We were so proud to have our work featured in this beautiful magazine. Check out the article online.
Experiencing a hurricane is eye-opening and has a way of refocusing your life right before your eyes. When you live in the Caribbean you know that hurricanes are a factor. And in fact, every year we do”the drill” at least once. All the porch furniture comes in, shutters up, supplies purchased etc. It sucks days out of your life to do and undo the preparations and for many years now we have grown very comfortable doing the drill and then the storm passes and for the most part it’s not a big deal. Hurricane Irma was different. At first we said, “it’s going to go north, it’ll turn”. Then she still didn’t turn, so we started buying plywood for more shutters, just in case, and complaining about the cost. By Labor Day it became obvious that the storm would be major and we began bagging all our irreplaceable items in double Hefty trash bags. There is nothing like spending the day with your kid going through all your worldly possessions deciding what’s worthy of Hefty and what’s not to really make you focus on what is valuable in your world. In go the the baby books and wedding albums. Other novels and various items are left on the shelf…
Irma didn’t turn north, she barreled over the top of our beautiful island like the big bad wolf and destroyed homes, businesses and all that our community finds familiar in one fell swoop. Overwhelmed doesn’t begin to describe what the next morning felt like; there are simply no words to waking up and knowing that it’s not possible that people were not killed. The day after the storm was heartbreaking to see people walking down the road, looking, crying and wondering where to go or where their loved ones ended up. We were among the lucky ones, our family is fine; we are together, healthy, well cared for by friends and extended family. Our home is also ok, unbelievably fine. Our business was another story but that too will sort out and be OK again. We did not lose everything like many people we know did.
In the end, writing this now a little more than a month after Irma I can say that recovery will be a long process. We will be many months without power and good cell service and Wifi and all of those things that make modern life convenient and easy. Every day we have new challenges to solve but we solve them together, as a family and as a community. It is the “together” part that makes the experience cathartic. That is the value in this experience. We have been shaken out of our usual comfortable social circles. There are new, wonderful people in our lives; some we love have left, but we hope to see them again in better times. There is one hill in our neighborhood where we walk to get cell service each night as does the rest of the neighborhood. We are now talking with people every night whom we only ever exchanged a wave in the parking lot.
I’m not sure I can ever express how very thankful I am for all the friends and family who took care of us during and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. It’s a new spirit of sharing in this time. Without calling them all out by name here I can say there is a special bond with people you spend hours in with in a windowless room playing the game called “What do you think that noise was?!” For the friends that got Megan and I over to Puerto Rico when we were so shellshocked, I am so grateful. For the overwhelming spirit in the community of reunion I am so grateful. We gave Megan (who is 13 and was born here on St. Thomas) the option to opt out and go to the states for the first half of the school year where life would be “normal” and she refused. She feels strongly that she needs to be an active part of the community and participate in the recovery, and that is the spirit that I see so much of around me. It will be a long road but we are a strong community and will rebuild better than ever. There are many meanings to being an island girl, some days it’s BBQ on the beach and others it’s scooping out the crab that washed into your shop with the tide… we’ll take it all.
This past May 2, the annual Stylish Spaces of the Year Awards were held, launched by Virgin Islands Property & Yacht. These awards began in 2015 as a prestigious competition to find, showcase and celebrate the Territory’s most beautiful single residential and commercial spaces.
I am thrilled to announce Lagnappe Custom Interiors won “Most Creative Space” for our Gull Reef project! We were the only U.S. Virgin Island winner amongst British Virgin Island stars. Harney’s sponsored us at the event and loved the work we had done. Johann Henry and Tatenda Gotosa of Harney’s commented, “We were asked to review the entries for most creative use of space and for best expression of creativity. All entries were excellent, but we were bowled over by the stark expression of creativity in the winning entrant’s use of color. The artwork seamlessly incorporated the existing architectural features of the space, framing the kitchen window, elevating this entry head and shoulders above the others.”
I am honored to be included among this year’s winners in stylish spaces. All of the entries were truly inspiring! There is so much creative talent here in the Virgin Islands and so many lovely homes; it was a pleasure to have an opportunity to travel to Tortola to meet new people and participate in the awards reception. I thank our sponsor Harneys for their support of the contest and enthusiasm for my design.
“Stylish Spaces of the Year shines a spotlight on some of the most beautiful homes, situated in breath-taking locations across the Virgin Islands,” said Sjoerd Koster, General Manager of Client Business at VP Bank. “We have shared some of these unique architectural designs, looking to encourage domestic as well as foreign investors to consider investing in the Virgin Islands. Whether buying a home or designing and building your own stylish spaces, we hope this competition will inspire readers to discover our islands and to create their own exclusive and unique homes as a source of unforgettable moments.”
