Kimberly Campbell is a petite blonde with delicate, doll-like features. She is not, to some, the picture of a typical construction contractor.
But Campbell can talk grout and insulation with the best of them.
For proof, just look at her home. Clean lines, natural light and warm, open spaces abound in her ranch-style Disney Streets home.
“I went with a soft contemporary remodel, which means I have those clean lines, but it doesn’t feel too cold or industrial, like a loft. It feels soft and warm, like a home.
“My house also has a square theme, which was inspired by my front door,” Campbell says, pointing to a glass-paned door with three large opaque squares in the center.
If you pay attention, you’ll see those squares throughout the entire house, down to the square-shaped curtain rods and bathroom sinks.
And that front door was a custom creation that, surprisingly, was quite affordable.
“Front doors can be really expensive — you can drop $1,500 on one easy. So instead, I just bought a glass-pane door for about $250, and then I had those squares sand blasted on the glass for about $100. I would encourage anybody who is trying to save money to explore that option.”
Campbell is full of money-saving tips, like her advice about going with a glass backsplash in the kitchen instead of tile.
“Glass is much less expensive than tile. In my kitchen, I had the back of the glass painted so that it matched the color scheme, and when I have guests over, I always get compliments on it. It’s something very different, which people love, and it’s easier to clean than tile.”
Most of those tips Campbell picked up through trial and error — much like her construction skills.
“I didn’t wake up one day and decide to be a contractor; it just happened to me. I started dabbling with small projects when I was in my 20s and fixing up rental properties, and I discovered I was pretty good at it.”
She continued doing home projects on the side, but worked full-time in the tech industry.
“But when the tech bubble finally burst, I was laid off. My friends and family encouraged me to start my own business, and slowly but surely, I did. I have been running my company for almost eight years now. It really wasn’t ever the plan; it just kind of happened on it its own and everything fell into place perfectly — that’s how I know I’m doing what I was meant to be doing.”
Aside from having a knack for hands-on construction, Campbell says she realized she had an eye for design. When she purchased her home in 2008, for example, it was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom house — but Campbell envisioned a new design. She converted the original garage into a master suite with a large bedroom and attached bathroom, adding about 400 square feet of space and making her home a three-bedroom, three-bathroom structure. She also designed a new backyard with a pool and added a new detached garage.
“I also put a sound system throughout the entire house, which I think is pretty neat. A few weeks ago I had a house party with a couple of musicians playing out by the pool, and thanks to that sound system, we could hear them in every room inside.”
Campbell says the 1950s ranch-style of her home lends itself nicely to remodeling — as do most homes in the Disney Streets. In fact, Campbell has remodeled four houses in her neighborhood, all of which have been totally gutted.
“The homes in this neighborhood are great for remodels because you can keep with the traditional look or go for contemporary. Either style works nicely.”
Some homeowners, she says, fail to see the hidden potential in these older homes.
“I remember when I was getting ready to remodel another home in this neighborhood. The couple across the street couldn’t believe I wanted to remodel that place. They didn’t understand why I didn’t want to just tear it down and start over. But once I was done, they came back and ate their words.
“I think a lot of people just get overwhelmed when they think about remodeling their homes. There’s this range of emotions you go through when you’re redoing your house, so I always try to walk my clients through that and tell them what to expect. Remodeling is a bit like therapy. I always tell my clients, ‘You’re going to be happy to see me come, but you’re going to be even happier to see me go.’”
And remodeling a home doesn’t have to be a major renovation, Campbell says.
“You can do small things to modernize these houses, like replacing sliding doors with French doors or putting a museum finish of the same color on the walls and ceiling to add height — and all that is a lot less expensive than tearing down a house and rebuilding a new one.”
