Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Scott Broden, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal Published 12:26 p.m. CT Oct. 5, 2020 | Updated 11:03 a.m. CT Oct. 8, 2020

The River Landing mixed-use development includes 197 townhomes, 95 single family houses and commercial highway development at 5200 NW Broad St. Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

A Northwest Broad Streetdevelopment plan with 292 homes away from most of Murfreesboro won recent City Council zoning approval despite concerns by planning staff.

"The proposed development lies in a small pocket of the city roughly two miles outside the bulk of the citys current boundaries," states a report to the council from Assistant Planning Director Matthew Blomeley. "Extending services police, fire, solid waste, and schools to this medium-density development will stretch the citys resources without adjoining property development that normally mitigates the increased costs. As a result, these costs are unduly allocated to existing taxpayers."

Despite concerns raised by Blomeley, thecouncil in a 6-0 vote backed the revised 78-acre River Landing plan that includes 6.6 acres of commercial highway zoning after developersreduced initial housing plans from 394 to 292 dwellings off the northeast side of Northwest Broad Street opposite Singer Road and south of Florence Road.

Councilman Ronnie Martin said he supported the modified mixed-use plan because the development that includes 197 townhomes will offer "less residential density than the city permits in that zoning and has a commercial front and potential walkability for residents of that community.

This rendering shows what the proposed River Landing subdivision could look like on Northwest Broad Street near Roselawn cemetery.(Photo: Submitted)

New Councilman Shawn Wright said he abstained because he was not present for the previous discussion on the zoning prior to winning election in August. A real estate broker, Wright said he's not involved with the development.

Gateway traffic issues: Clari Park's plan for 890 residential units may increase Medical Center Parkway traffic

The plan that also includes 95 single family detached houses would have city services from Fire Station 5 to the west on Florence Road. Firefighters and school bus drivers serving River Landing would face a "railroad crossing that is at times blocked for more than 15 minutes," states the report from Blomeley.

Project engineer Matt Taylor said the development's traffic plan will address the railroad concerns.

The plan will add turn lanes into both of the development's entrances off Northwest Broad Street and a traffic signal at the Singer Road intersection. The signal also will include a camera that can alert drivers and emergency responders about a train blocking the tracks on Singer Road, said Taylor, a civil engineer and vice president at Murfreesboro based SEC (Site Engineering Consultants) Inc.

The development also will provide private trash hauling to reduce the burden on city services, Taylor said.

The plan by developer D.R. Horton Inc. would be on property annexed into the city by council approval April 30. The land is at 5200 NWBroad St.

Taylor said developers responded to initial density issues mentioned by city officials by reducing housing from 5.3 dwellings per acre to about 4.1.

We think that weve addressed those concerns and made our project better at the same time," Taylor said.

Developers added more brick and stone material plans to the home faades, as well as more architectural enhancements to the garage doors that front the neighborhood streets, Taylor said.

This shows one of the house plans for 95 single family detached homes in the River Landing subdivision plan approved by the Murfreesboro City Council Thursday (Oct. 1, 2020).(Photo: Submitted)

The report from the assistant planning directoralso questioned if River Landing homes should be built byNorthstar Industrial Park.

"This application creates an incompatibility where none exists today," the report said.

The development plan includes a 5-foot tall berm anda 50-foot-wide bufferfor the townhomes by the industrial property, said Taylor, adding that people will buy residential property knowing industry is nearby.

The revised plan also moved dwellings from a flood plain, and that will improve the views of the development entry way, including about 800 feet (over a 10th of amile) with no dwellings by Overall Creek, said Taylor, adding that over 50% of the project has open space.

The plan also shows residents havingcanoe and kayak access to the creek.

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Planning staff: Housing development 'costs are unduly allocated to existing taxpayers' - Daily News Journal

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Global Architectural LED Lighting Industry Market Forecast Revised in a New Market Research Store Report as COVID-19 Projected to Hold a Massive...

