June 21, 2025 • 48 mins
Full show from the Donovan & Jorgenson Heating & Cooling Studio: Saturday, June 21st, 2025
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into the Creative Construction of Wisconsin home improvement show
on Fox Sports ninet twenty in your iHeartRadio app Coming
live from the Donovant and Jorgansen Heating and Cooling Studios.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We got we got to race the heating.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
We got to get those boys over in this.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Studio because the cooling. Cooling works really well. I mean,
if this was like if this is you can see
I actually had to put a sweatshirt on. It was freezing.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah. And and our producer Spencer's got long sleeves. He
knew because Jeff Rolowski called him to get him the
heads up it's really cold in studio. But he forgot
to let us know the fact that our special guest
is here in a swimsuit and and like a beach child.
I think is not great.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
No, no, well it wouldn't be great no matter how
much he is.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Bob Sebastian Again, Bob Sebastian. I've known him a long
time Sebastian Design. Looking forward to talking to him about
a number of different things in certainly in the design world.
Coming live from the Donovan Organs and Heating College Studios.
Any issues you're having, Yeah, you're gonna have to. If
you haven't turned on that that air conditioner yet, you're
(01:07):
gonna have to this weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Just like we worn every week. Check out your air
conditioning ahead of time, before you need it. And if
the studio would.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Have right and the studio is not, and maybe it has.
Spencer likes it cold in here. He uh, well I
got here before he did and it wasn't and now
it's freezing.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'm thinking about in a couple of hours. I wanna
wish I had this because I'm on the racetrack of
a Badgeric car club this weekend and it's gonna be
really toasty out there. Assistant, well, actually actually got it.
Guess guess who My assistants are Aaron and And we
recruited Aaron's dad to help me out with this because
any corner workers, he needs stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
There's a short.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Staff this weekend, so all the way I got recruited.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Man, good for you. Yeah, I know that if you
needed somebody, I'm there for you. Oh yeah, no, I'm
not coming you a race car guy.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Hey, I just want to I just want to mention
that these races are live stream so you can watch them.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Oh yeah, I've got it all set up. I'm not.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, then you got my sister's up at the DO
and Old Road Americas this weekend you could be watching
that and NASCAR. You could just stay home and watch
races all weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Just racing up there. Guy from uh Faith in the Zone. Yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Know stingy Rob, I thought you just no Sting.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, I call him Sting. I call him that, yeah,
or sr you know, we're tight. We're best at Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
We actually have you ever ever see he always has
like really in a fan appreciation zone. He always do
the thing there. You know. He's a religious guy, so
we like him.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
He's got a good strike.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
But he's not out there one of those guys, those
guys you know, you know, pounding a Bible and they're
that guy with the station with stickers on it. Not
one of those guys. No, he's a very he's a
very classy guy.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
But I'll tell you with with Faith in the Zone,
and we talked about that part and he said, look,
I I I feel as though instead of hitting anybody
over the head with the Bible if they want to
have the conversation with me, but if you look at
my car, you know where I am you know how
where I am in my life. And he was a
really good guest on Faith in the Zone and I
(03:02):
don't actually know him personally, but you know, spent an
hour with him.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah there you go home.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, yeah, really sharp young man. Hey Bob, how is
business over at Sebastian Design. You guys doing all right?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, we're doing great. It is a great mix of
different kinds of projects, different kinds of clients, contractors, homeowners,
and it just keeps going.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
It's awesome. I had a chance yesterday on our way
home from our week vacation with our six grandkids. First
of all, we didn't turn the radio on or anything
for a while, my wife and I because the quietness
in the car was awesome. It was so fun. It
really was fun. But we stopped my sister, Marine has
(03:45):
a place up in She has a cabin on the
Chain of Lakes and Wapaka and they're redoing the whole thing.
And it turned out on the way home she was
there with her interior designer and we got a chance
to stop by. And I got a chance to talk
this woman who's been in your industry up in that
area for like forty years, and I got a chance
(04:06):
to ask her a whole bunch of questions and then
told her that you were coming in today, and she goes,
is there a way I can listen? So she's listening
right now, And I asked her, Look, when somebody says
to you, can I afford to have an interior design person?
She said, look, I tell them it's going to save
(04:28):
your money in the long run. And here's how. And
she had a number of different examples of Look, if
you tried to do this on your own, and you
do it this way, but now you want to change,
she said, Look by starting with people in my industry
and understanding that we're here to work for you, and
(04:48):
we're going to make your project your dream project, and
we can do it by doing it this way. If
you try to do it on your own, about seventy
percent of the time there is some issue. Is that
if you would have had.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's more than seventy percent, because I do you know
what happens they see something on on one of those
websites or something they want to copy that I get
my classic one here, and this costs this contractor a
lot of money. Is they were kind of doing their
own things, so they saw the cabinets, so they're like, well,
I want the top cabinets to come out as far
as the bottom cabinets.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Right, yes, and that's kind of a joke, and they're
demanding on it.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Do you know how horrible that was? How expensive that was?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah? That's uh. People go, oh, well, I'll get that
extra storage. But first of all, being an upper cabinet,
it's kind of useless because you can't reach back there
and it doesn't allow you to You have to stand
straight up in front of your counters and you can't
see anyone.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
But a simple one year, one year designer student would
have said that's a bad idea.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, absolutely, Hey do you get that question? A lot
the the expense of having an interior designer, and people
are obviously you're hoping to cut costs at times. But
when she had talked about, look, there's a lot of
people that save money because of what we do. Because
(06:15):
you have this vision of you can hear from somebody
again like Bingo just talked about I want this, and U,
as an interior designer, go, look that's a bad idea.
It's going to cost you extra money. And here's why.
For people that try to do this on their own.
I've got to believe that that you get more phone
calls from people going, Okay, this is a bad idea.
(06:36):
Can we get your help. If they had brought you
into the beginning at the end of it, it actually
saves them money.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Usually it does. Most people don't have I mean there's
so many variables, especially in interior design, with scale, positioning, colors,
you got so many moving pieces going on that you
see something on HGTV or on a website.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Favorite is when you bring a picture of Pinterest. I
want this. Okay, this will look looks great on this
photoshop picture, right, but it won't look like won't like
your house?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, and you know I don't. You don't have those
kinds of windows, so you're not gonna have that much
light in your room. You don't have that big of
an opening into the room, so that couch is going
to block your way in and out. So ultimately, a
professional will be able to help you curate your ideas,
get you the feelings you want, but not the exact
(07:32):
replica because that's just not going to work. Hey.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
The the difference between working with the designer versus directly
with a contractor do you get that question quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, It's it's funny because I actually came from the
contractor side of the equation. Originally, I worked with contractors
or for contractors in their designs. You get more freedom
working with an independent designer because you can then take
your ideas and plans and chop them around if you
(08:06):
want to. You can make changes that the builder might
not be used to doing something a certain way and
they'll want you to do it differently to suit their needs,
while your designer can go to bat for you on
something like that as well. So it gives you more freedom.
