In need of a serious home-makeover, self-conscious bachelor Lorenzo Guzman decided to reach out to Instagram famous interior designer and decorator Galey Alix .
Stuck in a rut of home design, Guzman had gotten so sick of his current underwhelming apartment that he decided to hand Alix complete reigns.
Telling her to “do whatever you feel is right, I trust you”, Guzman handed her his credit card and keys, then left for the weekend. (Ah!)
Galey Alix eagerly jumped to the challenge.
Completely thrilled by the challenge, Galey Alix accepted. Nervous over his blind trust and wanting nothing more than to wow him upon his return, Alix decided to make this her best apartment yet.
Grabbing her supplies and lugging them up all 35 floors of his high-rise building, she immediately went to work.
Clearing out his old things, she started with a completely blank slate.
Starting with the tedious task of decluttering, sorting, and organizing, Alix took everything off the shelves and away from the walls, starting with a completely blank slate.
Wanting to push herself and go for a completely new look, Alix planned out a design that felt sophisticated, masculine and refined, pulling away from her usual soft style.
Then, the tough design work began.
Aiming for rich tones with an industrial flair, she stripped the walls, added custom framing, accents, paint, tiling, and more, then finished it off with bold furniture and decor.
Placing his clothes and belongings back in their new homes, her whole design focused on bringing more storage and space to a small one-bedroom home.
From college dorm to sophisticated adult man.
Working with a college dorm-like bathroom, her redesign completely transformed the space into a place worthy of a sophisticated adult man.
Swapping the old countertop and vanity for a newer, bolder unit, she painted the walls a warm olive-gray, accenting everything with black, white, and black decor.
A drab kitchen to drool-worthy haven.
Giving Guzman the extra storage he desperately needed (he had been storing all of his pots and pans inside his oven for lack of space) she bought him a gorgeous butcher’s block island for the kitchen.
Doing away with the old tile backsplash, Alix brought the new backsplash all the way up to the ceiling for a more modern appearance, helping to make the space feel taller and more airy.
A magazine-ready bedroom transformation.
In the bedroom, the plain, underwhelming room got a radical facelift. Building and painting custom framing onto the wall behind the bed, the dark feature piece adds height and maturity where before there was none.
Decorated and styled with absolute care, the room looks like an image out of a magazine.
After tireless effort, Alix was finally ready for the reveal.
Working extremely hard over the weekend Guzman was away (admittedly getting very little sleep and taking almost a year off her life), she was finally ready for his arrival.
Leading him into his home with closed eyes, Alix nervously waited to see Guzman’s reaction.
Guzman’s face says it all.
Absolutely floored by the stunning changes, Guzman’s face says it all. Taken aback by the changes in every room, both he and Alix couldn’t be happier.
Well-loved by everyone in the high-rise building, Alix calls Guzman one of “the kindest, most generous & hardest working gentlemen Miami has to offer,” and is beyond thrilled to have been given the design opportunity.
Who else would hand a designer the keys to your house?
Having made a truly beautiful transformation in only a few days, you can see the full detailed process video above, as well as additional photos on Galey Alix’s Instagram account.
Would you ever be so trusting as to blindly hand a designer the keys to your house? At least in Alix and Guzman’s case, it clearly worked out.
What do you think of Alix’s design? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
