When your principal is also one of your sister's design clients and she asks you to go to Gulf Shores to stay in her condo to redesign it... you make is happen. You arrange your schedules, explain to the hubby why he needs to hang with the little one for 6 straight days, and you convince your mama to join the round trip party!
Everyone kept telling me to have a fun vacation... this was no vacation. We worked our little behinds off creating a space that the client would fall in love with.
It was a true HGTV style makeover: a tight timeline, a tight budget, and obstacles to overcome.
First let's start with what the condo looked like...
You may look at the condo's before pictures and think it looks totally fine. Truth is- it is totally fine. Keyword being FINE. It probably looks like just about every other condo in the building. I think that is why we were called on by the client. We don't settle for just fine. My sister is a fabulous designer who knows how to push the design limits but keeps it livable for the family as well.
So let's chat challenges.
#1- we had 4 days to completely redo the space. We had to start from complete scratch in a place we had never shopped. So for the first 2 days we literally shopped every single store that little Gulf Shore strip had to offer! We had a list of furniture we needed to buy and a budget to stick to, so we wheeled and dealed to find the best possible prices. Not only did we need all new furniture, we also needed accessories and wall decor. These are normally items you look at and think about- but for us it was a 'like it, buy it' no time to waste kind of shopping.
I think the furniture is a design element that we took some risks with and they paid off. At first we had a tan couch selected- then we found a turquoise couch and decided 'it's a beach condo' you are allowed to have a little fun. So to add to that fun pop of color we tossed in an amazing reddish/orange rug that we found for a steal at Target. (we loved it so much we bought two more to bring home! for my mom)
#2- we had a condo of old furniture to get rid of. This just took lots of phone calls and ultimately convincing some of the delivery guys to take some old furniture with them;)
#3- paint, not necessarily and challenge we weren't expecting, just one that needed to be done. We love an impact wall and stripes always get it done. Jessica had selected the paint colors prior to the trip. So we hit up Lowes and mama got to painting. (no we didn't just bring her to paint, although she is a pro!)
#4- putting it all together. No one is open on Sundays- so no deliveries, no furniture stores to shop, paint already done... so we shopped for us at the local outlet mall. We would have preferred a day on the beach but the weather did not cooperate.
So we worked hard shopping, painting, planning, and designing. I must say we were more than happy with the outcome!
After driving 12 hours there, working for 4 straight days, then driving 12 hours home- it is safe to say we were worn out but joyful with the project's results and the time to spend as a mama/daughters dynamic design team! ha
My sister will be doing more in-depth posts about our trip and the design process on her blog- head there now to check it out!
Jessica Stout Design Blog