But from the other side, contractors are kind of a
(08:28):
little dubious sometimes when someone brings in their own architect
or designer, because they have no idea what kind of
experience they have. I have in the past dealt with
clients who brought in plans from architects licensed architects, and
they had absolutely no idea what the real costs of
their project were going to be because the architect had
(08:51):
no idea what the real cost of a project was
going to be. So it's one of the benefits with
me is I used to work in the industry directly
with contractors. I have a better idea of cost, so
I can help my clients kind of focus their money.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
You know, I like the fact that that's your background
because I think that sets you apart from me. Do
you know a lot of designers that came from that background?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Not necessarily. I mean in our area, we're lucky that
we have design build firms and most of them have
really talented designers. But again, you're limited when you're working
with that contractor that's your designer and they don't. You
(09:35):
don't have a lot of freedom with that. That's all
you get. Whereas if you work with your own designer,
you can go to different contractors and see who suits
you best. Because it's not just the nails and wood,
it's the whole overall atmosphere, communication, et cetera. So you
can use that information to choose the contractor you feel
(09:57):
suits you best.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Hey, if somebody asks you, you know, you're having a cup
of coffee and somebody here's at the table next to
you that what you do for a living at Sebastian
Design and they're interviewing interior designers to work with them.
Are there things that you think people need to ask
people in your industry when they're doing that interview process
(10:22):
to field whether we have the same kind of mindset,
whether we look at things the same. I'm going to
interview two, three, maybe four interior designers to see if
we have that relationship that because we're going to work
together a lot on this project. Are there questions that
you think people need to be asking other designers?
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Well, sure, I mean obviously there's the basics. How long
have you been doing this? What types of projects have
you done? Have you worked on similar things? But really,
and let me see some of your work. But that's
always a dangerous thing in design, whether it's interior design
and remodeling, because you are working one hundred percent custom
(11:05):
for a client. So someone you're talking to someone who's
interviewing you may not like what that person liked, but
I accomplished what they wanted.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, I can tell you exactly he's talking about. People said,
do you have any samples around here as well? I
worked on athouse at house. I can point usually around
the neighborhood and he goes, well, I don't like that texture.
I didn't care. That's not what I'm saying. We get
that texture you want, right, That's what they picked out. Well,
I don't like that color either, ok, that's what they wanted. Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
The other part is if I'm redoing our master bath
and I'm interviewing an interior designer and they're showing me
all pictures of you know, this man cave they did
in the basement or the living room or the bedroom,
but in their portfolio they don't have any completed master baths.
Well that would be for me. I'd be like, this
(11:55):
is the space that I want I'm working in. Can
you show me pictures or examples of that space? And
if they don't have any, I would move on. Correct.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Well, bathrooms are tough because bathrooms are hard to photograph
because they're so small. So they should have photographs of bathrooms,
but they may not be the glamorous photographs.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Trust you, why would you You don't don't get I
shared with you. Yeah, I thought you deleted that way.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, but that's a ringtone.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
He that is your bring. I agree with with you
on that because it's hard. It's hard in that space.
And so let's move to the kitchen. If they don't
have completed kitchen.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Well let's go go back their bathrooms. Some of the
big expense on bathrooms. It's like, I'd like to put
my bathroom on this side of the room. Do you
know what the plumbing costs to move all that stuff is?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, it's I mean there's if they're looking for a
luxury space, will say, uh, yeah, they that designer should
have some experience. Uh. But it goes beyond just the
talent and the physical aspects of it. You really, on
your interview, you start to get the feel of whether
(13:09):
you gel with that designer, whether they seem to understand
what it is you're looking for. And ultimately, I think
it's incredibly important for the designer to visit the homeowner
in their home. Anyone who doesn't say that's necessary not
to look at the space specifically, just to look at
their whole house and the way they live and and
(13:31):
you know, getting cues from photographs and so on. That
just will give you a start of a sense of
how to create the space for these potential clients.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Yeah. I think you learn a lot about walking, you know,
the sidewalk into the curb appeal.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
How I will not I don't care what it is
last or patch. We do not do any patches. I
don't do anything by photographs only because it's it's it's
you never know. Whenever you say that, I'll say, oh,
Edentum was on a third floor.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Right right right?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, think changes things?
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah, I love that, Hey, Bob. Business wise, you started
Sebastian Design. How long you go?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Actually, it's been. It's been a journey. I had. I
had my own company back in the nineties, and then
quite frankly, I hated the business side of it. I
just wasn't very good at it. So I started working
for contractors and I felt that I could grow by
getting the knowledge of working with people in the field directly,
getting their input on, you know, making my designs more
(14:36):
realizable and buildable. And then I restarted my firm about
five years ago, so I've been on my own again
for about five years.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
The difference between you when you started it years ago
to then starting again five years the difference between you
as a businessman and the designer is it night and day.
Did you learn a lot throughout that journey until you know,
when you started Sebastian's Design again five years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I learned a huge amount bet both in terms of
the design aspects of it, but that you just as
a good designer. You do that naturally over the years.
You're always looking, you're always learning, you're always seeing things.
But finding that connection to the men and women in
the field who do these things that I create, that
(15:31):
was hugely important and beneficial for me to understand. And
then the business part of it, quite frankly, Quick Books
and you know that kind of made it all different.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, I know, trust me. Yeah, the McGivern agency we
started a couple of years ago, and that was the
part I was most fearful. And QuickBooks and having somebody
in that space is very comfortable to help me has
been invaluable. Hey do you work with more homeowners or
do you do you get contractors that say, hey, you
(16:04):
need to work with a designer.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
I mean, yeah, he works for homeowners and stuff direct,
But I mean, okay, everyone's why I work in munis valleys.
