I’m passionate about creating beautiful things.
At five years old, I remember sitting on top of my old tall dresser, looking down at my room, contemplating how to rearrange my furniture. At twelve years old, I taught myself to sew so I could make my own clothes, and by thirteen, I dreamed of being a fashion designer. Throughout high school, I made full wardrobes for myself, and eventually a man’s suit, and even a wedding gown. At eighteen, I was a waitress at the Davenport Hotel, and I made up my mind to buy a little house to rent out. I saved my tips and bought a 2 bed, 1 bath, 1940 fixer and began the ultimate feat of remodeling it. I cleaned, sanded, and painted everything myself.
On my hands and knees, I remember working on the old cast iron tub until late each night, painstakingly sanding the scratched hardwood floors and hand-setting all of the tile. Rather than lose time driving home to my parents’ house at night, I would opt to sleep on the floor.
But, I kept going.
I kept buying and selling properties throughout the years––they were so pretty by the time I finished them I only needed to put a sign in the front yard and I could sell them myself. Ultimately, I took a big step and sold my own home, using the proceeds to buy a rundown estate. I was able to set aside enough money to make the payments while I remodeled it. I intended to make the money I needed to send my children to college, but about halfway through the project the housing market began to crash, and by the time I finished the house, there was no equity in it. Needless to say, it became our home for the next 11 years.
During the recession, unable to buy or sell, and perplexed and worried about how to proceed, I decided to open up my home for others to see. One of my sons encouraged me to approach a local restaurant for a design job he saw online. I offered to show the owners my home and after a tour, they gave me the job. There, in that restaurant, I found myself right where I belonged, painting alongside the crew.
One day I found myself showing a builder my estate–afterward he asked if I would take a look at a set of his plans. Eventually, my ideas make it to his architect, and ultimately I designed the layout for 54 townhomes and several more houses. Everything was drafted from my pencil drawings. The housing market was still in the hole, so I relished the work.
Meanwhile, I began hosting luncheons and events where I shared my design ideas and gave tours of my home, which I named the “Edmondshire Estate”. I even rented it for weddings, all the while, behind the scenes, hustling on the side by taking work moving furniture, hanging art, and picking paint colors. Eventually, I was introduced to another builder who hired me to stage one of his new homes. Honestly, I used a lot of my own furniture to make it happen. A friend in real estate periodically hired me to help flippers with paint, cabinet, and floor selections. I literally got handed the worst houses on the block! As my remodeling business developed, I found I needed a full-time General Contractor to team up with me, but somehow, I couldn’t find a man who wanted the job, so I became the General Contractor!
Those remodels became more remodels, and then the commercial work arrived. New sets of plans for new construction. Then new construction became land development, and now I’m here. Exactly where I'm meant to be.
I'm always open to new and exciting opportunities.
Let's connect!
253-691-0709