Tucked away in the back nine of the Gainesville Country Club golf course is a home as unique as its owners. Steve and Sally Blakewood, owners of the Waldo Farmer’s and Flea Market, are traditional, yet eclectic, and have remodeled their 1981 home to reflect their lifestyle.
The couple lives, works and plays together, so they redesigned the now 5,800-square-foot home to suit their changing needs. Although the Blakewoods, who both have residential contractors licenses, had made a few changes to the home during the past decades, their 2007 project was the most extensive.
Originally, the home was “very country,” Sally explained, and while they started the project to allow for a more expansive entertaining space, it quickly turned into a home-wide renovation.
“We tore out everything,” Sally said.
As contractors, they were able to attend professional home shows and discover features they wanted to add to their own home, including low voltage lights, bullnose walls, a home-wide NuVo sound system and more.
“As you go along the process, you think, ‘Maybe we should add this or that,’” Steve said.
Indeed, the Blakewoods added several features that were not in the original plans Sally drafted herself on graph paper — by the time the project was complete, it featured an indoor hot tub with overhead fiber optic lighting, 44 speakers to pipe music into every room, dormers and high ceilings upstairs, trey ceilings downstairs and a spa-like master bath with heated floors.
“We built it just for us,” Steve said.
Fortunately, the Blakewoods’ laidback attitude helped them during the process.
“We had no kitchen sink for four months,” Sally said. “All we had was a fridge and a microwave, and we lived in a room upstairs while the rest of the house was being remodeled.”
“You just roll with it,” Steve added.
The project took twice as much time and cost twice as much money as expected, but Steve and Sally agree that it was worth it. Today, the house has plenty of space to entertain people of all ages, and there is also enough room for the couple’s two grown daughters to stay when they visit.
As she looked out onto the rolling greens, Sally smiled and added, “Where else in Gainesville can you get this view?”
For the Blakewoods, it is clear that there is no place like home.
The open floor plan, which encompasses the family room, modern kitchen and informal dining area, is ideal for entertaining. High ceilings, recessed lights and top-of-the line granite and appliances blend with comfortable furnishings for a modern yet relaxed environment. The columns found throughout the home are both structural and decorative