The epic saga of a Build-Out

What is a build-out? It's when you finally, after many years, find the perfect space and the realtor says, "But you have to build it out." You get a cement shell, a front door and that's it. No electricity (how do they plug in the paint sprayer?), no water (where does the electrician go to the bathroom?) and no lighting (how do you judge paint colors?). Just a whole bunch 'o dust and dreams.

Speaking of dreaming - you'll enjoy this: I committed to the space in early November and told them "but I have to be in by December 15th. " It was ski season after all and clients were, understandably, clamoring to get on the Endless Slope. As a special treat to my personal dignity, they did not stumble over laughing. Didn't even break a smile actually. I finally signed a lease on March 21st. And we'll be open July 30th. And no, it doesn't make me feel better that Kirkwood was open for skiing on July 4th; snow season is over and the loud sobs I emitted in April as the lifts closed and clients put their skis away have long since died down.

My recovery was aided by the beautiful color palette chosen by designer Sabra Ballon. It says winter skies and warm surf breaks at all once.

And the lighting makes me happy. To be fair, the original fixtures Patrick suggested did actually fit into my budget; I saw the sketch and said fine. Looking into a neighboring suite on our way out, Sabra said "and Sarah, those are the fixtures you'll have. " I said, and I quote, "Oh Sabra, I will die. Seriously, that level of ugly will kill me." Again to be fair, I did tell Sabra we'd be going very industrial. But then when I saw them - oh it just said parking-garage, not even oil-change-waiting-room. So we embarked on three rounds of lighting research and showroom visits with Sarah saying either "too expensive" or "not working for me." And then Sabra found them - such cute pendants lights, and the ceiling puffs. They're actually called puffs; someone like me must have named them.

What was electrician Patrick doing during all of this? Waiting patiently. And explaining that we would really need two lit Exit signs, a strobe light in the bathroom, and probably the rolling garage door opener should actually work. It doesn't? Oh right - there's no real wiring there. Who could notice distracted by all this lovely lighting? The building owners suggested that I should pay to complete the garage door installation, and while I had my checkbook out, might as well cover the installation of the fire alarm system. What??? "AS IS" does not mean as-much-as-we-felt-like-finishing-as-we-ran-out-of-money-completing-the-building. Yes, actually, the building owners did run out of money on completion. Went bankrupt even - hence the lengthy wait to get a lease out of them, although this was not apparent at the time. So, inspired by my friend Lori, whose boat is named Pushy Broad, I pushed back. But really I think they finally caved because General Contractor Russ used his honey-coated diplomacy and a few rational arguments. (Not within his scope for sure - another reason we love him.) And so, many things got completed while I tried to breathe deeply and remain calm.

This calm was made infinitely easier by painter Rich Quinn. My original dark ceiling plus 2 colors became 6 colors, plus a brush treatment on the cement entrance, sealing the stairs and can we make these 2 walls magnetic? He did it all and somehow to our dynamically changing specifications.

Miraculously, we found benches that fit the space perfectly. Even more of a miracle, my friend Anneke Seley was remodeling and handed over some large storage pieces that were perfect. (Although Sabra said "oh honey, we're going to have to switch out that hardware.") So now we have space for trip bags, the Shred-Sleds for kids' camps, and all the boots and boards for clients orders. Plus the barware for parties of course.

So there you are. The story of a simple build-out.