An amateur builder renovated a 'strange ledge' into a reading nook for his dyslexic daughter, but was flooded with criticism as some called the result even 'stranger'

• Pete Parisi recently shared a past home renovation project on TikTok: turning a ledge into a reading nook.
• At 22 million views, he's been inundated with criticism of its utility and structural soundness.

The TikToker and amateur builder Pete Parisi has sowed divisive reactions to a home renovation project where he transformed a "strange ledge" above his front door into a reading loft for his 14-year-old daughter.

The one-minute clip from last week— a series of photos of the construction work set to music some viewers described as "ominous" — has amassed 21.6 million views. Parisi, 51, told Insider the project was actually completed several years ago, but he wanted to re-circulate it to new viewers.

Many deemed the project unsafe or critiqued the nook's utility and aesthetics, while others rushed to Parisi's defense, confounded that commenters were getting so worked up about another person's home.

In Parisi's viral TikTok, the dad showed how he extended the platform of the ledge so there could be enough room for a cushioned seating area and a banister. Commenters did not take to the redesign.

"My house had a strange ledge above the door, so I extended it and made it a stranger ledge then before," one commenter quipped. "Nice reading nook. or ambush spot for breakins," one person added, with 23,000 likes. "Sure it's a nice reading loft or a zombie apocalypse lookout," another said.

This isn't Parisi's first viral rodeo. He told Insider he used to take it personally but has become desensitized after so many projects have gone viral. Home renovations are especially polarizing, he said, and criticisms of structural soundness run rampant in the maker community.

"They're probably right in a lot of those ways," Parisi conceded of the ledge. "We did this for ourselves and we made it work, but I'm not a professional."

But this project had a particularly personal genesis. "My daughter has dyslexia and she inherited it from me," Parisi told Insider. He hoped the nook would help with her struggles at school and serve as an outlet for his own helpless feelings as a parent.

"Whenever I get stressed, I try to keep busy and build something," he said.

'Folks are going to bring their own stories to what they're seeing,' Parisi said of the divisive comments

By day, California-based Parisi works at Netflix in its games division. But he's amassed a healthy social following of over 165,000 showcasing his inventive craftsmanship. He likens going viral to something of a crapshoot based on how TikTok's algorithm promotes content.

He's also observed inexplicable "trends" in the comments section. "We've gotten thousands of comments of people worried about being drunk climbing up there," he said. Viewers also repeatedly suggested putting a Christmas tree on the former ledge.

Another renovation video that stoked a fierce debate was a Lego storage nook Parisi built under his staircase, which also happens to have a doggy door. It nabbed 175 million views on YouTube last year.

While most commenters thought the door was "cute," others accused him of animal abuse (in the event the door was latched when the dog was inside the nook), he said.

"You just have to take a step back and realize that folks are going to bring their own stories to what they're seeing," Parisi added. "A lot of people form very strong opinions off very limited data. I wish people would ask more questions."

To his most recently viral renovation, viewers are now coming to Parisi's defense, calling the reading nook "cozy" and creative.

"This is so cool! These comments do NOT pass the vibe check," one person said.