Real Estate Junkies
Come listen to a discussion about all things real estate.
Real Estate Junkies
Ep. 9 - "Renovate & Elevate"
- Do you have a space that you’d like to redesign or renovate?
- Does the thought of designing or renovating a space overwhelm you?
- At what point should you hire/consult with an interior designer – beginning of a project, middle or towards the end?
- Have you thought that interior designers are expensive?
Then this episode is for you! Join us as we discuss the answers to these questions and more with our interior design and renovation experts Linda Boosinger and Angelee Marques. They share with us how every space has the potential to be extraordinary. It's not just about making it beautiful; it's about making it feel like home.
Linda Pierce Boosinger is the Founder and CEO of multiple Home, Renovation and Design businesses. As an accomplished, highly recognized full Home Designer and Historic Preservation expert. Linda is known for her record-breaking, sustainable and timeless designs, as well as a dynamic force in community development.
Founder & CEO of VelvetandPine.com
Founder & CEO of Restoration & Design Pros
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Angeless Marques is the Owner and Principal Designer at Nest Interior Decor, a full-service Interior Design firm.
Angelee Marques, Principal Designer of Nest Interior Decor
Angelee Marques
Nest Interior Decor, Principal Designer, ASID, NKBA
angeleem@nestinteriordecor.com
http://www.nestinteriordecor.com
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Welcome to the Real Estate Junkies DMV. I'm Patricia Galardo, a realtor here in Northern Virginia with the Platinum Group and Real Broker.
SPEAKER_00:My name is Karen Daly. I'm a real estate attorney and I run the Echo Title Ashburn One Louden office and Middleburg office.
SPEAKER_02:Join us as we dive deep into the world of real estate.
SPEAKER_00:Whether you're a first-time home buyer, seasoned investor, realtor, or industry professional, our engaging conversation and expert guest will keep you informed and inspired. Hello and welcome back to our second episode of 2024 of Real Estate Junkies of DMV. With us today, we have a returning guest, Linda Businger, owner of Restoration and Design Professionals, and Angely Marcus, owner of Nest Interior Decor. Welcome, ladies. Thank you so much for being on our podcast.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, so much for having us.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. So, Linda, I'll come to you because you've been a guest, but let's start with Angeli first. Sure. Can you briefly tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into interior design?
SPEAKER_03:Sure. Well, thanks for having me, first of all. Um, interior design's kind of been a passion of mine like my whole life. Um, I have a degree in finance, so started off in that world and did that for a while, and had some children, stayed home, and was itching to do something that I loved and kind of found my way into the world. I started working in the industry, I got a certificate of interior design, and started my business, and here I am. So it's been about 10 years since I've had it. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:I know I am not the interior designer in our home. I know that's shocking. Actually, my husband does a much better job. Yes. Awesome. He has that gift. All right, Linda. You've been on here before. So restoration and design. What do you do?
SPEAKER_04:Uh well, for myself, I buy historic properties that are about to be torn down and I restore them and sell them pretty quickly, usually. Um, but then for clients, I can renovate and restore any property. But I really am, I do specialize in historic properties. But honestly, 50 years old. We're historic at this point. Because technically that makes historic home. But um, but yeah, that's kind of what I do. I've been, I started out doing cut sheets for a stair company in Haymarket in 1988. So that's how long I've been in the building business and trade. Wow. Yeah, long time. That's a long time. Done a lot of homes, all the way up and down the East Coast, Tampa Bay to DC.
SPEAKER_00:So, Angela, you said that you kind of fell into it because it was a passion as you were at home. What was your point? Is there a point where you can say this was when I became inspired to be an interior designer?