Selbyville, Delaware, Oct. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Based on Global Market Insights Inc., report, the waterborne coatings market valuation is slated to surpass $95 billion by 2024, registering a CAGR of 4%. The report provides a detailed analysis of the wavering industry trends, key winning strategies, market estimations and size, competitive scenarios, top investment avenues, and drivers & opportunities.

Shifting trends towards the adoption of environmentally friendly products in order to decrease the harmful impact on surroundings is likely to contribute towards market growth. Waterborne coatings are considered as eco-friendly products as these comprise of low HAP & VOC content, which poses potentially less risk to humans and the living environment.

Request for Sample Report: https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/1708

Based on the product, the polyester segment is likely to surpass approximately $1 billion valuations by the end of the forecast time period. This anticipated growth is ascribed to the exceptional film forming properties, outstanding pigment dispensability, and self-emulsifying property of waterborne resins. Ongoing product development efforts, which includes waterborne UV coatings that are synthesizing using bio-based polyester resins, are likely to foster the waterborne coatings market outlook.

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The North America led by the U.S. is slated to cross an overall valuation of $15.5 billion by end of forecast time period. Factors such as rapid growth of the automobile sector coupled with increasing infrastructure spending are expected to drive growth in the region. Moreover, strict norms by regulatory agencies like OSHA and EPA to lower VOC content for limiting the toxicity levels will further impel the waterborne coatings market share.

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Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider. Offering syndicated and custom research reports, growth consulting, and business intelligence services, Global Market Insights, Inc. aims to help clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data that aid in strategic decision making.

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Waterborne Coatings Market projected to exceed $95 billion by 2024, Says Global Market Insights Inc. - GlobeNewswire

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Candice James lives within walking distance of the Floresta Drive and Port St. Lucie Boulevard intersection.

As James passed by the empty lot on the northeast corner where the roads met, she was puzzled by the changing landscape.

The City of Port St. Lucie had cleared out the overgrown trees and planted new ones a few years back. Recently, the lot was cleared out again a waste of tax money, James thought, when one adds up the cost of materials, machinery and manpower required.

So, what's going on?

Renovating the empty lot has long been in the works for 15 years now as part of theFloresta Drive Improvement project, said city spokesperson Sarah Prohaska.

As part of the Floresta Drive Improvement project. the City of Port St. Lucie is renovating a cleared lot on the corner of Floresta Drive and Port St. Lucie Boulevard to use as a stormwater treatment area.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH PROHASKA)

Three lots on the northeast corner were acquired by the city in 2005 to eventually be used as a stormwater treatment area, Prohaska said, but the money to do so didn't become available for a long time.

In 2017, the city used leftover funds to improve the overall landscape of the area, clearing out the lot and planting new foliage, Prohaska said. Contractors used guidance from a 2006 master plan when designing the new landscape to minimizefuture removal.

Theone-half cent sales tax approved by Port St. Lucie residents in the 2018 election atax increase from 6.5%to 7% to pay for building more sidewalks, improving roads and water-quality projects kickstarted the Floresta Drive Improvement project again, Prohaska said.

Design plans for Phase 1were completed this past spring, she added, and the landscape of the northeast lot had to be revisited.

The new design required alarger stormwater treatment area, or manmade pond, than anticipatedto improve water quality prior to discharging to the North Fork of the St. Lucie River, Prohaska said.

So, the city had to remove the vegetation planted in 2017.

"It was definitely not the citys intent to have to remove the recently planted trees, but the new design implemented to improve water quality required it," she said.

Contractors are trying to save as much of the landscape as possible, Prohaska added, relocating the trees that can't be saved within the Floresta Drive Improvement project.

The city plans to plant new foliage on the lot, install afountain in the middle anddecorative walls on the north and east sides of the pond, she said.

A groundbreaking ceremony to commence Phase 1 was held on Sept. 14, and the entire project's timeline can be found atcityofpsl.com/floresta.

