Interior Design with Alex Sandeman

In this episode of Sun, Sea and Second Homes, Barbados Realtor Sean Stewart interviews Alex Sandeman about his work in interior design and property development in Barbados. Sandeman discusses his background in golf, including a Guinness World Record for 93 birdies in 12 hours, and how his perfectionism from golf translates to his design work. He details a recent project at Sandy Cove, a 3000 sq. ft. apartment renovation completed in two months. Sandeman also mentions ongoing projects, including a 10,000 sq. ft. villa at Sandy Lane and four new villas at Porter's Place. He emphasizes the importance of modern, maintenance-free designs and sustainability in his work.

Transcript

Sean 0:00

Hi everyone, Sean Stewart here at Stewart and Co Real Estate. I'm standing in apartment 203, Sandy Cove. It's a beautiful 3,000 square foot lateral apartment overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Sandy Cove itself is a highly sought-after residential development, complete with residence gym overlooking the ocean, communal swimming pool, 24-hour security, access, direct access to the beach. And the apartment itself is absolutely beautifully redone by Alex Sandeman of Alex Sandeman Design. Alex is well known for his interior design work and renovations. He's also known in the golf world as a Guinness Book Records holder, and we're going to touch on that when we have a chat shortly. He's going to let us know about the challenges he's come up with, what his ideas are, what his projects are. I'm looking forward to it. Hope you enjoy it. Let's get to it. Al, before we dive into design and development, tell us a bit about yourself. What drives you professionally?

Alex 1:00

Different things have driven me over the last 30 years. Um having grew up in England, I've been in Barbados now for 25 years. And um I had a career in golf, and I've always had a love for building and interior design, and always been inspired to better everything that I do.

Sean 1:30

You mentioned the the golf, uh, which is fascinating. Um, you're a two-time uh Guinness World Book of Records holder. Uh, your most recent is 93 Birdies in 12 hours. Uh tell me a little bit about that.

Alex 1:43

Two-time, but only one record, sure. My golf career was coming to an end and I was getting more involved in development, but uh to sort of motivate me and keep the golf spark going, I uh went to attempt this this golf birdie record in Barbados at Sandy Lane and um did that in 2010 and somebody beat it in 2013, so I thought I'd go and give it one more go. And it just motivated me to keep the golf going and I like the the physical challenge of it.

Sean 2:20

Nice. I mean it's fascinating, uh, and you're clearly committed in every aspect of your life. Um, is there anything that you've taken from golf and applied to your current profession of of interior design and development?

Alex 2:36

Funny question. It's um my my sort of downfall of my golf was I was a perfectionist. Right. And in golfing, trying to be a perfectionist, you're just not gonna get there. I was just too hard on myself. Perfection doesn't exist. Right. But in the interior side of development, the the perfection in in terms of the standard that I wanted to achieve in what I was doing really um helped me in in development and interior design.

Sean 3:08

We're sitting here in one of your products, one of the end result of one of your creations uh in Sandy Cove. It's 3,000 square feet of lateral, absolute luxury, overlooking the platinum coast. Uh, Sandy Cove is a fantastic building in itself with a residence gym overlooking the ocean, communal swimming pool, you've got a private plunge pool here in the apartment. Tell me a little bit about the process putting putting this together, this project.

Alex 3:35

Yeah, this is um something we finished uh a year ago now. It uh it hadn't been touched or renovated, should I say, since it was built, which was something like 15, 16 years ago. It was a fairly big project that we had to do in two months because it you're only allowed a certain timeline to do noisy works. Um so we had to really prepare well to to get to get this job done.

Sean 4:08

That takes a lot of pre-planning, I'm assuming. I mean, you you gotta have everything ready.

Alex 4:11

You gotta have all your all your all your ducks in a row, yeah. Um and we it was an extensive uh renovation. We dug up all the floors, we dug up all the bathrooms, um and it yeah, it turned out great.

Sean 4:25

Yeah, well clearly, clearly it has. What types of other projects are you are you currently working on? What else have you got going on?

Alex 4:31

About to start a big renovation um in Sandy Lane. Nice. Um that's gonna be an eight and a half thousand square foot villa. Um, we have four new five-bedroom villas um at Porter's Place, the residencies, which is our phase two, yeah. Um, which we're very excited about, and um a few other projects in the pipeline.