SPEAKER_03:I mean, kind of always been inspired, done it my since I was a child. Okay. Like in my own bedroom with like wallpapering and installing molding and like just the kind of the cliche background. Um, but just really wanted to do something that I was passionate about and loved and wanted to see if I could make it work. So, you know, a lot of my business has grown over the years. I didn't start off like super successful. I had to kind of get my feet wet, feel it out, learn, get my resources in place. And so it's been a while, it's been a journey for sure. Um, but yeah, I just I love it. It's like I just really find it um so rewarding to help someone kind of create a space that they love and that's functional for them. And I really it's so cheesy to say it, but I think it's so important to have a space that you start your day in and you feel good about because that just makes the rest of your day so much more successful.
SPEAKER_00:That is true, yes. Yeah, I I agree with that. Yeah. And uh Linda, so you were you said a you cut stairs.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yeah. I worked in a stair shop. Wow.
SPEAKER_00:Did you use the saws?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I used the saws, too.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, did you use the stuff? I mean, back in the image that I have in my head of saws.
SPEAKER_04:I actually owned a trade show and conference business for 30 years. Wow. As I was renovating my own or restoring my own properties and then COVID hit and you know, did a quick 180 and said, okay, I'll just I mean, I was already known for it, so it very quickly was like, all right, I'll just do this for a living for a while. So when you and then it took off.
SPEAKER_00:When you do historic homes, do you try to stay true to what the home history is, or do you venture out a little bit, make it a little more modern? What's your approach?
SPEAKER_04:Every home speaks to me differently. I mean, when I see the property, I can already when I walk in, I can see it completely done. And I know exactly what it's sort of calling for. Right. Um, I take it all the way down to the studs, take it down, take out the lead pipes and the newspaper insulation. Um, and yes, we give it the charm of a historic property, but we do the sub-zero, the wolf, we do the melee uh cappuccino machines, we do all the good stuff.
SPEAKER_00:So I saw nice a post, I think it was you about creating a barn ceiling.
SPEAKER_04:Was that barn ceiling?
SPEAKER_00:Was that the I don't know what that is? Okay, someone um then I'm I am totally misremembering. Okay. But I do it to logic. I mean, if it's what they call the barn ceiling, no, but you wanted someone wanted to create a barn ceiling, so their contractor did that, not their home. It's just a regular means is that the carbon, sorry, not barn. That was me.
SPEAKER_04:This was velvet and pine home design. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Um on your social media.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, on social media, yeah, yeah. You did very well. Yes, yes, yeah. Yeah, no, I'm I'm that person where I'm like, hey, can we do this? Let's try this. This would be cool here. Um, and luckily I'm working with general contractors up and down the east coast that are used to me saying, let's be creative. And yeah, we created a barn, a barrel ceiling. Now you got me saying it.
SPEAKER_00:Like a barrel ceiling. Yeah, I thought it was it was truly amazing. It's like you had this design idea in your head, and then you turned to your contractor who is like, hey, I'll roll with you.
SPEAKER_04:He was like, What? You want me to do what? Where? No, yeah, there's yeah, no, I love those. It's very, you know, we love traveling. My husband and I love traveling, and that's where we get most of our inspiration, you know, Italy, France, you know, so come back with these crazy ideas of historic homes that are 500 years old. But yes, that was my that's historic. That is historically. That's what the real person is.
SPEAKER_00:It is, yeah, right, it truly is. Um, Angela, what about you? Where do you come in in the process for interior design?
SPEAKER_03:So, I mean, I I have clients that I work with from the very beginning where we're just looking at architectural plans, taking it to fruition, or sometimes I'm just brought in at the very end and just doing a room. So I kind of span the gamut. Um, you know, I have a little bit of everything. I like to come in really early because, you know, like right now I'm working with a client in California, they have architectural plans, and I'm just helping right now kind of figure out well, what does this look like? Do we need to make changes to it before we submit for building? Right. And that's key because you know, architects are amazing, and I wish I was one. That's like my dream job. I'm not an architect, I pretend to be sometimes, but being able to like see the space and figure out how you're gonna use it. So it's not just like building the walls, it's like, where am I gonna put my sofa? Where am I gonna put my bed? And that plays so much into where you put windows and doors, and so being able to be a part of that in the beginning is so valuable, and you create such a great space at the very end of it. So anywhere along the line, the sooner the better, I think for me. Like for me, for any of us, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I think it's a little harder in historic properties, though, no?
