My Story
They say if you want to start a business, think about what you have been busy doing for the last 5 years. Well for me that has been home relocation, home renovation and wedding planning. Voila, Projects by Debbie is born
Home Organization and Renovation
Prior to the pandemic and in anticipation of becoming empty nesters, my husband and I decided to sell our home of 30 years in Harvard, Massachusetts and our seasonal Cape Cod home of 10 years in West Barnstable. The plan was to rent in Harvard for a year while our youngest finished high school. The timing was right. We found our home in Cummaquid outside Barnstable Village, north of 6A, in a beautiful neighborhood with room for my Dad to live with us but it needed a complete structural gut job. The house had been vacant for 2 years and hadn’t been updated in over 20 years. Luckily, I was employed at the time at Maugel Architects and had full access to architects, drafters, interior designers and suppliers for tile, windows and plumbing supplies. Thankfully we began renovations prior to the Covid outbreak and were able to complete 80% of our project. The two unrenovated areas are the kitchen which wasn’t in horrible shape and the primary bedroom/bath. During all the purging, selling, moving, organizing, designing, renovating, etc…
I realized I absolutely love the process and the work. My background is in project management and accounting so spreadsheets, timelines and budgets are easy for me and my idea of fun. Five years later I have all the vendor relationships in place and we have just begun our kitchen renovation and I am having so much fun. It is going to be beachy and gorgeous. It got me thinking maybe I could help others with home projects that they’ve been meaning to get to but don’t know where to start or don’t have the time or are only on Cape seasonally and would love to have someone else run the project for them
Event Planning
Anyone who knows me knows I love to bring people together and plan gatherings. My nickname since college has been Julie McCoy because I’m always planning dinner parties, game nights, potluck dinners, neighborhood get togethers, holiday gatherings, clambakes etc…
In August of 2021 our oldest daughter got engaged. I was now tasked with planning the biggest of parties, my daughter’s wedding with a 200 person guest list. It was a personal, elegant, fun celebration surrounded by the people we love. It was also the weekend of Hurricane Lee which couldn’t seem to make up its mind on how or if it was going to hit the Cape. Our venue at the time didn’t have a generator. Our venue was on the water. The ceremony was supposed to be on the beach. Even the best laid plans have to have backup plans. Issues will crop up but we had the best team to problem solve and the wedding went off without a hitch and my daughter and son-in-law had the wedding weekend of their dreams. I learned a lot planning her wedding, I established relationships with vendors and venues. I also realized I love planning weddings and maybe I could help others have the wedding of their dreams or the clambake or the celebration of life or the anniversary party.