At Home

At Home with the Alexanders

Hopkinsville woman loves styling homes, expands hobby into design business

STORY AND PHOTOS: MICHELE VOWELL

In the heart of the Deepwood subdivision is the Alexanders’ treehouse — a nickname given by its residents because of the wooded location in the middle of Hopkinsville.

Home owner Brandi Alexander finds peace and harmony in her house with her family looking out into nature.

“We are in the trees,” she said. “My mother would have had so much fun with me decorating this house.”

The house features a juliette balcony extending from the main floor and a walk-out basement into the back yard. Alexander chooses not to add blinds to the windows in order to see the seasons change.

“In the winter, I love to see the snow on the trees,” she said.

The Alexanders’ 4,500 square foot house was a blank canvas when Brandi and her husband of 20 years, Jamie, moved there with their son, Ethan, in 2017. They knocked down a few walls to open up the floor plan and then moved in. They share the space with two schnauzers, Gidget and Benson.

“My home stays styled all the time, even though we live here and I have dogs and a husband and a teenager,” she said. “My house stays pretty

tidy. My husband helps with that. We both work full time so it takes both of us to keep a tidy house.”

Alexander said her black and white bedroom is her favorite room in the house. A plaque over the bed features the phrase written in cursive, “All because two people fell in love.” A stack of pillows provides support and comfort for anyone seeking relaxation.

“I start and end my day in my bedroom,” she said. “I want my bedroom to be a retreat. I want to wake up and the sun’s coming in. It’s a quiet place for me and the dogs to just calm down after being busy on the go.”

As the seasons change and holidays approach, Alexander said she enjoys decorating and styling her house and then sharing it with the community.

“I love to open up my home for open house opportunities because it does inspire others,” she said. “One of my favorite sayings is ‘Inspire. Create. Decorate.’ I do like to inspire people. I do like to create things and I do like to decorate.”

Her inspirations

A Hopkinsville native and the daughter of Charles “BI” Rogers and the late Carolyn Lamb Rogers, Alexander credits her mother for her love of styling homes and her father, sister Alison Rogers Keith and other family members for inspiring her entrepreneurial spirit.

“I come from a line of entrepreneurs and creative people,” she said. “I never realized that or tapped into that until after 40.”

Alexander’s father was the LaFayette postmaster and U.S Air Force veteran. Her mother was an interior designer by trade and showcased her talents wherever she lived.

“I grew up in a beautiful home. My mother loved interior design and that was her passion,” Alexander said. “She enjoyed entertaining. She enjoyed showing off her home.”

Alexander said her parents did an historical restoration to their house in LaFayette before her mother passed away in 2006 from a rare degenerative brain disease.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “My husband and I were actually married in that house.”

Before her mother became ill, Alexander spent a lot of time with her, observing her talent and techniques.

“My mother poured a lot of herself in me,” Alexander said. “My home is inspired by my mother. There is a piece in every room of my house that belonged to my mother.”

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Launching a business

Although Alexander has enjoyed styling her home for years, the idea to start her own business to help others began during the 2017 Christian County Salutes Fort Campbell Week.

Her home was part of the Tour of Homes for officers’ spouses. Alexander said some guests asked her if she was an interior designer.

“My house was just styled for fall,” she said. “I just scratched my head and thought ‘maybe I should just put myself out there.’”

Although Alexander does not have an interior design degree, she has a flair for decorating like her mother. At the time, she styled homes for friends and family for free.

“That sparked the whole Embellish Your Home Designs,” Alexander said. “I channeled my mother and did some designs.

“It is a hobby. It has been for years, but I’m really trying to pivot my hobby into a business where I can be able to earn an income and work for myself and grow that business.”

The business name has its own origin.

“Embellish is always something that’s run true for me. I like to embellish other people’s stuff because I can’t just do mine,” Alexander laughed. “I’ve doodled the word embellish on my desk for many years. That’s kind of what I do — I tie a bow on stuff or stick a flower in it or throw a pillow. You give me a blank canvas or a blank table … I just like embellishments.”

Inspire. Create. Decorate.

Through Embellish, Alexander helps her clients to transform their houses into a “beautifully-designed home that they love and never want to leave it.”

“I want you to love your home as much as we love ours,” she said.

During consultations, Alexander asks clients what they want from her from creating artwork to rearranging furniture.

“When I do a consult with a client, I come into their home and I want to learn about them,” she said. “I want to learn what their style is. What are some favorite things that they have in their home that they love and cannot part with? I do my own interview. I take notes. I want to take pictures of their space. I want to know what their favorite colors are.”

Alexander said she probably does more color consulting work than any other.

“People struggle with picking paint colors. They don’t want to commit,” she said.

Sometimes the answers to a home makeover could be on a client’s bookshelf or attic, Alexander said, noting she likes to repurpose items for tablescapes and decorating.

“A lot of times clients don’t have to buy anything. They don’t realize what they already have to work with. I tell people first to shop their house. You would be surprised what you already have under your own roof,” she said.

“If you really love this one vase, this one platter, this one photo, I like to create spaces for people to enjoy their loved items and their cherished items, the family heirlooms.”

Alexander said she enjoys going into people’s homes and rearranging items and furniture they already have and “letting them see the true potential that their home has.”

Future growth

A mortgage banker for Stockton Mortgage, Alexander understands the importance of finding a house to live in and making it a home.

“I feel like I can help you buy your home and help you decorate it too,” she said. “It’s kind of a two for one deal.”

Alexander said the coronavirus pandemic has opened doors for her business because people have been forced to stay home more because of the lockdown.

“People are sitting there looking at their four walls and they hate them,” she said. “They want to paint. They want to redecorate, but they don’t know how to do it.”

For people needing help, Alexander said Embellish Your Home Designs may be their answer. She has a healthy presence on Facebook and Instagram. Potential clients may reach her there.

“Things are happening and people are noticing and people are reaching out to me — even in Hopkinsville and in Bowling Green and in Elkton,” she said.

Alexander said her design business has opened up some opportunities with local realtors to help stage some homes for open houses.

“It has helped me work on those networking relationships,” she said.

Eventually, Alexander wants to market her own line of Embellish home interior products.

“I want to be able to curate items for Embellish,” she said. “Then, show people how to style my home interior line and share that with everyone.”

Alexander said pursuing her dreams is a mission for her future.

“My mother would want me to take Embellish into every home and share it with everybody,” Alexander said.

“There’s too much the world needs of me. God has gifted me with talents that I need to share with others. I need to bless others. That’s what I’ve got to do.”