SPEAKER_04:Well, you it's sort of restricted, but yeah, we can be creative. Um, I mean, I move power and water, you know, that but like she's saying, that's exactly right, because that's why we're we come in um like she does, and I think, okay, how you get up in the morning? Where do you want the light switch? You know, do you want you know to well, and that's that's true that we do that architects are you know, they're building the bigger picture of it all. So we really literally walk through visually, you know, uh with the client how they're gonna use the space, you know, who's getting up? Are you getting up first? Your you know, husband's still in bed or whatever, you know. Really think through how you're gonna live in this space. And I always especially think through if you're gonna live here for 10 years, what is your plan? Three, five, ten, fifteen years, grandkids, you know, your kids are outgrowing the house and they're moving on. Do you want to be stuck with seven bedrooms, you know? So we really go into a lot of detail with the clients.
SPEAKER_02:So I'm gonna just put my realtor hat on.
SPEAKER_04:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Um that's all I think about all day. So you know, we're getting into the spring market and I'm walking into homes, and some of which have like never been updated. Yep. Right. And I'm trying to determine, okay, what do we do here? How much should we do? But like if you had any recommendations for sellers, I know this is a you know, it there's a lot of variables to this, but if you had any recommendations, what would you do? What do you think is most appealing right now to buyers just based on what you see the trends are and what you see, like what people are asked when you're renovating and designing what you're seeing people want. What is what are sort of those, I guess, trends? And yeah. Well, I'm not trendy, but you go ahead.
SPEAKER_03:I'll take I'm trendy either, but I classic is important. Um, but that's a hard one because you know it's a fine line between doing like a renovation and just doing a refresh. I think and you'll know more about this than me. Um, but I do think if it's clean, if it's light and bright, that's really valuable. That's what I was gonna say too. Like declutter, take furniture away. Yeah, that's normal. That all is really valuable to just take the blinds down, like open up the light, right? Yeah, like just make it feel airy and light, even if the kitchen is old, like people can see past that. I hope they can, because sometimes you want to create your own space, and that's where renovation is important. If you renovate it already, are they someone can really walk in and be like, oh, I love it, it's mine. So I think it's just you know, you don't have to spend a fortune to do that. Probably staging is important. I'm sure you guys recommend that to people, but yeah, just having kind of like a clean palette for the space, I would say would be more valuable than spending the money on like a major renovation.
SPEAKER_02:All right, but about gray. I can't tell you. I I'm a little tired of gray. Yeah, it's uh it's over. Every house I go into now and every seller is being told they need to paint their house gray.
SPEAKER_04:No, well, it's gray that you're over, which was the gray base. Or gray. It's a gray. But no, gray is and gray. Grey and gray. Gray. Yeah, I'm at the white stage myself.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, like soft whites, Greek whites.
SPEAKER_04:Villa, it's a nice color. Um, alabaster. Um, one of my favorite colors is Swiss coffee. Um, but you have to be careful because things like Swiss coffee, every brand has a Swiss coffee and they're very different. Like my perfect one is Cherwin Williams Swiss coffee. Even that, if you go to the Sherwin Williams store and ask for Swiss coffee versus going to Lowe's, who sells Therwin Williams, those are two different colors, too. Wow. Because Lowe's sells HGTV brand colors, and Sherwin Williams sells their colors. So again, just interesting. Yeah, so you don't want to Yeah, you don't want to go to you know, Benjamin Moore and say, I want Trowan. I mean, you can do that, just make sure that you have a chip that you know the colors. So anyway, there's lots of whites. What white are you using? I mean, it's a really huge topic right now.
SPEAKER_03:Two jobs on doing Swiss coffee. Fantastic. Um, white dove is my favorite. My whole house is white dogs. Yeah, I love that color. My interior decoration. I like pale oak, that's not white, but I like that a lot for a soft, neutral anything in Benmore OC, like their OC color collection, are my favorites. So you can just kind of pick through there and you'll be happy. Yeah. It doesn't have to be gray. Gray's a beautiful color in certain, it's not even a color, it's a neutral in certain aspects. But walls of gray are kind of a little sad.