Want more?Check out the entire "Ask Catie" collection

Catie Wegman is a community reporter who also produces "Ask Catie," an occasional feature to find answers to your burning questions about anything and everything the more bizarre the better.Support her work with a TCPalm subscription.Contact her at catie.wegman@tcpalm.com or 772-221-4211 and follow her @Catie_Wegman on Twitter and @catiewegman1 on Facebook.

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Ask Catie: What's going on with the empty lot on Floresta Drive and Port St. Lucie Boulevard? - TCPalm

This custom Cape Cod brings East Coast charm to guard-gated Lake Sherwood. Spanning 1.2 acres, the property takes advantage of every square foot with a detached guesthouse, swimming pool, spa and sports court all set among mature trees and manicured lawns with lake, mountain and golf course views as the backdrop. At the center of it all sits a Hamptons-style home full of designer finishes.

The details

Location: 224 W. Stafford Road, Thousand Oaks, 91361

Asking price: $10.75 million

Year built: 1999

Living area: 10,700 square feet, five bedrooms, eight bathrooms

Lot size: 1.2 acres

Features: Landscaped front yard; five-car garage; walnut wood floors; onyx fireplaces; African wood countertops; two-story great room; formal library; wine cellar; gym; billiards room with bar; dramatic owners suite; vegetable garden

About the area: In the 91361 ZIP Code, based on 16 sales, the median price for single-family homes in August was $2.53 million, up 123.7% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

Agents: Jordan Cohen, RE/Max One, (818) 435-5220

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos via Dropbox.com, permission from the photographer to publish the images and a description of the house to jack.flemming@latimes.com.

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Home of the Week: Chic Hamptons style in Lake Sherwood - Los Angeles Times

A lot of beloved TV shows really need to remain firmly in the past. But there's an exception to that rule: the universally adored British makeover show, Changing Rooms.

BBC's Changing Rooms graced our screens from 1996 until 2003 and though its run was limited, its memory lives on in our minds. After the best part of two decades away, the iconic show is returning to our screens on Channel 4 and will be helmed by the ultra funky designer from the original show Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, alongside presenter Davina McCall.

For those who aren't familiar with this legendary British show, allow me to change your life. A DIY home improvement programme, designers would "transform" and I use that term loosely a member of the public's home. Some of the designs were really and truly out there, and garnered some very dramatic (sometimes painful-to-watch) reactions. And frankly, you couldn't look away from the catastrophic television you were watching.

Take Linda Barker's teapot disaster back in 2000. The designer decided to build a floating shelf unit to house an extensive collection of antique teapots the pride and joy of the owner of the flat. Well, you can probably guess where this is going. After positioning the teapots on the new floating shelves and adding a row of rather heavy books the designer and her team went home. The following morning, they returned to the flat to see an almighty mess all of the teapots were broken into smithereens and strewn across the floor. The shelves had buckled under the weight of the books, destroying the entire collection of teapots. Handy Andy, the show's handiman, walked through the broken mess of teapot pieces and yelled "Jesus Christ" in disappointment. 20 years later, journalist Amelia Tait recently revisited the devastating moment and interviewed Clodagh, the woman whose teapots were destroyed. Time, it would appear, does not always heal.

Keeping the same format as the original show, each episode will see two sets of homeowners in the same neighbourhood renovate each other's homes to whatever design they fancy. Anything goes and I really do mean anything. In the good ol' days, the finished renovations looked pretty, err, out there. We're talking trees suspended upside-down from ceilings, a floor-to-ceiling zebra print room (including zebra print painted ceiling, walls, and a zebra bedspread), and inflatable plastic chairs (which were having a bit of a moment back then).

"Theres no room for beige in our homes and, just as it was in the '90s, Changing Rooms is once more the homestyle antidote to Britains blues (and greys and taupes, and even Magnolia)," said Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen in a statement. "Its taken quite a lot of coaxing to get me under the Changing Rooms banner once more, but nothing like as much coaxing as its going to take for me to squeeze those leather trousers back on."

Naturally people on Twitter (myself included) couldn't contain their enthusiasm for the return of this exceptional show.

