Amanda Seibert is the owner of Nest Builders Development Co., a real estate development and design company located in Richmond, VA. She also runs a successful design blog and Instagram account at amandaseibert.com and nest_builders_. She typically uses Nostalgic Warehouse for the front door hardware in her homes and recently included it on the interior doors of her latest project.
The team behind Nest Builders aims to build/renovate four homes per year, a goal that is achievable because of Amanda’s organization. Amanda is a big fan of Excel and has a selection sheet she uses for every project. Before a project even starts, she has every finish picked out. She saves inspirational pictures in one folder and screenshots of every finish in another, so she has easy access to all of her ideas. This helps visualize the final results.
As far as choosing which remodeling projects to take on, she notes that it always comes down to the numbers. The company aims to make at least 20-25% profit. They don’t shy away from homes with significant structural issues as long as the numbers are there. When choosing a house to buy and renovate, Amanda relies on a great team of contractors to spot potentially expensive defects the untrained eye would miss.
For this current project, the team renovated a historic home in Richmond, VA, that will be used as a rental. The house was built in the early 1900s, so there were many challenges to overcome. When it was initially built, there weren’t nearly as many baths in a home, and fireplaces were used as the heat source. There was no air conditioning, no laundry, and one of the upstairs rooms, called “the trunk room,” was used as one large closet for the entire house. They had to repurpose almost every room to fit the needs of today’s modern homeowner. The whole remodel project took four months to complete.
Amanda installed door hardware from Nostalgic Warehouse because it was the perfect finishing piece to bring her vision together. This home is classic, elegant, and stately, and the hardware elevates every space. She plans on using our hardware again in other projects. She notes, “It’s beautiful, and it achieves a timeless and elegant look that could be used in almost any home.” She also believes that door hardware is not something to be overlooked in the budget. She had considered going with builder-grade hardware and is so glad she didn’t. She believes the doors’ brass details genuinely make this project come together.
Amanda’s recommendation for readers interested in taking on an extensive remodel project would be to make sure you have a team of contractors in place that you really trust. In large remodels, you can have $15,000 surprises if you don’t know what to look for. For those looking to get into the remodel business for profit, take on a couple small projects first to make sure you are successful. As far as remodeling a personal home, hire an experienced contractor for the more significant projects. Keep the DIY, money-saving projects for cosmetic details only.
As far as her blog, AmandaSeibert.com is set apart because it discusses how Amanda actually renovates and builds homes for a living while including personal home and lifestyle details. It is a nice mix of business and individual posts. Since Amanda has a handful of projects running at any time, it leads to a wide variety of projects shared online
The blog is always evolving. Amanda receives many requests for more “behind the scenes” of the job sites. To appease these requests, she plans on sharing progress photos and discussing things she would have done differently. Amanda thinks many people who follow her are currently building their own houses and are looking for advice. Because her business takes on a few homes a year, they learn from their mistakes and take that knowledge to the next house. She is excited to share all of that with her readers. Thanks again to Amanda for sharing this project with us!
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