SPEAKER_04:Like you kind of feel a little like Yeah, we just did a blog about that color therapy on the velvetandpine.com website that we have is about how it changes your mood totally. And talking about painting bedrooms red and you know, kids' rooms green and that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00:Which is true because when we moved into our house, the upstairs bedroom, not really sure why the sellers decided to paint it blue. And it wasn't a light blue, it was a dark blue. And so I just said we are painting. I they left the paint cans of the colors that they had used. It was, it's a it's off-white, but there's um there are some like slight gray undertones, depending on how which is okay, but it's the windows because it it's it brightens up the space. So I said we were painting so before we moved in. We went in and we did okay. It was our first paint job. I'll probably have someone come in and do it. We left the blue as an accent wall, which works because to your point, or I don't know if you said it, one of you did, that when you wake up, it's very important that you wake up in a speech that you have that you like. So I would love to redo our bathroom. So that is on the call list. We'll that's on the list. Collaborate on the camera. That's on the list. I mean, the paint color is not too bad, but you know, I'm kind of like kind of like a good one.
SPEAKER_04:Well, you're into your decorator person more than I do, but the color washing that's really which is where you paint everything the exact same color. Trim, yeah, yeah. That's huge right now, especially the dark colors.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, but they're great for small spaces, it is in small doses, like a dining room. I'm doing it in a dining room now. The whole thing, like the walls, the trim, the crown. Um, not in a big space, but I think a lot of people think paint is like the showstopper. It's not paint is like the background for the rest of the room, like it's not the only thing in it. Like you have all these other elements that layer in. So I think a lot of times people think bold, bold colors, because that's gonna like make my space. Yeah, but you have to think about everything else involved. But a lot of stuff right now, trend talking about trends, moody colors, like a lot of darker colors are kind of stronger colors, like chill tones, not red, not well and plants like greens, more cosier colors.
SPEAKER_00:I was I saw someone paint their I think it's I think it's a dining room, and they did it a very dark brown. Um, and I struggle with dark colors because to me it feels like it makes the room closed in and very oppressive. So I for me personally, I wouldn't do that. Some people though it they like that, which is is great. But you're right, it is a backdrop because then you've got your furniture, you know, all your accent stuff, whether it's painting or pillows that you have to consider right that play a factor in that.
SPEAKER_04:Well, one thing I want to bring up is what this talking about real estate and buying and selling is the thing I always find is that people tend to wait until they're about to move out to do what they always wanted to do. So I always tell my clients, just do it right away and enjoy it. Spend the money now and enjoy it because you're gonna refresh anyway, you know, before you sell it. So do it now and enjoy it.
SPEAKER_03:I agree with that totally.
SPEAKER_02:And and also I think you I always advise them to spread it out, like because what happens is they don't do anything, and then all of a sudden it becomes overwhelming, and the cost is overwhelming, right? So I always tell myself try to do it, maintain it like a little if a little out of a time if cost is a factor, yeah, and over years, so you're not then faced with oh my god, I need all new bathrooms, all new kitchen floors, this and that, and everything, and then it becomes overwhelming, and then where do you even start? What do you do? And I've been in homes like that where zero has been updated, and you're like, where do I be able to do it? Paralyzed by pain choice, yeah, potentially floors and that stuff, but still it can be very overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00:So, along that, what are some ways that you can design a space and stay within a budget?
SPEAKER_04:It depends on what the budget is.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, you go ahead. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I mean I have$200 for it. Yeah, okay, no, that's hard. There's a bucket of paint. It totally depends on the budget. Um, but I think it all comes back to planning. Like you can design in a budget if you are planning that, like you're you're figuring all that stuff out before you're starting, right? So if you can, if you know your budget is X and you know you have this room or this whole house to do, like figure out all those little pieces, get some highs, get some lows, and and tally that all up, whether it's a spreadsheet or like a software program you're using, whatever it is, but like know what all that stuff is before you start purchasing items because that's where you get in trouble. When you start buying things and you're not planning it, you're not organized, right? Then you're like, oh, I spent you know way too much money on this element than I did on the other. So I think take it back always and think about it before you start making purchases.