Sean 4:58

Nice. You're you're gonna be kept busy.

Alex 5:01

Looks like it.

Sean 5:02

Yes. Tell me a little bit, when you're designing a villa or a house uh or the refurbishment of it or the renovation or even building one, because I know you've done that as well from scratch, and and they're beautiful homes. How would you describe the aesthetic here and and how it's evolving?

Alex 5:18

Yeah, there's there's certainly um a lot of the more modern sleeker designs coming up, but I you know I love both. Yeah. Personally, I love the the classic traditional look, uh, and I do like the modern take on it. And I think there's also a a mix of the two that is happening a lot.

Sean 5:38

I was gonna ask, is it that there's a place for combining the two and creating a sort of a classic contemporary type?

Alex 5:48

That's that that is uh happening more, and a big problem with homes in Barbados is maintenance. Okay. And the more modern uh architecture uh lends itself to to building more maintenance-free homes using aluminium windows and doors as opposed to wood, what is is it's a harsh climate here.

Sean 6:12

Yes, it can warp, it can lose shape.

Alex 6:14

Exactly, yeah. And with the modern look, you can create a much more um maintenance-free home.

Sean 6:22

Out of interest, the the cleaner lines, the the new construction techniques, etc., that I know you use, are they also uh better at, for instance, withstanding hurricanes? So I know for instance that uh Porter's Place, one of the developers you've been involved with, you're a lead developer there, they're lovely buildings, they're great to look at, but they're also extremely sturdy, which you know is is is there is the new design any better than the old traditional nestle designs, or are they are they good in different ways?

Alex 7:01

I think, yeah, for sure. I mean there are you a lot of flat concrete roofs, yeah. Um, and again, you can put your services on there, you can put PV panels on there. They're not going anywhere in a hurricane. And it is more maintenance-free than a traditional pitch roof.

Sean 7:22

Right. What are some of the common design mistakes you see in Caribbean property building, property development, and how do you go about avoiding them? You don't have to name all of them. Are there are there any that stand out? Is there anything that you see that you think to yourself, boy, I'm glad that doesn't happen anymore, or stuff that you try to avoid uh that you can see happening or happening before in the Caribbean?

Alex 7:46

Yeah, I mean there's always things you can learn from. And I keep coming back to maintenance.

Sean 7:53

Yes.

Alex 7:53

Maintenance free is something we really strive to do as developers here because you know your homeowners are looking for a home and they don't want heavy communal fees, they don't want heavy maintenance charges, and that's part of the appeal to buying in Barbados.

Sean 8:15

So you you've got experience in in property development and design. Are there particular things that your clients, potential clients, overseas buyers look ing for?

Alex 8:28

I mean buyers are they're all different, they all have different expectations. Yeah.

Sean 8:33

I guess you can't please everyone, can you?

Alex 8:34

You can't. And some people you know they who want a seven-bedroom villa to some people who want a one-bedroom apartment, they their expectations are all different.

Sean 8:48

Yeah, fair enough.

Alex 8:49

There are there are also retired couples and then there are families. They all they all have different needs and expectations. But you know, we found the path we're on at the moment um seems to please everybody.

Sean 9:03

Yeah, well, it clearly does. From a developer's perspective, how important is it for you to focus on sustainability and efficiency, especially considering it's a small island?

Alex 9:17

Yes, it's very important, and we're trying more and more to to bring this into our developments, especially with you know the PVs and the climate we have and the sunshine.

Sean 9:29

Yeah, we got a lot of sunshine that we're not really using enough of.

Alex 9:33

Exactly. Um it's still um a bit of a learning curve and getting it right. Yeah. Trying to get the government helping on this.

Sean 9:43

Yeah. Are you are you feeling like things are progressing?

Alex 9:46

I think they are. Yeah. A bit a bit slower than I'd like, but the they are progressing, and we're learning more and more how to make things better, a more efficient way of living. Fair enough.

Sean 9:57

What advice would you give to someone who wants to renovate or design their own home in Barbados? I mean, I think the first suggestion would be speak to you. But if you were gonna dispense a couple basic bits of advice, is there anything that you think someone should be well aware of or or they should take note of, or or they should do their research on if they were considering renovating or or building here?

