I remember when I was first looking at Duluth as a place to move for college. Being tired of my job and wanting something new I decided to go back to school, and remembering how much I loved Duluth; I started checking out colleges. Having found a program and school, my next task was to find a place to live. I was not prepared for the daunting task that would ensue.

My girlfriend and I would end up taking many trips up here, sleeping in our van to save money, and scouring newspapers, websites, and hitting the streets to try and find an affordable place to call our own for a few years. Finding a balance between affordable and livable seemed almost impossible. Some of the affordable options we went and viewed still haunt my nightmares to this day. Many beautiful apartments in nice areas were well out of the reach of a person going back to school full time.

Eventually, we found something. It wasn’t grand or opulent, but at least it wasn’t making my bank account cry. We stayed there for a few years, but the consistency of the police being called to our neighbors for domestic disputes, and the couple of shootings just down the block; it was time for a change, and that horrifying and daunting task of finding a place again.

We ended up finding what seemed like a quaint apartment with a very nice view of the lake. But after moving in we started to see all the things you should be noticing when you first inspect the apartment. My girlfriend told me we had rose-colored glasses on, and looking back on the photos we took when we first moved in I wonder if we didn’t have blindfolds on.

Since then she has turned a dirty, problematic apartment, with a nice view into a home with a nice view. She is very passionate about design, color, and giving re-purposed items new life and meaning. She recently entered our apartment into a contest on Apartment Therapy, and has received many great comments and feedback, but I knew if anyone could appreciate it best it would be fellow Duluthian apartment and home owners. Please stop by and take a look at her blog to see the before and after photos, view her other projects, to leave comments and feedback, to ask questions, and to be inspired and likewise inspire her. If you would like to support a fellow Duluthian please visit her contest entry and add it to favorites and share it with other people who you think would appreciate it.

I moved up here with little hope of finding not just a place to live in, but a place I could call home. She has made our apartment into just that, and I hope her passion and talent can inspire others who either call, or are thinking of calling Duluth home.