SPEAKER_04:And I always tell my class to start in a corner, just because it can be overwhelming. You just pick a room, start in one corner, get the your favorite chair, your favorite light, your favorite lamp, whatever, start there and then work your way around the room. That's it. No matter when you're renovating what you're doing. That's good, yeah. Um, and if you are coming in to renovate, always do your floor first. Okay. It's the biggest mess, it's the biggest expense, but it makes the biggest difference in a home, in a room. The flooring. Totally. It does.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, that's a great thing to talk about too, though. Like in talking about renovations too, like what do you do? What do you start with? Do those things that you don't ever want to be like a part of first. Like, I don't want to live here, right? The bathroom, like your primary bathroom. Like if you have money, if you have a little bit of money and you know you need to renovate, do those like messy, dirty, really inconveniencing projects first. If you can, you can always repaint rooms, you can always add little elements, you can redo the powder room down the future, but like floors, you can't do anything else unless you have floors. That's right. It's like the most important thing. It's much easier. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and that's on our to-do, because in our living area, the carpet, so we have hardwood floor and then the carpet, and the carpet is like coming, it's coming up, so you know, and it doesn't look that great, you know, it needs to be replaced.
SPEAKER_04:And a lot of times when that happens, even if I'm trying, people don't want to change the flooring in the entire house, they just want to do one room. I'll do a really inter I was gonna say weird, but interesting transition between the two rooms. Okay. Um, it can be crazy tile color, it could be a completely different floor color, it's just something that stands out because that will marry the two rooms instead of having because sometimes you can't meet them up. You know, there's no way to do it right exactly. So if you do like at least six inches, six to ten inches wide, of just pick an amazing, you know, tile, crazy tile that because sometimes tiles right now are fifty-five dollars a you know a piece, right? So that's your opportunity to do a and I do that a lot between a bedroom and a bathroom, going between hardwood and tile bathrooms. I'll do a large transition.
SPEAKER_02:I know that think you're doing from back to real realtors. Yes, I love it. Yes, find me some. I just thought of this.
SPEAKER_04:Find me some land. Anybody got some land for sale? Oh, Patricia.
SPEAKER_02:You're doing a little you're working with realtors right now. And so I want to talk to that about a little bit because sometimes you have a property that's hard to sell. A lot of times buyers go into a property and they can't imagine. Yes, they're mad, they can't imagine how to use this space and how they can live in this space. And sometimes they need help doing that. Sometimes sellers need help. Maybe they have a property that they need to understand what they can do with this, especially an older property. Right. So tell us a little bit about that part of your business that you're right.
SPEAKER_04:So realtors call me and they say, Hey, I have a seller who can't really visualize what they could make. I you know, as a realtor, this is the right property for them because it ticks all the other boxes, and they can't really visualize it. So I come in and talk about what walls they could tear down and which walls they can't, or what's reinforced, how they could lay out the space, how they could completely open up the space and change it for now and for the future. Yeah. In a process what the budget is. Um, and for sellers, I go in and I say, This is what you can do to improve the property. And the good thing about that, even if they don't do it, they use my designs and my ideas to help sell the project. And then people have a better idea of okay, what is it gonna cost me? And you already have that paperwork, you know, okay, this is gonna be$50,000 or whatever it is, you know, to make the changes because the seller doesn't want to make the changes, they're trying to leave, you know, they're trying to go on to their own the next phase of their life. Yeah, so if the buyers have an idea how much it's gonna cost, it's a lot easier to sell the property.
