As someone who lives and breathes the arts and creativity, moving into a builder grade home was never going to work. Blank walls, chalky paint, and absolutely no character. The house was 5 bedrooms, and 4 bathrooms. Plenty of space, but no personality. I started with the staircase at the entry. I built a newel post at work out of scrap wood, sourced the handrail from a local salvage yard in savannah, and got the spindles from stair parts.com. The best part of this project was finding the empty space under the stairs.mI have puppies and hate the look of a wire cage. This space was the perfect spot for a "doggie den". I had seen them on HGTV, so why not. I added peel and stick tile and painted the inside an accent color. I even added ring lights so it was not so dark. Have to take care of the puppies.

Once the banister was taken care of I switched to the treads themselves. With kids and dogs, carpet was never going to last. It got so dirty so fast, and vacuuming the treads...no thank you. I found the same vinyl I had on my floors, used flooring adhesive to attach the vinyl and used MDF for the riser panels. While my back hated me for a few weeks after I finished the project it was completely worth it. 

My last project on the main floor was our primary bedroom. Again, blank walls, and zero personality. I love color and the beach (Florida girl). I added some paneling, using pre-primed 1x4's, chose the perfect accent color for the wall color, and added some wood detail to display some special keep sakes. It became a room I wanted to spend time in. I felt way more relaxed going to bed. It actually felt like a primary suite instead of an empty box. 

While I did not get to do all the projects I wanted to do on this house, before moving back to FL, I am happy I got to update and add some much needed character to this home. I definitely miss our slice of heaven in Savannah. 

This client came to me after I was their project manager for their whole home renovation. Travis and Anna purchased a fixer upper in Pinellas Park Florida. A 4 bedroom/3 bath home with a pool. The perfect Florida home, well at least they saw the potential for it. The renovation for the rest of the house in another post. 
This project, Travis was using one of the xtra bedrooms as his office. He had no use for a closet and would rather have bookshelves, but didn't want just some ordinary bookshelves. After meeting with him several times to discuss design, we decided simple shelves that looked like they had always been there were best. The project took 2 and half days, and Travis is in love with them. Trim to make them look like furniture and baseboard to match the rest of the house. I love how they turned out and Travis now has ample storage in his office. He can display all of his memorabilia and truly make his man cave one of a kind. 

Diana is like a second mother to me so when she asked me to paint her kitchen cabinets, I of course said yes. She has had the same solid wood cabinets for over 2 decades, and while they were in great shape she needed a refresh. I came over to start the project and found paint samples painted on many different drawers and doors and had sand the cabinets for over 2 days. Not only getting the old finish off, but the new paint samples. If cabinets are not prepped properly, the paint will peel, chip, or change color. Diana chose a soft taupe, or in slang designer terms..."Greige". The prep took so long, and painting was a nightmare. If you know Florida, then you know when its Oak Pollen season you can forget painting outside without some form of pollen getting on the doors. I must have done 3 coats of paint, having to do a sand in between each coat, because the pollen was so bad. To this day, I go over and still find some I missed. Which for someone who is perfectionist, is a serious problem. I think I have gone back 3 or 4 times to fix pollen issues. Note to self for the future, just buy a pop up tent...its worth it. Now all doors and drawers are smooth and beautiful, we added hardware to entire kitchen(which she didn't have prior to this), new shelves for decor instead of a cork board, and fresh coat of paint on the walls.  I am so pleased with the final results, and I have a happy "second mom". Mission Accomplished!

I was referred to the Reitzel's through a realtor I had been working with. He had a small water spot above his microwave cabinet that he wanted repaired. Minimal chipping and flaking so I started to scrape it and boy was I in for a surprise. 

The scraping and flaking of the plaster just kept going. More plaster fell off and more damage was exposed. I ended up removing the microwave cabinet to discover the old vent from the roof had just been covered up and not properly closed off. Every time in rained in Florida(which in the summer is everyday) more water would just trickle down the spout and pool on top of the cabinet. This small fix had now turned into a serious problem.

A certain swedish stores cabinets are not meant to get wet. The laminate was peeling off and the boards were swelling. The only good the laminate on top of the cabinet did was protect the major part of the cabinet. Little bleach mixed with water and I was able to clean it right off. The laminate we reattached with some heat activated glue, and the cabinet was reinstalled. 

Once the hole had been capped properly, the plaster re-done, the cabinet put back together, and the entire kitchen ceiling painted, you would never know the ceiling had an issue to begin with. Now the Reitzel's have a brand new ceiling in their kitchen and a brand new roof(courtesy of Spicer Roofing). I am so glad I was referred to this client, I was able to help him out with the plaster repair but also discover a massive issue with his roof which would have compromised the integrity of his entire house. Now his wife are mold and water free inside and can enjoy their Florida home to its fullest.

Chrissy was referred to me through another realtor I had worked with, and she was a first time home buyer. She was so excited to be able to get a home in Seminole, FL and make it her own. She ended up buying a flip, but it was more of a try to flip house. The baseboards were not attached, the electrical was questionable, and she had some serious plumbing issues that needed to be resolved. I was able to help her by lining her up with the electrician and plumber that I use for all of my clients, and she was so thankful. She was so nervous about trying to vet and research any tradesman because she had been burned by 3 previous handyman who promised to help and then just went M.I.A. While the hot water issue, and electrical were taken care of, she wanted to add some character to her new home. I was so excited to work with a client who was not afraid of color or bold design choices. She was definitely speaking my language. 

In her 2 guest bedrooms, she wanted to expose the closets and make them more into nooks. One room became the "purple room" and with good reason. The walls were painted a soft lilac and we added some beautiful wallpaper in the closet nook. This would draw your eye to the nook, and add a feature to the room. Chrissy told me it gave the room more personality. "I Love It!!"

Her living room was next. You can walk into any house and see blank walls, or grey walls with some picture frames, or even a gallery wall. But Chrissy wanted to take it a step further, and build out a feature wall. The wall was the perfect size to make a grid, and she used one of her favorite colors...Teal. Girl me too! After adding 1x4's in a grid pattern(thank you geometry), and a fresh coat of paint, she now has a wall that everyone talks about when they come over. Her bold choices have definitely set her apart as one of my favorite clients.