Owning a property in the Virgin Islands requires many different areas of expertise ranging through advice on finance, wealth management, legal advice, project management and guidance with interior design. VIPY Stylish Spaces of the Year brings together a team at the forefront of these surrounding industries to lead the charge in revealing some of the hidden gems of the real estate market.
Thank you to everyone who supported us! I had such a blast at the event; thank you to Lauren for going with me, and to Don Hebert for taking such wonderful photographs. Lagnappe looks forward to next year’s award and will continue to work to create beautiful and inspiring homes!
About Lagnappe Custom Interiors:
Lagnappe Custom Interiors is a full-service interior design firm specializing in bringing the small niceties to a home or commercial space that make it memorable, functional and yours. Based out of St. Thomas, Lagnappe [LAN-YAP] is led by Tiffany Cassidy who enjoys working with clients to create a home that reflects their style and needs. Tiffany marries her artistic and scientific sides together to bring the residents of the Virgin Islands and continental U.S. an interior decorating service that manages the complex and turns it into beauty. Her goal is to not only make a home prettier, but in doing so, make your life better. Visit www.Lagnappe.com for more information.
It was so fun to be featured on an episode of HGTV’s ‘Beachfront Bargain Hunt’. We had a great time and wanted to share our great experience!
Lagnappe Custom Interiors flew to the International Window Covering Expo in Las Vegas to accept an industry award for her design of a condo in St. Thomas. Here’s an excerpt of the interview she gave the international trade group.
A new homeowner was in the final stages of a total renovation when he contacted Tiffany Cassidy. The home, which sleeps 14, would be a place for friends and family to gather together and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean water and beaches. ”The request was to help complete the great room—keep it casual, comfortable and simple,” said Cassidy. “Then he added a couple more points: Make sure to include plenty of seating, but there also needs to be open space for the kids to play, people to set down their beach bags, etc. And whatever you do, don’t cover the view!”
When Cassidy took a look, she realized there were several issues: Coral stone columns were oddly placed along the window wall, and low-profile air conditioning units had been installed over some of the windows. So that meant any type of cornice or top treatment to frame the windows was out of the question. Other givens included the pale yellow wall and the large blue sectional sofa.
“I’ve always loved the classic combination of blue, white, and yellow,” said Cassidy. “And with that in mind, these classic Waverly patterns
seemed to be a perfect fit.” Because she couldn’t visually lengthen the windows with a top treatment, Cassidy used the stripe to add a bit of vertical interest, and accented the ring-hung stationary panels with a cuff in the coordinating coral pattern. She also suggested that an arm chair and ottoman be upholstered in the same print in order to break up an ocean of blue upholstery. With the small pieces that were left over she created a couple of throw pillows for the sectional.
“Design is a bit of a balancing act between asthetic appeal, function and budget,” said Cassidy. ”The client was coming to the end of long renovation, so the bottom line for this aspect was a concern, but we all agreed that the results perfectly fulfilled all my client’s requests, and then some!”
Lagnappe Custom Interiors flew to the International Window Covering Expo in Las Vegas to accept an industry award for her design of a condo in St. Thomas. Here’s an excerpt of the interview she gave the international trade group.
A new homeowner was in the final stages of a total renovation when he contacted Tiffany Cassidy. The home, which sleeps 14, would be a place for friends and family to gather together and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean water and beaches. ”The request was to help complete the great room—keep it casual, comfortable and simple,” said Cassidy. “Then he added a couple more points: Make sure to include plenty of seating, but there also needs to be open space for the kids to play, people to set down their beach bags, etc. And whatever you do, don’t cover the view!”
When Cassidy took a look, she realized there were several issues: Coral stone columns were oddly placed along the window wall, and low-profile air conditioning units had been installed over some of the windows. So that meant any type of cornice or top treatment to frame the windows was out of the question. Other givens included the pale yellow wall and the large blue sectional sofa.
“I’ve always loved the classic combination of blue, white, and yellow,” said Cassidy. “And with that in mind, these classic Waverly patterns seemed to be a perfect fit.” Because she couldn’t visually lengthen the windows with a top treatment, Cassidy used the stripe to add a bit of vertical interest, and accented the ring-hung stationary panels with a cuff in the coordinating coral pattern. She also suggested that an arm chair and ottoman be upholstered in the same print in order to break up an ocean of blue upholstery. With the small pieces that were left over she created a couple of throw pillows for the sectional.
“Design is a bit of a balancing act between asthetic appeal, function and budget,” said Cassidy. ”The client was coming to the end of long renovation, so the bottom line for this aspect was a concern, but we all agreed that the results perfectly fulfilled all my client’s requests, and then some!”