At present there's no confirmed air date. But for now, we can just revel in the excitement that Changing Rooms is back!

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This iconic British '90s home makeover show is making a comeback and Twitter is wild for it - Mashable

InYourArea Community

The jackets were made for a spring beach clean however they're proving very useful now that the dark nights of winter are on their way

Submitted to the Thanet Gazette

This autumn, children at Chilton Primary School will be clearly visible in their new bright yellow reflective jackets. The smart new set of safety tops were donated to the school by Millwood Designer Homes, which is building the Bakers Field development in Cliffsend, Kent.

The hi-vis clothing was made by the developers for the beach clean-up at Pegwell Bay on March 25. Year 3 pupils were due to visit the beach to pick up litter as part of The Great British Spring Clean until lockdown stopped the event.

Philip Brown, from Millwood Designer Homes, said:

Year 6 pupils have already used the jackets on a walk to the historic Viking ship site at nearby Pegwell Bay. The childrens visit to the replica boat was to support in-school learning but pupils also carried out a litter pick in the area at the same time.

Deputy head Natalie Barrow said: Hi-vis jackets are an important resource to keep our children safe and to have now a new whole class set is so beneficial.

The developers support the national Walk to School week that runs from October 6 to 10. Chilton continues to operate its own walk to school initiative that has been in operation for several years.

Chilton Primary School in Ramsgate, Kent is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Upton Junior School, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate Arts Primary.

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Ramsgate pupils will be easily seen thanks to new hi-vis vests - In Your Area

PUBLISHED: 10:30 10 October 2020 | UPDATED: 10:46 10 October 2020

Danielle Lett

Lindsey Rendall, left, pictured alongside Helen Wright. The two run Rendall & Wright, a Suffolk-based interior design practice Picture: Nicky West Photography

@Nicky West

From warm hues to chunky textures Lindsey Rendall of Rendall & Wright shares this autumns biggest trends.

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As autumn settles in, its high time to give your home a refresh and switch up your surroundings to help you welcome in the new season.

Sudbury-based interior designer Lindsey Rendall, of Rendall & Wright, shares her top tips to help you nail this years autumn/winter home trends - and explains why this is the year to put a little bit more thought into your homewares.

2020 has seen us all spend far more time in our homes than we ever thought possible whether weve been homeschooling, working, entertaining via Zoom, working out or cooking endless family meals, said Lindsey.

We now expect our interior spaces to provide a multitude of services for us, and deliver more than they ever have before. On this basis, they deserve some TLC. Our homes should be a safe haven to enjoy and take comfort from.

With that in mind, these upcoming months will provide you with ample opportunity to overhaul your interiors and give your surroundings a much-needed revamp.

I love the start of autumn its a time to hunker down and an excuse to enjoy cosy afternoons at home with friends and family.

As with all seasons, our fashions change. We upgrade our wardrobe, invest in a few key seasonal pieces, put away the flip flops and get out our cosy winter attire. Our homes are an extension of this, and they too thoroughly deserve a seasonal spruce up.

So what sort of shades should we all be looking to incorporate into our homes this autumn, to help spruce it up?

Warm terracotta tones are big news for 2020, according to Lindsey. This cosy, natural, sumptuous colour softens the much-loved spring coral that was seen this year, as we move into autumnal burnt amber palettes.

If youre not keen on having one colour dominating your home, terracotta has a number of shades that pair wonderfully with it, including deep olive green, rich caramel, deep charcoal and delicate rose pink. These warm, beautiful colours work effortlessly alongside natural materials so consider using a mixture of finishes within a room to create interest.

In terms of textures, its go big or go home this autumn. As the weather cools and the nights draw in, incorporate heavier textures around the home. Plush velvets, chunky knits and heavy woven linens add depth and richness to any interior scheme.

To be bang on-trend this winter, bring boucl back into your life. This snuggly texture will increase the cosiness factor of any room by 100%. Using these textures as cushions, throws and on occasional pieces of furniture are an inexpensive way of updating your schemes while making it impossible to not snuggle up on the sofa.

