featured client experience profile

LARISA LOOBY

Project Background:

When downsizing from her Great Falls house, Larisa wanted to combine the luxuries she enjoyed in her single-family home with the conveniences of condo living. Large windows with beautiful views and an open-concept kitchen were at the top of her list for her new space. The unit she ultimately purchased had windows with perfect views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance and community park below but lacked the open layout she desired. BOWA was able to transform the dark and dated unit into the open and airy space she desired, with unique design details to display her china, figurines, and artwork throughout the home.

Why did you hire BOWA?  “It was a difficult decision, but I went with my gut feeling”

Like many of our clients, Larisa was interviewing multiple firms for her renovation. “It was a difficult decision, but I went with my gut feeling because I really like Lisa and Ken.” Project Leader, Lisa Magee, and Production Manager, Ken Ivey, led this whole-unit renovation. With the complexities and extra precautions that need to be taken in a condo renovation, Larisa saw the potential for a low-stress renovation by working with BOWA.

What did you appreciate most? “I felt I would have a lot of transparency”

While Larisa is not new to the design world, having excelled in her career as an interior designer, this project was the first time she would have full control of the selections and decisions that go with a large renovation. She said, “I felt I would have a lot of transparency and that was important to me because I was making all these decisions on my own, for the first time since my husband had passed. Transparency and honesty are really important to me.” Her ability to easily interact with the In-House Design Team was also a plus. “My favorite part was choosing the different materials and interacting with Valery, Stephanie and Lisa. Having worked in interior decorating before, that is what I loved, so this condo was my swan song,” she explained.

What was unexpected? “It was easier than I thought it was going to be”

In a condominium you share walls and public spaces, like elevators and halls, with your neighbors. The building has strict work schedules and rules to abide by when remodeling. When asked what was most unexpected during her condo remodel, Larisa answered the ability to manage building relationships and a renovation with such close quarters. “Nothing ever happened. It was easier than I thought it was going to be,” she said. Larisa, commenting on her Project Manager, continued to explain, “Alex, is just the greatest guy, he made things easy. I didn’t have to worry about the loading dock or the elevator use.”

Advice to others considering a project? “It would be in good hands”

Larisa was so happy with the process and outcome of her renovation, she recommended her daughter contact BOWA for her upcoming renovation. “I told her that she would not have to worry about the project, and that it would be in good hands,” she told BOWA. She is now in the midst of her remodeling project in McLean. Even though her project cost more than she was expecting, she said she was never blindsided because everything was open-book, “I knew all along, if I add this it will cost me this much more. But that goes into the transparency of working with BOWA, and that’s why I recommended my daughter give BOWA a call.”

To see the beautiful photos from and learn more about Larisa’s award-winning project, click here.