I won't pin them out. But just like we need
a we need a picture, we need a drawing, right right,
we have somebody just wants to put up two columns
in the dryway right right, or need that or one
time we do them while we're doing a driveway with
the set and those guys right, and he says we
need an approach. So I got to who do I
(16:26):
get the draw? That's what you know? I mean, because
do you want to see a draw? And he wants
someone to do something, So he goes all the ruler,
finds the boundary lines, he does all the stuff to
make the city happy. So I give it permit.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, so that that part of it.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
But you know that's the part like we use them
for it.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
He actually designs full blown stuff and sometimes you just
need a drawing.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
And so you work on both sides. You you have
homeowners that call you, and then you have contractors that
that say, listen, I'm working on this and I need
your expertise and your skill selling exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So there are contractors who don't have a designer on staff,
so I am in essence there or one of their designers. So,
whether it's a remodeling project in addition, even a new home,
a new custom home, I work directly with contractors. I
also kind of hybrid it. The contractor will be working
(17:18):
with the client. They say we need to get a
design for this, go to Bob. So I'm working officially
for the client, but it's the contractor. So it's that
triangle of the three of us that are making that
project come to life. And then I work directly with
homeowners who come to me, either for referrals or whatever.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Hey, last time, forget your break. You and I were
on the whole at the Nary golfounding together and I
was the pro and everybody, you know, anybody knows Mike
golf swing knows that's not the case. And we did
pretty well. Yeah, and then the next year, deb Bingo's
wife came in and the difference between how you presented
(18:02):
what they needed to do for the five dollars that
they were donated to the foundation and how deb did
it was night and day. You were very kind of
so spoken and said, well, if you want to do this,
Depth said, give me five dollars. Don't be cheap, give
me five dollars. And I'm telling you. And then she
would say, because we're on the same team, she would say,
he's horrible. You're gonna beat his shot, so just give
(18:25):
me the five bucks. And I'm telling you. I laughed.
I said, Debb, you're not supposed to tell people. She goes, well,
I'm honest, you're horrible. I know, she goes. So they're
gonna beat your shots, so they might as well give
me the five bucks so we can raise as much
money as possible. But the way you guys approached it
were totally different. I can tell you that.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, nobody got by without paying five bucks.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
No, they paid the five and if this guy wouldn't
pay five, she'd go to the next guy and go
give me ten. Yeah, and deb was unbelievable. I watched
her as she just she just was like, no, No, you're
going to do this because we're raised money for good cause.
Plus he's horrible and you're gonna beat him. Thank you
for never saying that. I know you thought about it
because I kept losing balls in the water there, But
(19:09):
I appreciate it. And those were really fun days. He's
Bob Sebastian from Sebastian Design and here's our special guest
in studio for the entire hour, we'll get to a
break out. This side of the breakout, a number of
questions to ask him. This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin
Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty and your
iHeart Radio app. Welcome back to the Creative Construction Wisconsin
(19:32):
Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty in your
iHeartRadio app coming live from the Donovan and Jorganson Heating
and Cooling Studios, largest employee owned HVAC company in the
state of Wisconsin. Go to Donovanjorganson dot com. I'm Mike
McGivern alongside Bengo Emmons. He's the owner of Creative Construction
of Wisconsin and our special guest in studio. It's good
(19:54):
to see him again. He's just one of the good
guys in this industry. He's Bob Sebastian.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, you remember in the old back when this is
an airy show. You a long time ago, remember who
took the who the more shoals?
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Was that between me and yeah? Back in the days
all the time?
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, he was. He was the co host on that show.
He is the owner of Sebastian Design. They are located
in Wawa and I could give you all of the
you know m c R and.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
C R speaking of all last about do you know
that I'm an m CR Right? Do you know what
my teacher was? Barely?
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You didn't know you at one? A star right, I
got a star Wars. I got the star because I.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
You know, belly like Star Belly there it is.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, did you tell him how you cheated in that
final test? Yeah, the ear piece in and Dev was
giving him all the answers.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
In fact, we didn't have the same technology as they
got now.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
No, probably not.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
No, there are questions about whether you could bring a
calculator in.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, we're still talking about you know, cacolate had red
numbers on them.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, this is a while ago.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, the nuns never let me bring those in over
at Mesmer High School. Hey, what type of projects are
you seeing most nowadays?
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Oh? Well, you know, I'm surprised by the number of
whole house remodels that I'm working on, adding complete second
floors to homes, large scale additions along with rearranging the
existing home. Still do a good number of kitchens, bathrooms.
(21:35):
I've been working on a number of lake homes, custom
homes for waterfront property. So it's you know, people talk
about the economy, but I'm not seeing it.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Hey, the whole home model And when you said, look,
that's what I'm surprised. What does that tell you about
your industry? Deady? For me, I'm thinking people love their neighborhood,
love their schools, and they don't.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Want it's actually cheaper to remodel your house and is
to build a new one, right.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Now, Well, I mean that's yeah. You you look at
your home. You you normally you chose the home for
a number of reasons. However, many years ago it was
the location, or the relationship to schools, whatever it might be.
So just like in real estate, location, location, location, So
(22:27):
that's the main driver for most people when they're remodeling
their home. But now, if you want to build a home,
it's crazy expensive for a piece of land, crazy expensive
to improve that piece of land, and then you have
to drive to wherever that piece of land is going
to be. It ain't going to be in Wawatosa or
shorewood or cut a hay.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And so they build them differently. They get intact fees
and here see how they build them. They actually build
a house and they put the dirt up to it
because you can't foundations can't be blow ground bl on
ground level of water anymore.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah, they're a lot of different rules. The when you
walk into a new home, don't look at the finishes.
Get a feel for the space, and you will feel
differently than when you walk into an equally as luxurious
(23:23):
or or not luxurious home that was built one hundred
years ago or eighty years ago, because they're that's that's
a huge part of it, because when I walk into
a new home, even some high end luxury homes, you
don't get that sense of stability and security and massiveness
(23:48):
in terms of the materials. The materials are beautiful, and
they're well designed, and they're great rooms and so on
and so forth, but you just don't have that feel
of substance and when you walk into an older home.
And I think that that is one of the challenges
of working and remodeling, but it's also one of the
(24:10):
biggest satisfactions is that I can enhance that. I don't
want to change it. I don't want to get rid
of it. I just want to enhance it with whatever
I do for my clients.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Hey, with when people want to hire an interior designer,
and if they're going to hire or talk to you
and be higher Sebastian Design, what can they expect from
working with Sebastian Design From I'm sure lighting designs and
(24:39):
color selections, things like that, what else can they expect
when they work with you on their project?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
So most people approach me for the more of the
nuts and bolts aspect first, so maybe it's rearranged like
a kitchen or a bathroom, arranging it and enlarging it,
et cetera. And then the conversation moves on to the colors,
(25:09):
the furnishings, the accessories, lighting and accessories like the knobs
and all of that kind of thing. So you get
as much or as little as you want from me,
and we determine that upfront, and then the client and
(25:34):
I just start the discussion and go from there. So
I mean, I have a very clear and concise design agreement.