If youre someone whos looking to be a bit bolder this autumn, prints are always an option, and there are a number of designs to help you brighten up your home over these coming months with some firm favourites coming back into style time and time again.

Every year Im asked if patterns are fashionable, and this year more than any the answer is yes. Autumn often sees classic, sophisticated country prints such as rich floral designs, faded vintage rose prints, traditional paisleys, tartans and beautiful plaids creeping back into the home, and 2020 is no different. A well-balanced collection of prints and textured weaves provides an interesting feast for the eyes.

With a number of rooms throughout your home, you may be wondering which areas in particular you should focus on this season. Choose areas of the house you spend most of your time in to give your winter transformation. Be brave, embrace change and most importantly, have fun.

Lindseys tips for getting the autumn look without blowing your budget

Sitting pretty

Invest in a statement piece of furniture in a bejewelled tone such as a terracotta, teal or olive green. Depending on your budget, this could be a sofa, armchair or footstool. To complete the look, accessorise with textural cushions and a splash of pattern.

Light up your life

Lighting makes an enormous difference to the ambiance of a room. It creates a mood, enhances textures and highlights architectural features. Overhead lighting can often be harsh and unflattering, so use a variety of light sources to suit the occasion. Introduce table lamps for a warm, cosy glow in the evening - low-level lighting and candles on the table are great for dinner parties while wall lights and floor lights are great to brighten up a dull day. A quick and inexpensive way to update your existing lighting scheme is a change of shades. Introduce pattern and colour confidently, and enjoy the change in ambiance this provides.

Hearth and soul

If you have a fireplace, make it a focal point. Dressing your fireplace transforms your fire from a cold, dark space into a place to congregate. Consider built in-joinery or matching pieces of furniture either side of the fireplace to frame it. Introducing lighting within the joinery or a pair of table lamps on the furniture will add depth to the room, while enhancing the cosy feel. Dress your mantelpiece and draw the eye to the fire with a great mirror or piece of art above. If you have a fireplace no longer in use, a well-chosen large plant can bring life back to the hearth.

If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East Anglian Daily Times. Click the link in the orange box above for details.

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What are the interior trends for Autumn/Winter 2020? - East Anglian Daily Times

Pupils in the hi-vis gifted by Millwood Homes

By Peter Barnett

Be seen and be safe children at Chilton Primary School in Ramsgate have a smart new set of safety tops in time for autumn and winter.

The distinctive bright yellow reflective jackets have been donated to the school by Millwood Designer Homes which is developing its Bakers Field project in Cliffsend.

The branded hi-vis clothing was made by the developers for Chilton earlier in the year when they planned to host a beach clean-up at Pegwell Bay for The Great British Spring Clean Keep Britain Tidy which was due to happen between March 20 and April 13.

Year 3 pupils were going to visit the beach in two groups to pick up any litter along the beach on March 25 but the pandemic lockdown happened before the eco-initiative could take place.

Deputy Head of School Natalie Barrow explained: It was an important community initiative that we were looking forward to but events overtook us.

True to their word Millwood Designer Homes has provided the hi-vis jackets which have boosted our supply and will certainly help keep our boys and girls safe when they are out and about as the mornings and afternoons get darker.

We are extremely grateful for the thoughtful donation of the jackets and they will be very much put to use by all our children aged from four to eleven when going out on local walks and visits.

Hi-vis jackets are an important resource to keep our children safe and to have now a new whole class set is so beneficial. It is such a shame that we were unable to take part in such a worthwhile community project with Millwood Designer Homes in the spring but we sincerely hope that we will be able to do so in the future.

Year 6 pupils have already used the jackets on a walk to the historic Viking Ship site at nearby Pegwell Bay, where Viking brothers Hengist and Horsa are reputed to have landed in AD449. They liked what they saw on the Isle of Thanet so much that they swore allegiance to Vortigern, King of the Britons, and served him as mercenaries.

