Patti Waldrop founded Posh Interiors in 2005 and began her career providing interior design services for investors who owned multiple vacation rental units. These owners required a complete turnkey service – they needed their investment properties to be transformed from empty units to fully furnished vacation properties ready for renters. After doing over a hundred units, Waldrop expanded her offerings and opened a full-service design center to work with individual homeowners as well as with investors. The project grew into a 24,000-square-foot showroom located on Canal Road in Orange Beach, Alabama. With the growth of the resort communities in Orange Beach and the surrounding area, the business has flourished over the years. “I am particularly proud of the fact that fully half of our business today is from returning customers, or from referrals that customers have made,” says Waldrop.
Waldrop and her husband purchased a home under construction back in 2005. The home, located in a neighborhood on Old River, had five bedrooms, three full baths, and great community amenities including a pool and tennis court, boat docks, and a private boardwalk to the beach. They loved the location and saw it as a great investment. Eighteen years later, during Hurricane Sally, the double doors off the third floor, east-facing deck were breached and the home was flooded. Even though it was an inopportune time for a complete remodel, considering supply chain issues, the Waldrops were excited to make changes to the floor plan in the kitchen to open it up and make it more functional. A bar that closed off the kitchen was removed, and a long center island was added, with a cooking station on one side, clean-up space on the other, and an icemaker and bar at the end. “My husband cooks a lot, and now he can access everything he needs from one spot, and I am never in his way,” Waldrop says.
The new center island features quartzite countertops, which are virtually maintenance-free, and stainless steel appliances and hardware. “I shy away from trendy colors or finishes in a kitchen because of the expense, and for resale value, “ says Waldrop. “I think the best place to make a statement in the kitchen is with countertops and backsplash. In this instance, I ran a large veined quartzite up the backsplash to the ceiling at the bar, and to the floor at the end of the island.” She also advises anyone designing or redesigning a kitchen to consider using 36” x 10” drawers instead of lower cabinets. “This is my third kitchen with these drawers, and they’re priceless. I can fit and see everything at a glance!”
The designer was also thrilled to revamp the baths with new tile showers and new cabinets. “It was fun to have a blank slate and reimagine the baths with cool, modern features, even sleek modern toilets,” she notes. “We also upgraded the garage doors, and switched to a new tankless water heater, which in turn gave me room for additional counter space in the laundry room.”
Waldrop notes that her renovation doesn’t adhere to one particular design style. “I think the most effective interiors don’t conform to a certain style. I like a mix of materials to give spaces character – stone, glass, metal, leather, nubby fabrics, lush fabrics, and warm woods.” She notes that in this instance, she had to reselect tile flooring four months into the process because of supply chain issues. “It’s best not to get locked into a particular style; what’s important is to choose things that make you happy,” she says. “All too often, the process is frustrating and stressful and clients feel overwhelmed. Our design process at Posh Interiors is 100% behind streamlining this process. Our large showroom enables us to see what clients gravitate toward, so that we can curate room designs around their personal style, wants, and needs. Our job is to make the process easy.”
ACCOLADES
POSH INTERIORS
25150 Canal Road | Orange Beach AL 36561
251-980-2560 | poshoba@gmail.com
GENE’S FLOOR COVERING II
3873 Gulf Shores Pkwy | Gulf Shores, AL 36542
251-968-6456
G AND J TILE & FLOOR COVERING
1351 S. McKenzie St. | Foley, AL 36535
251-971-8453
