Monday, March 30, 2009

Home Decorating Job in St. George

My sister was hired on by some of her neighbors to redecorate their vacation home in St. George. 3 1/2 weeks ago we piled Kim and her 4 girls and me and my 2 girls in my mom's Expedition and headed down to check out the place and evaluate what needed to be done as well as have a little vacation. I was the designated babysitter while she met with subcontractors, etc. To say the least the place needed a little update, it was pretty outdated. She was very productive with the help of our cousin's husband who is a home builder in St. George. She lined up subs for carpet, paint, granite counter tops, and tile all in one day. We were able to swim, visit a couple of parks, shop, dine out, and manage the 6 crazy girls, ages, 9, 7, 5, 2, 2, and 8 mo. When we left we had completely stripped the house of bedding, wall hangings, decor, etc. and cleaned the place pretty thoroughly. As we were leaving on Sunday, the owner called and said, "Oh I just wanted to let you know that my niece is coming down in 2 1/2 weeks for her honeymoon." "What?", is what we were both thinking. So the challenge began. She had 2 1/2 weeks from start to finish to completely remodel and redecorate this home.
She began scheduling subs literally on top of each other. Fortunately with the economy and the badly hurt housing industry in St. George, they were all desperate for work and willing to start right away. She shopped everyday for furnishings, bedding, and decor, put it all in her minivan and 2 weeks later Kim, I, and Audrey headed down to complete the place. When we arrived, it looked awesome, with just the carpet, paint, and tile done, but the paint fumes were so strong that we couldn't sleep there so we ended up staying in a hotel the first night. The last hotel room that we could find in the whole town since it was college spring break. As we hit the pillow at midnight, Audrey woke right up and did not want to go back to sleep. So the first night we got about 2-3 hours of sleep. The next day was Saturday and we worked from 7 am to about 1 or 2 am the next morning. Slept for a few hours, then got up and finished cleaning and making the final touches. My sister did an amazing job, on a very slim budget as well. I learned a lot of really important design tips and had fun doing it as well. The owners were thrilled to say the least and quite a bit surprised. It by far exceeded their expectations. Here are a few pictures of the bedrooms she decorated. Unfortunately, the counter tops were not done and some of the furniture didn't get delivered by the time we left, so she didn't get finished pictures of the bathrooms and kitchen, which looked great minus the granite. I wish I had before pictures so that you could appreciate the transformation.



In return for my help she's helping me redecorate my bedroom and part of my family room...pillows...she says pillows make a room. So I will post some pictures of my house later when we're finished.

6 comments:

Josh, Britt, and Girls said...

You are both so talented and creative when it comes to decorating, I am always amazed at the ideas you come up with!! The place looks like it turned out great!!

Jami and Family said...

Looks so cute!! I wish I saw the before pictures, but it looks awesome!

Marissa and Family said...

Wow what a project! It's like a mini extreme home makeover. Good job! I agree about the pillows, I love pillows! It looks beautiful! I would have so much fun doing something like that.

Sarah said...

Cool! How fun to be apart. I need some pillow help!!

Amber said...

I haven't seen you in a hundred years! Good job on the remodel. When I have a house someday I'm going to beg for you and Kim and Kristen to help me! So are you guys feeling better? Lizzy wants to schedule her fairy party!

Hilary said...

nice work! wanna come do my house on an even slimmer budget! I can't wait to see the pics of your bedroom! Any good places you love for pillows? or do you make them yourselves?