The childrens visit to the replica historic Viking boat was to support in-school learning; and pupils also carried out their own litter pick clearance in the area at the same time.

The jackets were presented to Chiltons Assistant Head of School Hannah Cheshire, who is also Head of Early Years, by Mark Baker, Senior Site Manager at Millwoods Cliffsend development, Bakers Field.

Philip Brown, Sales and Marketing Director at Millwood Designer Homes, said: We are passionate about giving back to the communities we build in, and we love to support schools that are local to our developments, including Bakers Field in Cliffsend.

We were disappointed that we had to cancel the beach clean-up at Pegwell Bay with Chilton Primary School due to the lockdown, but we hope that the children will be able to make lots of use of the hi-vis jackets.

It is important that children are kept safe on their walk to school, especially as we move into autumn when the evenings get darker earlier.

Millwood Designer Homes supports the national Walk to School week that runs from October 6-10.

Chilton continues to operate its own walk to school initiative that has been in operation for years.

Walk to school benefits include:-

*Being active and getting some exercise in the morning before arriving at school can help set children up for a positive day; improving focus and concentration, and instilling a sense of physical and mental wellbeing.

*Health benefits include helping to develop strong bones and increase muscle strength. Walking gets the heart pumping, which can help improve cognitive function for lessons throughout the school day.

*Walking to school encourages healthy habits for life with a focus on exercise, diet and wellbeing.

Related

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Hi-vis gift for Chilton primary pupils The Isle Of Thanet News - The Isle of Thanet News

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. A decade ago, Janelle BlakelyPhotopoulos was at a bit of a crossroads. A former marketing communications employee for AT&T, she, her husband and their young family had just moved to Rhode Island from New Jersey and she was looking for a way to fulfill her creative drive.

Theres this creative side of me that Ive always wanted to utilize and realize and so when I moved here to Rhode Island, I did a lot of work in my own home and realized I had a passion for it, Photopoulos said. People saw the work that I did in my own home and had asked if I was a professional interior designer, at which point I was encouraged to pursue that.

Describing herself as someone who feels she has to earn (her) stripes and go through the process of learning everything she could about the interior design industry, Photopoulos soon enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Designs ContinuingEducation Program and launched her own business, Blakely Interior Design, in North Kingstown.

Now, Blakely Interior Design has grown from a one woman operation to a team of six and from a few projects in the coastal homes of South County to projects up and down the East Coast, earning the firm the honor of being named the 2020 Rhode Island Small Business Associations Woman-Owned Business of the Year.

Its an honor to be recognized as a woman who has built a business from the ground up and Im so thankful for the acknowledgment, but also for the team that has helped me to get to where I am, Photopoulos said.

Blakely Interior Design isa residential interior design firm that specializes in mostly new home construction projects, but also does full-service interior design from a decorating prospective for already built homes.

We really work in a fashion where we work with our clients from the very beginning of the design process, many times teaming up with the architect and the builder on those projects that do involve construction and help our clients realize their vision for their homes and how they want to live in their homes functionally. But also what that means is aesthetically, and our position is that everyone deserves to live in a place that really uplifts them, so we really design from a place of color, Photopoulos said.

In particular, its color that drives Photopoulos and Blakely Interior Designs.

We use color as the foundation of our designs and so were known for creating very vibrant and colorful interiors, Photopoulos said. Im a believer that color really creates emotions in us and its scientifically proven but it creates emotions in us and so we try to find out which colors resonate with which clients and how do we bring that color into their homes so that it uplifts them and creates a space that feels uniquely them.

Holding a marketing degree from Syracuse University, Photopoulos initially worked for AT&T before leaving to start her family. She did some dcor work back in New Jersey, but really began her career in interior design in Rhode Island, attending night classes at RISD while starting her business and raising three young children.

My business really grew alongside of my journey at RISD, so much that it really just exploded fairly early on and now I never dreamed back then that I would be where I am now in terms of growing a business and having a staff of six employees and really contributing to our local economy and creating beautiful spaces really throughout the East Coast, Photopoulos said.

