Tiny House Makeover

I started selling real estate a little over a year ago. A good friend of mine is a broker and has her own company. During Covid she asked me if I would think about getting my license and coming to work with her. Three years before Covid I had started my own Wellness Company and was teaching clients how to cook and eat healthy. I had four families that I cooked for and others I was counseling on healthy eating. I  was pretty busy and loving helping others learn about nutrition. I really didn't have time for anything else, and then covid came. I lost all of my clients because everyone was afraid of getting covid and you couldn't find the groceries in the stores to make things for customers anymore. I took some time off and then started real estate classes. 

So here we are in 2023 and I am a Realtor. I have always loved interior decorating, so I thought maybe I would get to do some of that in real estate - helping people stage their houses and envision what a house might look like. I'm very good at looking past what the eye can see and envisioning what could be.  I wanted to go to college for interior design, but couldn't afford out of state tuition and I didn't want to take out school loans. I ended up going to school for Journalism. I've used those writing skills many times over the years, but I still love interior decorating. I always love helping friends and relatives redecorate their houses, choose paint colors, etc. Interior design became a hobby and not a career. 

My broker does a lot of property management and has clients that own multiple homes/apartments that they rent. One of her clients asked if I would furnish and decorate a small house that she had been renting out. She was going to try renting it on AirBNB instead of to an annual renter who brought their own furnishings. The house is in Mt. Vernon, KY. There are a lot of travel nurses that work at the local hospital there and Renfro Valley is nearby, where a lot of country music concerts are held. There aren't a lot of hotels in the area and so we figured her "tiny house" might be the perfect AirBNB.

I call it a "tiny house", but it is not a typical tiny house on wheels. It is just a small 4 room house: 1 bedroom, a living room, kitchen and bath. She didn't want me to change anything to the walls or floors or cabinets, although I would have loved to. The house was empty, except for the refrigerator, microwave and stove. She gave me a budget of $5000 to furnish and decorate the house. I had to buy a washer and dryer, living room and bedroom furniture, table and chairs and blankets, dishes, spices, coffee - the works. She had a few things that she wanted me to use, so I had to work around that - like the quilt for the bed and the pillows and a recliner in the living room.

I started off by making a list of things I needed for each room. Then I divided those things by stores, where I thought I could find the best quality item for the best price. I ordered the big things first - washer, dryer, sofa, bed, etc. The owner was okay and actually preferred it if I bought used things. I got everything new except for the dressers, desk and outdoor patio set, which I bought from a former client who had bought a new house this year and was getting rid of some things.  I had to work around the recliner and the bed linens the owner gave me. I didn't want it to look like a mismatched house of different styles and things from all over, so I had to try to bring it all together.

I realized it was a lot more work than what I thought it would be, especially during the month of December - Christmas shoppers!!!! I did get some good black Friday deals on a TV and some furniture. I went to several different places to get decor and the rest of the items. I made four trips back and forth to Mt. Vernon, using my husbands truck and hauling furniture and decorations. I took my mom down with me twice to help set up and put things together. My daughter helped me move furniture. It was a group project for sure. 

Finally, I finished it this week and I came in under budget. It is all put together and ready for AirBNB, or it will be after a good cleaning, which is not in my job description 😉.  I am excited for our client and look forward to seeing how well it rents out. The house is not far off of I-75 at exit 62, so if you ever go to a concert at Renfro Valley or know someone traveling up I-75 and they need a good place to stay, let me know. I snapped some pics before I left of the final project. So yes, I am selling real estate and doing interior design, and I love it. It's funny how things come back around in life.