May 24—When Nina Wright wakes up in her country home in St. Clair County, she's proud of the place she's built for herself. Every morning she pours her coffee under the soft new lighting installed beneath her cabinets and watches the sun rise over her chickens.
A year ago, her kitchen was the thing that brought her the most stress about doing simple things like making her coffee, storing away her chicken eggs or making dinner.
"I was lost because this kitchen was a disaster," said Wright.
It was cramped with structures too close to one another and belongings she had collected over the years filling the to the brim of her cabinets. She decided it was time to change her feelings about her home when she reached out to Renee Lilly, who runs her own interior design company called Lilly Designs.
Wright has lived at her home in St. Clair County for 25 years. Since the moment she arrived she's been working to turn her home into a place she's happy to be. She started in the beginning with just building a deck to allow her out easily into her 22 acres of land.
To Wright, it was never an option to leave behind her property for one that might be an easier fix.
"I wanted to be in the country, you can't put me in a subdivision. You don't want a home owners association telling me what to do, I do what I want to. I'm just that free bird," said Wright.
Now, her kitchen has an entirely different feel to it. One of the changes she said she was most thankful for was developing pantry space where there had been none.
"Everything is organized and nothing is just jammed in," said Wright.
Purging all of the things that get collected over the years can be a fantastic start to making a home feel new again. Wright took many of her items to a local antique shop where she has a booth.
"I feel like I have a gift to help people beautify their interior and exterior of homes. I really enjoy working people create what their vision is," said Lilly.
People often ask her what her design is, but it's not about her style. She makes it a point to think this way because she believes it should be her client's style. Lilly isn't worried about creating a certain look for her brand, she just wants to help clients who be happy with the spaces they live in.
"I've never had anybody help me with anything. I knew I could not tackle this by myself. All I knew is that I wanted it, but I didn't know what I wanted it. I didn't know where to start," said Wright.
Now, Wright takes a lot of pride in not only her kitchen, but her entire property. She does most of the upkeep herself at the age of 73.