I think that's very important for both clients and the
designer really that people know what to expect. I think
anybody who goes into any kind of project without a
clear contract is taking a big risk.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I agree with that as you do Bingo, because you're
shaking your head yes, and you know how important that is,
especially in today's age, because you you want expectations. Let's
set expectations. How much time you're going to get with me?
How much time do you want with me? Do you
want I mean, do you want me picking out those
knops right? Or do you want to be part of
(26:21):
that process? Because that was And I've told this story
one hundred times when all I had to do was
pick the hardware for cabinets we were putting in our
home on eighty eighth, and it put me in the
fetal position. Bob, there's too many options. I'm irish. Our
final decision is maybe on everything, and we walk into
a big box store and there's four thousand options. I
(26:43):
want three, Give me three and I'll pick one.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Well, in this business, everything is based on relationships. You
have to trust the pre people are doing it. So
if you get a good relationship with a good designer,
then you can trust them. He goes, what do you think?
And he said, ask because that's what you know my
wife clearly, I mean, I have no saying anything yet.
And then you know, well you got to see what
she says. And then Jill will like, what do you think?
And she does this. She does that all the time.
You know, she'll talk to where we're you know, where
(27:06):
we was doing this stuff.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
We had Daniel from Baby Shade and Plind out to
our house on eighty eighth and our condo in Pewaukee,
and both times within the first three minutes he kicked
me out. He said, I'll get to you in a minute.
But when we talk about you know, this space, in
this space until we get to your office, you're out.
And and my wife is really good in that. I mean,
(27:32):
she knows what she wants and she's got Can we
look at this and this color? And and I'm not
because everything should be kelly green, because again getting back
to the old io thing. But then when it was
turned you know my time, he said, look, you obviously
this is kind of a man cave, right. You got
a lot of sports stuff, so we're going to completely
change what we're thinking from your living room and your
(27:53):
bedroom now this is yours. So let let me give
you three recommendations. And so he knew exactly how to
work with me, and the fact that two times he
kicked me out within the first three minutes because he said, look,
I I you're just not very good at this on
the radio and goes listen, you really are very good
at that.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
But my point is is, you know, I mean, when
you you're interviewing any home designer interior, you know, make
sure you have a good relationship with them. You want
some of your confrontational with someone that says, you know
what you're too dumb. You don't know what you're doing, right,
I mean you don't you want you want someone to
get along with because you you know, it's like you
know you. I mean you're married, you marry the people
that you work with. I mean you end up. I
mean you just I mean like when we do a
(28:36):
modeling project. I did a bathroom model with them, or
we got to watch the whole baby go from the
whole bathroom go from when you know she just got pregnant.
At the very end, I mean, you get you move
in with them, right, you get to know their dating
and then you get to know their real personalities, the
real people. They're family problems. They tell you everything, but
you know everything because you become very close relationships.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Hey, a, I is obviously huge in our world right now,
and it's and it's almost like the wild wild West
a little bit right now. How much in your business
has AI kind of crept in? And is it a
good thing? Wait? I asked somebody once a long time ago,
is AI good or bad? And they said it's fire
(29:16):
good or bad? And I go both. They said, exactly,
it's both. Really, it can be used for good. It
can be used for bad in your world in the
design world, is AI do you feel like it's going
to enhance or is it going to hinder?
Speaker 3 (29:31):
It's going to enhance the ease of doing some things
for people on my side of the of the desk,
if you will. Because you can rapidly create a scene
or scenario using AI. It's a detriment for I think
(29:52):
homeowners who will trust it too much and they'll say
there was this, you know, even two or three years
ago there was Well. AI will never affect the job
of a home designer or an interior designer because it
just can't. Well. Now, there are plans online created by AI,
(30:17):
and someone seasoned enough can see that it's been created
by AI because it's not addressing certain things. And that's
ultimately what it comes down to is if you want
a form letter of a design, AI may work for you.
(30:40):
But the problem is there's no, like Bingo said, relationship
and that is where you get to that next level
of your project being just what it needs to be
for you.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
I want to talk about is an AI one, Zach,
I always listening. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Well, anyways,
they put a wall in right and it was right
in the middle of a window. It goes right to
the edge of the window. But on the plans the
window's not there. It was there. They moved the window,
but then you can't just move a window on a wall,
(31:12):
and I think that's just like consequences. So they moved
these as well. If we moved this window over, work's fine.
But the you know, the contractor we're working for, didn't
know anything about moving a window because we're just there
to bill a wall. Because you're you know, you're doing
a bathroom. You put it that stut And to this
day that stud is in the middle of the window.
What it is It made the glass black so you
can't see it, but there's a stud in the middle
of the window.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Well, I again, AI is like fire right, it's good
and and I think some of it is bad. How
important is it for people to understand at what part
of the project do we bring in Sebastian design. I
would think for you to be at the forefront, right,
don't don't bring me in two months after you've already
(31:54):
figured out what you want. You're working with a contractor
and now you want to make tweaks for them to
the first phone call to you and say, listen, we're
going to remodel that, you know, our entire home.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Though for example, I looked at a job yesterday. The
lady wants to add a window in a storic house. Right,
I can't just do this without a permit. You can't
do that, right. And you know, the first thing Tolst
wants to see is he wants to see a permit.
You know they're not going to see. Yeah, just going
and add a window, don't You don't know? So I
guess someone's gotta draw that, draw that up, and it's
got to be approved in order to get their tax
(32:27):
credits or whatever they got to do for historical stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Yeah, I think that, and you would probably agree to
have the first phone call to come your way.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Well, I mean, you could certainly start your research on
contractors and so on, and then maybe make your decision
as to whether you want to work with a contractor
who has a designer or not. But the designer should
come in, designer, architect, whatever should come in at the
very beginning because making changes is expensive and time consuming,
(32:58):
and a good designer will know what is required, not
only structurally and physically in that sense, but Also, we'll
have either the knowledge of or a way to find
out if there are restrictions from the municipality. You know,
(33:18):
what are your setbacks? What are you know so all
of these things. If you start planning a project with
someone and then you find out you're two feet too
close to your lat line, you've wasted all of that
time and money and you got to start over again.