SPEAKER_02:It is, and so that's what made me think. I forgot all about our townhouse in Fairfax. So I had a listing in Fairfax a few years ago, and the previous owner was a military family, and they got a reassigned only two years after after buying this townhome. The previous owners had done this, redone the kitchen, and they had spent a lot of money on that kitchen, but it was a kitchen that was to their personal taste and did not appeal to many buyers. Right. So the issue we had with this, buyers would walk into this property, see that kitchen, and say, Yeah, great, it's a new kitchen, but I don't like that kitchen. Most everybody who walked in, that was the first reaction.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So there was one buyer who kept coming back, and she just would keep looking and trying to imagine what would she do with this. So I was talking to her, I guess, at an open house, and I'm like, you know, I think you should talk to my friend who's an interior designer, and um, and so she can help you sort of exactly what you're saying, figure out what I can do with this kitchen that's not gonna cost me a fortune. And the bath it was very clear, but that bath was the original bath. Right. And so Angie came in and we talk a little bit about what you did with her.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, so it started out with just visioning the kitchen, what to do with it. Um but it ended up being, I mean, she was a great client of mine. We did the kitchen, we did the floors, we did like decorated this main level, added a bunch of kind of decorative details to it, did the master bath, did the powder room. So we ended up changing a ton of things in the house. But the biggest problem was that she just couldn't see that. Right, right. She loved the property, she loved the neighborhood, she knew she wanted to be there, but she was like, Oh, how do I get around this? So we ended up um repainting or painting the kitchen cabinets, which you know, pros and cons to that. Right, sure. Um, replaced the countertops, did a new backsplash, did new hardware, did new light fixtures. Um, and it looks amazing. And the layout was fine, we didn't need to change any. There was no structure changes, it was really just aesthetics. And it looks like a million bucks. Like she loves it. So happy with it. But it is hard for people to see past things, yeah. And because it was a nice quality kitchen, it was like nobody wanted to be like, oh my god, have that value because there was a lot of value there. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, painting kitchen cabinets is a great way to refresh. Now there's pros and cons to that, it doesn't last forever. It will not, but it was a great way to kind of make that happen for her.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, without tearing out the cabinets, it's a quick, you know, hey, we can we can do this, and then maybe later on down the road when they do need to be replaced, you can go ahead and do that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's a great.
SPEAKER_04:I have on the velvetandpine.com website, I have a place where people can just message me and send me because I've done it for people that live in other states and even other countries. I'm looking at this piece of property, what can I do with it? Uh before I even make my bid, how can I change it and what can I do? And should I offer this much? And then I look into things like the codes and the setbacks and things that really are important, and because they wouldn't even know where to go to look for those things. And they shouldn't. Everybody has their talent, but right, and that's kind of really what I do is the whole what can I actually do with this property. And every property that I get, the goal is to make it highest and best use.
SPEAKER_00:Let's talk about because we've talked generally, right? So let's talk about an example. What's an example each of you had found? I know Linda, you've got some, Angela, that an area that you found very challenging when you came in and you looked at the property.
SPEAKER_03:Um, everything has a challenge. Yeah, some bigger than others. Um it it it's that's such a I could talk forever. Um one that quickly comes to mind actually, because I was just working on it this morning, is it's a condo and it's small. It's like 1200 square feet, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and it is so difficult to work with because it's so small. It's not tiny, but you everything is so important. Like every decision is so important. Like we don't have the luxury of space to have like two living areas, like we don't have more than one dining table. So, like these little tiny decisions for spaces is is so much harder than working in a home where I have a lot of square footage because I can accomplish things in multiple spaces, right? So I'm finding myself spending a lot more hours than I anticipated, but on just making selections that typically are so simple. Um, you know, less is more in a space like that, you know. Like I don't want to add a lot of different elements because I don't want it to feel cuttered or busy, right? So it's like I I didn't anticipate that at all.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, let me ask you this because I know what realtors will say from an interior designer when you're at a condo and either you have one bath or, like you said, two baths. Um, a lot of people are questioning should I have a shower tub or should I take out the tub and just have a shower?
