
Having discovered both a talent and a passion for writing, Cara went on to release Unstuck in 2023. In her latest title, she discusses ways to overcome procrastination and teaches the science and psychology behind "getting things done against all odds."
Cara’s books have also launched her career as a public speaker, inspiring others through TED Talks, chat shows, and seminars on stages around the world.
“I sure didn’t see this coming when I was knee-deep in freezing mud figuring out how to lay the first foundation blocks with my kids, but after five years as a full-time speaker, I can confidently say that I love this life and it’s what I was meant to do,” she says.
With the goal of reaching audiences beyond her speaking tours, Cara has launched her own motivational podcast, The Cara Brookins Show. The inspiring episodes offer frameworks and guidance to help her listeners take action and embrace big changes in their own lives, all informed by her own experiences of triumphing against the odds.
Still more impressively, she has also become a member of the United Nations Association to advocate for human rights and gender equality.
Just like her career, Cara’s family has grown and flourished since the completion of Inkwell Manor. 15 years on, Cara is now a grandmother, with her youngest son – only two when they started the project – preparing to start college.
Their journey may have begun with an ambitious DIY project at a time of hardship, but it led to so much more than the Brookins family could have anticipated. With strength, resilience and determination, they built something incredible that transcends their home's bricks and mortar. We can't wait to see what they do next!
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