So it's definitely something that you want to have. Pretty
much in the beginning.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Hey, how hard is it for people to translate what
they're thinking and what their style is? When you talked
in the first segment about how important it is for
you to be in their space right to have a
meeting in their home, to be able to look at
the rest of their house and kind of what their
style is, how difficult is it for people to be
(34:02):
able to show to you, Hey, look at this is
kind of what my style and what my imagination is
and what this space is going to look like. I
think that that's hard for guys like me that don't
have that vision that you have, and that BINGO has
to be able to say, listen, here's what I'm thinking
I want and will this work in this space? The
(34:23):
other part the woman told me yesterday was the amount
of people that say, hey, I really have this modern style,
and then everything they pick is traditional, and you keep
going back to I thought you had this modern style,
and she said, it's those conversations get to be a
little bit difficult sometimes because they keep thinking I've got this,
(34:44):
I want to have this modern look, but then they
keep picking. And that goes back to my question, how
important is it for people to be able to translate
what they're thinking to you verbally?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
So when I work with clients, I'll, for example, say
I'm working on a kitchen for somebody, and I'll be
talking with them and I'll ask them if they've seen
pictures of things they like, and I'll make sure I
communicate to them that I'm not just looking for pictures
of kitchens. If you see a picture of a gazebo
(35:19):
on the waterfront and that speaks to you, I want
to see that picture. If you see a picture of
a historic building that has nothing to do with this,
I want to see that because all of those things
add up to help me figure out you. Because most
people don't have an idea of what those terms really
mean or what their style really is. So it's a
(35:42):
matter of that communication, having that relationship, that comfort level,
and then showing them things, whether it's through drawings or
other pictures that you know, you say, like modern, this
is what was considered. Oh no, I don't like that.
That's too cold. Okay, I understand. So is there anything
in here you do like? So those kinds of things,
(36:04):
you can't rely on the client's ability to relay that information.
You don't ignore it. I'm not saying that you have
to ferret it out. Like when I go into someone's home,
it's say it's a small home and it's an older couple,
empty nesters, and I look and I see pictures of
family and there's like twelve people grandkids, and they're kind
(36:29):
of all over the place. That tells me that that
family is probably pretty important to them, and that may
have an impact on what they want to do here.
I have a project on a lake that they added
a whole second floor to the house because they want
their kids and grandkids to come out all the time,
(36:52):
so we added bedrooms in a family room up there,
and so on and so forth. So it's not looking
for specifics from the home owner. It's looking more for
feelings and desires and then helping them focus it.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Yeah, I'm just questioning because because I'm ash you thinking
about doing the same thing in a legos. So you
design it. So you have to design and then they
have to I'll think, build that real quick without because
you have to take the little while of the roof off. Yeah,
I meant like a big umbrella.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
What are you doing?
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Well, no, you know, obviously you look at you look
at the weather forecast. But like for this example, this project,
one of the important, really important things for them is
on their first floor. Because it was a ranch, their
first floor was thirty feet wide, no walls. They wanted
a second floor above that, no walls. So I had
(37:44):
to figure out how to do that best. So we
have twenty four inch tall open web floor trusses spanning
thirty feet. So you have to make sure that the
first floor structure is capable of handling that. You know,
(38:05):
is it a two by four wall sixteen inches on center? Well,
then you're good. You can add a second floor above
that if the foundation is also decent.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
But if you've got two by flowers, designer, you make
sure that that all works out right.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That's that's why you have me and I work closely
with a structural engineer in case I have questions myself.
Again going back to that working with the contractors in
the past, I have a good grasp of what can work,
but ultimately I will bring in a.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Professional mister volunteer to be the cream guy to operate
when you install the trustes really wants to be the
great guy.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
I definitely yeah. You may not want to call me
on that.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Just know this site was it was quite incredible to
be able to get those trusses in place because it
was a long uphill driveway, narrow between trees, and it
was crazy. It's a beautiful house.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
But he is Bob Sebastian. He's our special guest owner
of Sebastian Design. They're located in while with Tosa, I've
got a number of questions. Want to start the next
segment into or outdoor living in the state of Wisconsin.
I am sure that you're getting a lot of work.
We don't get to use the outdoor space a ton,
but we want to be able to use it and
(39:16):
I'm sure that that that's part of what you do.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
And I've got a couple of We had three nice
days last year.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
We did two and a half. But if it gets
too warm outside, just come in the studio. You'll you'll
get cold.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Awfully christ Wisconsin, you go from long underwear to swimsuits.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Spencer, you should have taken the spencer should have let
us noise worn't long.
Speaker 3 (39:37):
The queue from the meat hanging from the hookies you
really should have again, here is Bob Sebastian from Sebastian Design.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin home improvement show on
Fox Sports nine twenty and Your I Hurt Radio app.
Welcome back to the Creative Construction of Wisconsin home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio
A coming live from the Donovan to Jorgansen Heating and
Cooling Studios. Big our producer just went out and got
(40:07):
a parka from his car. He didn't he didn't bring
us anything.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
He didn't.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Our special guest has had literally he's like shivering over there.
Could you please go cuddle with Bob Sebastian please, he
had Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design. Hey, we don't have a
ton of time in this segment. Have you seen a
rise in in people looking to to to update their
their outdoor outdoor living space.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Yeah, I think, uh, like you mentioned before the break
that it's Wisconsin, what can you do really, But the
way people are integrating the indoor and the outdoor is
even in Wisconsin a huge part of what I'm doing.
I've got a project up on Big Cedar Lake where
(40:57):
the current house has a screenport. It's about eight feet deep,
and then there's the house with a patio door going
out onto the screen porch. The homeowner wants to take
the entire lake facing wall of the house and do
a pocket sliding door, so the whole wall twenty whatever
(41:18):
feet will open up to that porch, which will then
be we're going to enclose and make it a four
season space, and we're going to do accordion folding glass
doors that will fold out out away from the porch
so they're not folding into the porch. And he can
(41:39):
in essence extend his intoor living another eight feet but
have it open to the lake with screens. The screen
is like the big ones that pull down our garage doors,
iron so on, so integrating that it can be a
fully you know, in the winter, he can close the
outside and it'll be fully enclosed, but otherwise he can
(42:00):
be right there on living his living space right on
the lake, and then all of the you know, the
outdoor kitchens and so on. It's got to be smart
in our area about that.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Hey, Bingo, when the lake home that you guys have,
I see a light bulb going over your head when
he's talking about a sliding door to the lake, to
the outdoor. How much when you're down in living there
or there for the weekend, how important is it for
you to be able to utilize both the indoor and
(42:33):
outdoor because that's what you're.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
That's the whole point. The whole point is that we're
barely in the house really center part. Even in the
winter time. We did the wies fishing thing. We just
I mean, we just we just use the house as
like the sleeping but we want to be on a
deck or space in a lake or everything we do
with space in a lake.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
There's something about that that's good for the soul, right
to be able to see the lake, to be able
to I sleep the best, Maybe not this last week
with all these grand kids, but you know, sometimes if
we are up at my sister's house, there's something about
being on the lake that just kind of is calming.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
And then we got that they got the famous bullfrog
that that'd be loves oh right, so we had all
the windows open like this. I like it, but she's like, oh,
there he goes again.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Yes, my son was was outside where we were again
up in Rome, and he walked and shaking his head.