SPEAKER_03:What are your thoughts on that? I mean, I'm a shower person, so I like the shower. I think a tub is important to have in a house. If there's only one, then you might want to think about just keeping a tub. If you have both, then have one with and one without.
SPEAKER_05:One without.
SPEAKER_03:This property, luckily, has in the primary bath, it has a separate tub and shower. So that's key. And then the secondary bath is a shower, which is great.
SPEAKER_02:But it also is who's your audience? I mean, in the condo that you're talking about, it's really professionals, probably. Not many kids are probably gonna live there. And so in that case, maybe showers are good. But whenever you're in a property that you know it's going to be families, you need one tub. Yeah, definitely need a tub. Yeah, yeah. What about showers are so much better though?
SPEAKER_00:What about the tub in the master bathroom versus, or I should say, owner suite? Um, a tub versus no tub.
SPEAKER_03:Like no tub at all. I mean, a personal preference for sure.
SPEAKER_04:It depends on how big the house is. Right. I mean, I could for a luxury home, you need a tub.
SPEAKER_00:I could do without the tub, to be honest. If it were me, I'd be like, no tub. Because I I'm just not a bath person. Right. But I know for some people that's a huge part of their, you know, they love taking baths.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. But it's interesting because the in new construction, there was a period a few years ago where builders went, probably a two-year period, where they said they did this these studies, and people really didn't want a tub in the primary bathroom. So you go into some of these towns, mostly townhomes, right? Um, and there's no tub in the primary bathroom. So I always know, oh, this had to be built these times. This is like this phase we went through. And then what they learned was even though people said they didn't care about having a tub in the primary bath, when it was not there, uh-huh, yeah, then they wanted it. Yeah. Interesting. So it sort of swung back. And now with most of the new construction, not all, but most of the new construction now, they put the tub back in the primary bath. Interesting.
SPEAKER_03:You have to have space for it, obviously. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When space allows, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But I've done a few of these Japanese tubs though, where it's typical apartment-sized tubs, and you're putting a a small, I want to say sh on a ship, you know, shower, a small shower, and you're doing the Japanese tubs, which they're almost round, completely round. Yes, those are really popular right now, too.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so what I'm what I'm thinking in our primary bathroom, because that's the jetted tub, which takes up a lot of real estate in the bathroom. So that's like one of the things, you know. I've told my husband when we remodel this bathroom, that tub is going, and you know, we'll probably do a stand alone tub. Because I think the other thing is it might free up some space to create storage. Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_04:Which I think I just did that in my huge 80. I don't know, the house was built in you know 18 years ago, but I don't know why I had an 80s tub in it. Oh enough for 10 people.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Because it was built, that's what builders do. Builders do, yeah, tick tick. Yeah, tick, okay, exactly. Exactly. Um I just wanted to ask you guys, because I think sometimes with the I know that you do a lot more renovation, but even from like an interior design renovation standpoint, yeah. A lot of people don't call it interior designer because they think it's way out of their price range. Yes. Exactly. So which is probably the majority of people, right? Right? Right. So, what do you say to those people? I mean, when is it appropriate to call an interior designer?