Alex 10:22

Yeah, sure. From my experience, uh get a good survey done on the property. Um, I think number one, yeah. Especially depending on uh the size of the property.

Sean 10:32

Yes. Research is everything, I guess. The the the more prepared you are, the better equipped you are to tackle it.

Alex 10:37

Um be aware it's probably gonna cost you a lot more than you think.

Sean 10:41

Yes.

Alex 10:41

I think um I seem to be n learning that all the time. I go back to the way of living in Barbados, yeah. Bringing the outdoors in, the lifestyle you leave, you know, if home people coming from the UK don't live like you live here. Right. So I think it's it's important to know that. Some people like living in air conditioning, right? And some people hate air conditioning. Yeah. So then you've got a you know, the flow of the property, where's the breeze coming from? Make sure you put in plenty of fans.

Sean 11:13

It's an interesting point because having lived in the UK myself and and and you're originally from the UK, there are certain aspects of building and and houses and and apartments that are going to be extremely different in the UK to here, simply because we're significantly hotter, significantly brighter in the UK. You you want windows to be as big as possible to get as much light in, whereas here, yeah, if you have the same windows in the same direction, the place would you'd be boiling in some. It's a hot box. It's a hot box, yeah.

Alex 11:47

No, it's a it's a good point, and I and I tell a number of clients of ours, oh, we want more light, we want more light. Coming from you know, these clients from the UK or Canada, and actually, you don't want too much light because it's it just becomes it's heat. It's heat, it's hot, it's hot. We get and you know, we don't get many grey days here. Right. We get we get plenty of light here. Yeah. So yeah, it's uh it's a good point.

Sean 12:13

What's one thing, would you say, that most people underestimate when they embark on a development project here themselves? Is there is there one thing that you've seen is is common that people don't take into consideration? How hard it is? Fair, yeah, yeah.

Alex 12:28

Yeah, it's uh uh it's very challenging. We've been doing it a while now, but we're still learning, we're still making mistakes. Yeah. But if you know eventually you you you get it right, you or you you build yourself a nice home or apartment or whatever, it's it's a pretty special place to to live and uh and breathe.

Sean 12:48

You're quite right. Um let's touch on golf a little bit, uh, just because you you've been a professional golfer. How do you see golf if you do shaping the the tourism trend or the tourism industry here, or sport as a whole influencing tourism?

Alex 13:07

Yeah, Barbados is uh becoming a great golf destination. We have four, five really world-class golf courses. Yeah. And Apes Hill, the sort of the newest one, uh, had a big investment that's really um uh triggering families in particular to come there. They've created an environment there, a lifestyle that I think is is is great.

Sean 13:33

So I guess I that you've probably answered this question already in what you've just said. So do you think that golf and sport as a whole is influencing tourism or and changing who comes or bringing a different demographic to Barbados? Whereas it's no longer just coming to sit on the beach and and get a tan and and have some rum punches, are you finding that that they're now more, for instance, golf-focused trips where people are gonna, now that we've got a uh I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we've got a critical mass of world-class golf courses, so people will come to Barbados to play golf rather than just come to the beach and maybe have a game of golf when they're not doing anything. Do you see that influencing people coming to Barbados and creating a different demographic? They're coming to Barbados for sports rather than just for the beach.

Alex 14:26

Yeah, I I I do see that for sports and lifestyle, as I say that you know Westmoreland who and who started the trend and and Sandy Lane a bit before that. You came on bought on those developments because it you came for the golf. Yeah. Now, even in Westmoreland, you uh and um and obviously Apes Hill, it's a lifestyle, it's not just about the golf. You go and live there that they want to play paddle tennis, they want the gym, they want the spa, they want they want to they want to enjoy all the facilities, they want beach clubs so they can go down to the beach, but but the golf is still a big attraction.

Sean 15:04

Have you ever designed or developed a property or property specifically with sport or wellness in mind?

Alex 15:11

We have a project um in the works that we are looking to build a wellness center, nice, gym, spa, cold plunge, um, paddle. Yeah, that is that is in the in the works.

Sean 15:29

In the works. Exciting stuff.

Alex 15:30

Yeah, we see more and more of a demand for it.

Sean 15:33

Yeah.

Alex 15:33

I know I even here in Westmoreland have more and more of a demand for paddle, more people want to use the gym, yeah, more people want to look after themselves, and so we're looking to do something that would be open to everyone.