He goes, Nature's overrated, and I go what. He goes,
These black crows came and took the baby bunny and
took off, and the and the mommy bunny was like
running around. He goes, I don't want to be outside anymore.
And I said, no, that's the circle of life, man,
(43:41):
that's how that works. Right. Hey, we're not going to
be able to spend too much time. But trends in
your business compared to I guess we're even three years ago,
colors are different now. Are there trends that that designers
have to be You have to be on top of, obviously,
But are there trends that you see that are coming
(44:02):
up here in the next six to twelve months.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Yeah, it's if you want to be aware of the
trends and you want to watch them, but you don't
want to be trendy. That's the problem. So right now,
there's a huge movement in design called biophilic design, which
is basically bringing nature inside lots of dark wood tones
(44:25):
and life plants and so on and so forth. That
if you think about it, if they hadn't assigned a
name to it, it would be a pretty long lasting thing.
Everybody wants a bit of nature to sign a name
to it. I couldn't even spell it right. So once
they do that, that's going to be out in probably
(44:48):
I think, in not too long a time. So those
are things you have to be careful of. But the
concepts of it are valid and usable. But things like
things that are going on the way out all white kitchens,
gray barn doors, thank god, and things that are coming
(45:08):
in are more deeper, richer colors, more wood tones, more
muted metallic finishes like brushed.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Hey, how do you and we just have a minute
a minute and a half left, how do you if
somebody says to you, now, hey, I really like the
idea of having a barn door here, do you go, Hey,
we can do that, but understand that that that is
on its way out. I mean, do you have that
conversation and how honest. You have to be in your industry.
Speaker 3 (45:36):
I'm very honest with my clients because a barn door
is it's a cool statement. If you have a cool door,
the nice hardware. It's a terrible idea for a bathroom,
and it's a terrible idea for a room that you
want to have some privacy because it's not a private door.
It's got big gaps on the side. Sound gets through,
smell gets through. So I'll talk to them about what
(45:58):
do they want to use it for. If you want
it kind of as an accent type of thing, it
can work. But if you want it as a functional
door as well, I probably would advise against it.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
He is Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design. How much of your
business do you get from a word of mouth from
people you've worked with in the past, from guys like Bingo?
Is that kind of the circle for you?
Speaker 3 (46:22):
One hundred percent of my business? Well, I'll say ninety
nine percent of my businesses referrals and word of mouth.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Man, that's awesome, and business is good. Yeah, good for you.
The business side of a quick books makes a difference.
I'm telling you, I agree with you one nd percent.
He is Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design while they're looking at
Wawatosa and you can, yeah, I look up his background.
There's a number of places to get his phone number
(46:50):
if you want to talk to him about a project
that you are thinking about. How far out are you now?
If somebody wanted to talk to you about something they
wanted to at least start in the fall or the winter,
are you available for that?
Speaker 3 (47:04):
Fall is really dicey. Winter spring we can probably accomplish that,
but they need to find a contractor pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Yeah, get get moving on that. And I know that,
Uh Sam has let you know, don't don't go on
the air and say hey, call us and we'll get
we'll be out to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, yeah, we're looking at an inside work for January
and February. We're kind of full for the you to
be honest with you, And yes, see Sam, I did
say I'll be honest.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Hey, how much does your granddaughter enjoyed being down by
the lake by the way.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
Yeah, she loves that. She I mean, she just she
heard me talking about right now the lake house. You know,
she just wants to go, she want so we just
go on and playing fishing is this funny? She was
swimming this week. I mean, you know Sam and you
know they went down there. They went down there Thursday.
They went swimming doing stuff. So they're taking pictures. This
is our do you said? They're calling us our Sam
Lake's office branch.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
There it is.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
And then if you want to see me live, I'll
be a badgerck Tarku, the race director of Supernational.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
This weekend, it came to you already have a couple.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
It does live stream, so I'll send it to you
least too.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Yeah, yeah, I'll be looking for that. He is Bingo Emmons,
our special guest, Bob Sebastian Sebastian's design. I always love
when he comes in because there isn't really any questions.
I can't ask you, right other than he fixed my
golf swing. I won't ask you.
Speaker 3 (48:18):
Yeah, because if you want to know how to get
that putt around the windmill, I can help you.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Yeah. I didn't do very well in that space either.
It's good to see you again, Good to see have
a good weekend, guys. This is the creative construction of
Wisconsin Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty in
your iHeartRadio app
Welcome into the Creative Construction of Wisconsin home improvement show
on Fox Sports ninet twenty in your iHeartRadio app Coming
live from the Donovant and Jorgansen Heating and Cooling Studios.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We got we got to race the heating.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
We got to get those boys over in this.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Studio because the cooling. Cooling works really well. I mean,
if this was like if this is you can see
I actually had to put a sweatshirt on. It was freezing.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah. And and our producer Spencer's got long sleeves. He
knew because Jeff Rolowski called him to get him the
heads up it's really cold in studio. But he forgot
to let us know the fact that our special guest
is here in a swimsuit and and like a beach child.
I think is not great.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
No, no, well it wouldn't be great no matter how
much he is.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Bob Sebastian Again, Bob Sebastian. I've known him a long
time Sebastian Design. Looking forward to talking to him about
a number of different things in certainly in the design world.
Coming live from the Donovan Organs and Heating College Studios.
Any issues you're having, Yeah, you're gonna have to. If
you haven't turned on that that air conditioner yet, you're
(01:07):
gonna have to this weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Just like we worn every week. Check out your air
conditioning ahead of time, before you need it. And if
the studio would.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Have right and the studio is not, and maybe it has.
Spencer likes it cold in here. He uh, well I
got here before he did and it wasn't and now
it's freezing.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I'm thinking about in a couple of hours. I wanna
wish I had this because I'm on the racetrack of
a Badgeric car club this weekend and it's gonna be
really toasty out there. Assistant, well, actually actually got it.