SPEAKER_04:Well, we do both. I mean, we do everything, but we our sort of niche is that you can just call me and talk to me for 15 minutes or an hour or two hours or like a consulting. A consulting, true, like, okay, this is a picture of my bathroom. What can I do with it? I send you some pictures, we talk about it, you can go about your way, or you can say, okay, now I need your help, or I can send you to her, you know, to you know, um, you know, we just that's how we do it. And we're sort of like the I don't know, let's say the call center for it all, but we We want people to come to us because we want you. I grew up in foster care. So having a home is so important to me. And I this is why I go out of my way to do this for people. It's not just about trying to create one home. And this is why I go in and I restore these homes that are about to be torn down because I mean the major house that I did um in 2015, I bought it for 500. Um, it just sold for 2.2 million because what I created and they were gonna tear it down. But this is why we set up the website, velvetandpine.com, and I know I said that again, but just go there, you can get all your ideas, you can just send in your questions, your form, and then we'll send you, you know, to the people that are live near you who can help you. They don't have to be fifty thousand dollar interior decorator jobs.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, totally. And I don't, you know, I think people are scared of the cost of it, but you you know, ask the questions first and figure out if it works for you. It doesn't have to be a fortune. And I think there's a ton of value in having someone help you make those decisions. You're gonna have to make these decisions in the projects that you're doing. And how do you make those decisions and how quickly and how efficient are you on that? And that's where we come in, right? Like we can help guide you in that and help save you a ton of money by not making some bad decisions or purchasing things that you don't need to maybe spend money on because you can do it in other ways. And so I think in the end, a lot of times you might end up saving money, even though you're paying maybe some design fees in there, but you're saving money because you're being more efficient, you're making better choices, and you're making educated choices about, you know, I think a lot of people just only see like the marketplace of products, furniture, and this little silo, but the world is huge. There's so much available to you that the consumer doesn't know about because they just see the catalog stores, they see the Home Depots, right?
SPEAKER_00:HGTV, or online and and and the ads that pop up, you know, in your feed or whatever, based on you know, some algorithm, you're it's true, you know. You may you totally typically, and that's an area that is a struggle. Like if you're looking for furniture, yeah, you've got wayfair exactly.
SPEAKER_04:But I have three things to say about that. Number one is we get discounts because we buy in volume with Bob Bulk. So we can, you know, your designer can get you a discount. Number two, we have the right resources. These are people that we've had in other homes, in our homes, that are painters or plumbers or electricians, so people we trust. And third, my clients, we talk about just doing floors and walls. I don't want anyone to go to a box store and pick out, you know, nothing against box stores. Right. But I don't want you to go and just buy all the bedding and all the furniture and all the I want you to create memories with your family or your loved ones or your friends and go out for the day and go for lunch at some town you've never heard of or that you ran into or you saw online and you bought something, you bought a piece of furniture, or you bought something, a piece of art that you can hang up. The whole idea is to build a home, and that doesn't come in a box store. You know, we love our home goods runs too, but I don't go in there and buy everything for the house, and that's where people start to panic. They're like, oh my god, I have this whole bedroom, I have to have it done. Just get the basics, get the bed, get the dresser, get the you know, the floor, the walls, but spend time to create the rest of the pieces. That's what it's about.
SPEAKER_03:Like you don't have to, it doesn't have to be that you move it and everything's done. Like, look for that piece of art, like on your next trip. Buy something and bring it home with you because every time you look at that, you're gonna think, wow, I wouldn't have to do that. Remind you that's right.
SPEAKER_04:And that's that's what it's about.
SPEAKER_00:That's exactly that's really great advice, actually. And I like the concept of layering, like I've never thought of and you're with the room.
SPEAKER_04:Aesthetic will come to fruition based on the things that you've been drawn to in in your travels.
unknown:Wow.
SPEAKER_04:And that'll show when you go to sell it because it'll look put together. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:This is great. I know. I could sit here forever and like, okay, we need to make an appointment. I need you all coming out to my house and take some pictures and send it to you.
SPEAKER_02:I like what we just finished up with because I think that's really important for consumers to know. Like I said, I think most people think it's they don't even bother to pick up the phone.
SPEAKER_04:It scares them. Yeah. And we have a I have a podcast, Home 411 show, the home 411 show on YouTube and podcasty places. Um, and we have a couple people on there too that talk about I mean talk about real estate and investing and you know, interior design, but there's a lot of advice on there. That stuff that we've talked about, it's free advice for people too. Well, to get you on the show. Yeah, sure. I'm gonna go check it out. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Um, yeah, and we will provide all the website URLs for both of you for people.
SPEAKER_01:Um so everybody can check it out. Yeah, this is great. Thank you so much. Thank you, ladies.
SPEAKER_02:This is really good. Thank you. I'm glad thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you so much for having us. Yeah, nice to meet you. You too.