Sean 15:46

Right. I've seen in my experience, and and uh I'm guessing you'll agree on this, is that if you build it and you build it well, people will come. If you if you have something that's good quality with a lifestyle element or a sports element and it's done well, people will buy into that, they will come, they will buy it. If it's there, they'll come. That's what we're hoping. That's what we're yes, quite. Exactly. Exactly. I'll ask you again in a year or two. Yeah. See what you say. What would your dream golf lifestyle property look like? My dream property? Your dream golf lifestyle property. So incorporating golf or or or another sport for that matter, what do you envision with no limits?

Alex 16:23

It's a difficult one to answer. Okay. I mean, uh uh uh Apeshill, Westmoreland, Sandy Lane. I'd be happy on. In any of them.

Sean 16:33

Fair enough. Fair enough. So would I, funnily enough. I mean, your your your reputation precedes you. If someone wanted to see more of what you do, where can they find out about you? Where can people go and have a look to see what it is you do or get in touch?

Alex 16:46

Yeah, they can get in touch. We've just started our design project management company, Alex Sanderman Design. Um, we're on Instagram. Fantastic. We are obviously doing our own projects, um, but we do we do some some client stuff as well.

Sean 17:03

Final question Was Dex VU either in golf design or something that no one knows about? Do you have anything up your sleeve?

Alex 17:11

Right now we've got a lot on uh work-wise, uh with developments, um just trying to build um our design company, just continually trying to do a better job than the next. Yeah. But we've got our hands full for for the next five years, so we're really just focusing on uh what we've what we've got in hand.

Sean 17:33

If someone is thinking about buying or building in Barbados, get a good team around you.

Alex 17:38

Yeah. Get a good architect, get a good engineer, get a good landscape architect, yes, and uh good interior designer. Try and get a good team. You might some people may want to think they can do it on their own, and great that they can, but it's it's a there's a lot more to it than people realise and understand. And you need a good good good contractor as well. Yes. It's difficult coming here if you don't know about that. As I say, we we we offer the whole service if you want it.

Sean 18:13

Yes.

Alex 18:14

Which takes a lot of headache off off the the buyer. Yeah, there's a lot of value. And that's what we are trying to do, yeah. Yeah. So we we deal with all the um the architect, the uh landscape architect, the contractor, yeah. Um to protect the client, we take all the headache off them. Or you can go and do it all yourself and deal with each one. But I think it's important you have that in place.

Sean 18:40

Yeah. I mean the the the value there is that you you have history, you know the people in every aspect of the development process, uh, so there's no uh there are no hidden problems that could arise because you've done it all before.

Alex 18:57

Absolutely. I mean we got our feet burnt a lot. Yeah, and it took a long time to learn, but we've we've we've we've learned the best way to do it is A, B, C, D.

Sean 19:09

It's interesting in you know, having been in sales for a long time, over 25 years now, and uh been in London in in property sales for for over 20 years, and and and now here in Barbados and listening to what potential buyers are saying and some who've bought already in Barbados. And I've heard some absolute nightmares about people who've tried to undertake the building process themselves. And having worked with developers here, uh you being one of them, I've I've heard the confessions of some people where they've come, undertaken it, and said we would never do it again. So I do appreciate that there is there's a lot of value in what you do because there's a whole set of risk that is removed when dealing with someone on the ground who knows what they're doing, they've got experience, and they have all the contacts uh and and wherewithal and resources to to take something from from the very beginning to the very end. So uh it's it's it's great to hear your insight, your websites. Alexanderman.com. Alexanderman.com. And we can find you on Instagram as well, is that right? Correct. Fantastic. Alex, it has never not been a pleasure talking to you. Uh today's no change. Thanks very much for taking the time. Um, thanks for allowing me to sit here in the air conditioning in Sandy Cove. I might uh I might hang out for a while after you leave. That's right. Help yourself, yeah. Fantastic.

Alex 20:41

Thanks, Sean. Anytime.

Sean 20:44

Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Sean Stewart at Stuart and Core Real Estate. I'm on Instagram on stewartcore.realestate. My website is stewardcore realty.com. Have a look. You can find the apartment that we're sitting in right now, apartment 203, and lots of other similar properties that I'm sure you're gonna love. See you soon.