Guess guess who My assistants are Aaron and And we
recruited Aaron's dad to help me out with this because
any corner workers, he needs stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
There's a short.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Staff this weekend, so all the way I got recruited.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Man, good for you. Yeah, I know that if you
needed somebody, I'm there for you. Oh yeah, no, I'm
not coming you a race car guy.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Hey, I just want to I just want to mention
that these races are live stream so you can watch them.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Oh yeah, I've got it all set up. I'm not.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, then you got my sister's up at the DO
and Old Road Americas this weekend you could be watching
that and NASCAR. You could just stay home and watch
races all weekend.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Just racing up there. Guy from uh Faith in the Zone. Yeah, you.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Know stingy Rob, I thought you just no Sting.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Yeah, I call him Sting. I call him that, yeah,
or sr you know, we're tight. We're best at Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
We actually have you ever ever see he always has
like really in a fan appreciation zone. He always do
the thing there. You know. He's a religious guy, so
we like him.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
He's got a good strike.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
But he's not out there one of those guys, those
guys you know, you know, pounding a Bible and they're
that guy with the station with stickers on it. Not
one of those guys. No, he's a very he's a
very classy guy.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
But I'll tell you with with Faith in the Zone,
and we talked about that part and he said, look,
I I I feel as though instead of hitting anybody
over the head with the Bible if they want to
have the conversation with me, but if you look at
my car, you know where I am you know how
where I am in my life. And he was a
really good guest on Faith in the Zone and I
(03:02):
don't actually know him personally, but you know, spent an
hour with him.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah there you go home.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, yeah, really sharp young man. Hey Bob, how is
business over at Sebastian Design. You guys doing all right?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, we're doing great. It is a great mix of
different kinds of projects, different kinds of clients, contractors, homeowners,
and it just keeps going.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
It's awesome. I had a chance yesterday on our way
home from our week vacation with our six grandkids. First
of all, we didn't turn the radio on or anything
for a while, my wife and I because the quietness
in the car was awesome. It was so fun. It
really was fun. But we stopped my sister, Marine has
(03:45):
a place up in She has a cabin on the
Chain of Lakes and Wapaka and they're redoing the whole thing.
And it turned out on the way home she was
there with her interior designer and we got a chance
to stop by. And I got a chance to talk
this woman who's been in your industry up in that
area for like forty years, and I got a chance
(04:06):
to ask her a whole bunch of questions and then
told her that you were coming in today, and she goes,
is there a way I can listen? So she's listening
right now, And I asked her, Look, when somebody says
to you, can I afford to have an interior design person?
She said, look, I tell them it's going to save
(04:28):
your money in the long run. And here's how. And
she had a number of different examples of Look, if
you tried to do this on your own, and you
do it this way, but now you want to change,
she said, Look by starting with people in my industry
and understanding that we're here to work for you, and
(04:48):
we're going to make your project your dream project, and
we can do it by doing it this way. If
you try to do it on your own, about seventy
percent of the time there is some issue. Is that
if you would have had.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's more than seventy percent, because I do you know
what happens they see something on on one of those
websites or something they want to copy that I get
my classic one here, and this costs this contractor a
lot of money. Is they were kind of doing their
own things, so they saw the cabinets, so they're like, well,
I want the top cabinets to come out as far
as the bottom cabinets.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Right, yes, and that's kind of a joke, and they're
demanding on it.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Do you know how horrible that was? How expensive that was?
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah? That's uh. People go, oh, well, I'll get that
extra storage. But first of all, being an upper cabinet,
it's kind of useless because you can't reach back there
and it doesn't allow you to You have to stand
straight up in front of your counters and you can't
see anyone.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
But a simple one year, one year designer student would
have said that's a bad idea.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, absolutely, Hey do you get that question? A lot
the the expense of having an interior designer, and people
are obviously you're hoping to cut costs at times. But
when she had talked about, look, there's a lot of
people that save money because of what we do. Because
(06:15):
you have this vision of you can hear from somebody
again like Bingo just talked about I want this, and U,
as an interior designer, go, look that's a bad idea.
It's going to cost you extra money. And here's why.
For people that try to do this on their own.
I've got to believe that that you get more phone
calls from people going, Okay, this is a bad idea.
(06:36):
Can we get your help. If they had brought you
into the beginning at the end of it, it actually
saves them money.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Usually it does. Most people don't have I mean there's
so many variables, especially in interior design, with scale, positioning, colors,
you got so many moving pieces going on that you
see something on HGTV or on a website.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Favorite is when you bring a picture of Pinterest. I
want this. Okay, this will look looks great on this
photoshop picture, right, but it won't look like won't like
your house?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Yeah, and you know I don't. You don't have those
kinds of windows, so you're not gonna have that much
light in your room. You don't have that big of
an opening into the room, so that couch is going
to block your way in and out. So ultimately, a
professional will be able to help you curate your ideas,
get you the feelings you want, but not the exact
(07:32):
replica because that's just not going to work. Hey.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
The the difference between working with the designer versus directly
with a contractor do you get that question quite a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yeah, It's it's funny because I actually came from the
contractor side of the equation. Originally, I worked with contractors
or for contractors in their designs. You get more freedom
working with an independent designer because you can then take
your ideas and plans and chop them around if you
(08:06):
want to. You can make changes that the builder might
not be used to doing something a certain way and
they'll want you to do it differently to suit their needs,
while your designer can go to bat for you on
something like that as well. So it gives you more freedom.
But from the other side, contractors are kind of a
(08:28):
little dubious sometimes when someone brings in their own architect
or designer, because they have no idea what kind of
experience they have. I have in the past dealt with
clients who brought in plans from architects licensed architects, and
they had absolutely no idea what the real costs of
their project were going to be because the architect had
(08:51):
no idea what the real cost of a project was
going to be. So it's one of the benefits with
me is I used to work in the industry directly
with contractors. I have a better idea of cost, so
I can help my clients kind of focus their money.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
You know, I like the fact that that's your background
because I think that sets you apart from me. Do
you know a lot of designers that came from that background?
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Not necessarily. I mean in our area, we're lucky that
we have design build firms and most of them have
really talented designers. But again, you're limited when you're working
with that contractor that's your designer and they don't. You
(09:35):
don't have a lot of freedom with that. That's all
you get. Whereas if you work with your own designer,
you can go to different contractors and see who suits
you best. Because it's not just the nails and wood,
it's the whole overall atmosphere, communication, et cetera. So you
can use that information to choose the contractor you feel
(09:57):
suits you best.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Hey, if somebody asks you, you know, you're having a cup
of coffee and somebody here's at the table next to
you that what you do for a living at Sebastian
Design and they're interviewing interior designers to work with them.
