SPL LIVING
Kenwood Gables Bed and Breakfast PHOTOS/LISA PRESNAIL www.presnail.com
Great Room BY MARCIA BIGGS When Jayson and Reymond Lazaro dream, they dream big. With the opening of the Kenwood Gables Bed and Breakfast last fall, the couple’s dream came true. But renovating the sprawling historic Tudor Revival home became a road paved with ups and downs that continued over 3 1/2 years. After spending the year searching, the couple purchased the fivebedroom house in late 2016. Reymond spotted it for sale on the internet, its magnificent high-ceilinged Great Room with ornate carvings above the fireplace catching his eye. Jayson grew up in Pinellas County so was familiar with St. Pete, but Kenwood in those days was not a desirable neighborhood. He was amazed to see the transformation two decades later. Taking a leap of faith, the couple packed up their New York condo and headed to St. Pete to begin their new life as owners of a historic bed and breakfast. And an adventure it became. Their goal
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for the home was to create comfortable elegance, each room with its own individual character. “The home had been renovated and was turn-key ready for a family,” said Jayson, “but we needed to do a lot more renovation and restoration to bring it up to code for a bed and breakfast. I was a fashion designer in New York for the better part of 25 years. Reymond is the experienced one as far as