Blakely Interior Design recently completed projects as far away as New Jersey and Alexandria, Virginia, and Photopoulos said theres been interest in her work from across the country.

We love our Rhode Island coastal homes that we work on, but were also getting some visibility throughout the country, Photopoulos said.

While she says that after finding her passion for interior design she was initially disappointed in having studied marketing, she says the combination of both of her degrees has helped make her a more well-rounded and successful entrepreneur.

I remember thinking to myself, Gosh, why didnt I know back when I was 18 or 19 that this was really what I wouldve wanted to do? It wouldve made it a lot easier to spend hours and hours in the studio doing my design work at 18, 19 years old when I wouldnt have to go and figure out picking my son up at preschool and all of these things related to family life, Photopoulos said. At the time I was kind of kicking myself like, Gosh, why didnt I know this early on, but as I started to build my business, all of the knowledge I had gained through my original degree in marketing and business really helped it to flourish.

Im so thankful for that education because I think if I had just had a design degree, I might be really good at design but I might not know how to grow my business and help build jobs and to do bigger and better things with my business, Photopoulos added.

In addition to her work with Blakely Interior Design, Photopoulos is also active in charity work with Savvy Givings By Design, a nonprofit started in San Diego, California, that rebuilds the interior spaces of children facing a medical crisis at no cost to their families to help strengthen and encourage their recovery.

Photopoulos first became involved with Savvy Givings By Design after hearing an episode of an interior design podcast that featured its founder, Susan Wintersteen.

I had been wanting for a few years to do something to give back to the community and use my talents to do that, and so when I heard about Savvy Giving By Design, I was like, This is what I want to do here and I reached out to her and we started to develop chapters throughout the country and (Rhode Island was) one of the chapters that we created, Photopoulos said.

For Photopoulos, being able to help these children and their families brighten their spirits with her interior design skills is truly rewarding.

When you work with families that are struggling with a medics crisis and many times dont have either the financial wherewithal to do a project like this for their child or the mental or emotional wherewithal to do something like this because theyre in the thick of pediatric cancer treatments and things that really consume them, to be able to come into these families homes and these spaces and really transform them to create a space for these kids to heal, its so rewarding, Photopoulos said. Its very rewarding when we have our reveal with the child and they see the space that is all theirs and they can now have a space that they can heal in and feel creative and play and be like a normal kid.

As with all small businesses, Blakely Interior Design has had to navigate the waters of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its been a tough year for everyone I know, Photopoulos said.

Photopoulos says her firm was fortunate in that theyhad some reserves on hand to avoid major layoffs as well as pivot their approach to more online interactions to better keep with social distancing guidelines and to meet customers comfort levels.

We pivoted a little and started doing virtual design consultations that allowed us to still interact with potential clients and provide design services virtually, Photopoulos said.

As for the projects they were already working on when COVID-19 hit, Photopoulos said understanding and flexibility for both themselves and their customers was key.

We just had to have a lot of flexibility and understanding and hope that our clients did too because the supply chains changed, the workrooms closed down and so I think that everyone in the entire world had to have just a different viewpoint and an extra level of patience through all of it, which fortunately most of our clients have been incredibly understanding, Photopoulos said, adding that business for her has been returning to its normal fall rate after a quieter-than-usual summer.

Now with nearly a decade of experience under her belt, Photopoulos has her eyes set on expanding even further in the decade, with hopes of becoming a national lifestyle brand based around their tagline: Live vibrantly.

We try to inspire our clients to live vibrantly through their home and their interior, Photopoulos said. I want to really inspire the world to live vibrantly in whatever way that means to them.

Photopoulos said shes already began work on developing color-driven products for the home space such as accessories and wallpapers, with fabric textiles on the horizon as well as she hopes to bring Blakely Interior Design into the national spotlight.

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NK firm named RI SBA woman-owned business of the year - The Independent