Are there things that you think people need to ask
people in your industry when they're doing that interview process
(10:22):
to field whether we have the same kind of mindset,
whether we look at things the same. I'm going to
interview two, three, maybe four interior designers to see if
we have that relationship that because we're going to work
together a lot on this project. Are there questions that
you think people need to be asking other designers?
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Well, sure, I mean obviously there's the basics. How long
have you been doing this? What types of projects have
you done? Have you worked on similar things? But really,
and let me see some of your work. But that's
always a dangerous thing in design, whether it's interior design
and remodeling, because you are working one hundred percent custom
(11:05):
for a client. So someone you're talking to someone who's
interviewing you may not like what that person liked, but
I accomplished what they wanted.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yeah, I can tell you exactly he's talking about. People said,
do you have any samples around here as well? I
worked on athouse at house. I can point usually around
the neighborhood and he goes, well, I don't like that texture.
I didn't care. That's not what I'm saying. We get
that texture you want, right, That's what they picked out. Well,
I don't like that color either, ok, that's what they wanted. Okay.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
The other part is if I'm redoing our master bath
and I'm interviewing an interior designer and they're showing me
all pictures of you know, this man cave they did
in the basement or the living room or the bedroom,
but in their portfolio they don't have any completed master baths.
Well that would be for me. I'd be like, this
(11:55):
is the space that I want I'm working in. Can
you show me pictures or examples of that space? And
if they don't have any, I would move on. Correct.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Well, bathrooms are tough because bathrooms are hard to photograph
because they're so small. So they should have photographs of bathrooms,
but they may not be the glamorous photographs.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Trust you, why would you You don't don't get I
shared with you. Yeah, I thought you deleted that way.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, but that's a ringtone.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
He that is your bring. I agree with with you
on that because it's hard. It's hard in that space.
And so let's move to the kitchen. If they don't
have completed kitchen.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Well let's go go back their bathrooms. Some of the
big expense on bathrooms. It's like, I'd like to put
my bathroom on this side of the room. Do you
know what the plumbing costs to move all that stuff is?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, it's I mean there's if they're looking for a
luxury space, will say, uh, yeah, they that designer should
have some experience. Uh. But it goes beyond just the
talent and the physical aspects of it. You really, on
your interview, you start to get the feel of whether
(13:09):
you gel with that designer, whether they seem to understand
what it is you're looking for. And ultimately, I think
it's incredibly important for the designer to visit the homeowner
in their home. Anyone who doesn't say that's necessary not
to look at the space specifically, just to look at
their whole house and the way they live and and
(13:31):
you know, getting cues from photographs and so on. That
just will give you a start of a sense of
how to create the space for these potential clients.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Yeah. I think you learn a lot about walking, you know,
the sidewalk into the curb appeal.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
How I will not I don't care what it is
last or patch. We do not do any patches. I
don't do anything by photographs only because it's it's it's
you never know. Whenever you say that, I'll say, oh,
Edentum was on a third floor.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Right right right?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yeah, think changes things?
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah, I love that, Hey, Bob. Business wise, you started
Sebastian Design. How long you go?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Actually, it's been. It's been a journey. I had. I
had my own company back in the nineties, and then
quite frankly, I hated the business side of it. I
just wasn't very good at it. So I started working
for contractors and I felt that I could grow by
getting the knowledge of working with people in the field directly,
getting their input on, you know, making my designs more
(14:36):
realizable and buildable. And then I restarted my firm about
five years ago, so I've been on my own again
for about five years.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
The difference between you when you started it years ago
to then starting again five years the difference between you
as a businessman and the designer is it night and day.
Did you learn a lot throughout that journey until you know,
when you started Sebastian's Design again five years ago.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I learned a huge amount bet both in terms of
the design aspects of it, but that you just as
a good designer. You do that naturally over the years.
You're always looking, you're always learning, you're always seeing things.
But finding that connection to the men and women in
the field who do these things that I create, that
(15:31):
was hugely important and beneficial for me to understand. And
then the business part of it, quite frankly, Quick Books
and you know that kind of made it all different.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, I know, trust me. Yeah, the McGivern agency we
started a couple of years ago, and that was the
part I was most fearful. And QuickBooks and having somebody
in that space is very comfortable to help me has
been invaluable. Hey do you work with more homeowners or
do you do you get contractors that say, hey, you
(16:04):
need to work with a designer.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
I mean, yeah, he works for homeowners and stuff direct,
But I mean, okay, everyone's why I work in munis valleys.
I won't pin them out. But just like we need
a we need a picture, we need a drawing, right right,
we have somebody just wants to put up two columns
in the dryway right right, or need that or one
time we do them while we're doing a driveway with
the set and those guys right, and he says we
need an approach. So I got to who do I
(16:26):
get the draw? That's what you know? I mean, because
do you want to see a draw? And he wants
someone to do something, So he goes all the ruler,
finds the boundary lines, he does all the stuff to
make the city happy. So I give it permit.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, so that that part of it.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
But you know that's the part like we use them
for it.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
He actually designs full blown stuff and sometimes you just
need a drawing.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
And so you work on both sides. You you have
homeowners that call you, and then you have contractors that
that say, listen, I'm working on this and I need
your expertise and your skill selling exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So there are contractors who don't have a designer on staff,
so I am in essence there or one of their designers. So,
whether it's a remodeling project in addition, even a new home,
a new custom home, I work directly with contractors. I
also kind of hybrid it. The contractor will be working
(17:18):
with the client. They say we need to get a
design for this, go to Bob. So I'm working officially
for the client, but it's the contractor. So it's that
triangle of the three of us that are making that
project come to life. And then I work directly with
homeowners who come to me, either for referrals or whatever.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Hey, last time, forget your break. You and I were
on the whole at the Nary golfounding together and I
was the pro and everybody, you know, anybody knows Mike
golf swing knows that's not the case. And we did
pretty well. Yeah, and then the next year, deb Bingo's
wife came in and the difference between how you presented
(18:02):
what they needed to do for the five dollars that
they were donated to the foundation and how deb did
it was night and day. You were very kind of
so spoken and said, well, if you want to do this,
Depth said, give me five dollars. Don't be cheap, give
me five dollars. And I'm telling you. And then she
would say, because we're on the same team, she would say,
he's horrible. You're gonna beat his shot, so just give
(18:25):
me the five bucks. And I'm telling you. I laughed.
I said, Debb, you're not supposed to tell people. She goes, well,
I'm honest, you're horrible. I know, she goes. So they're
gonna beat your shots, so they might as well give
me the five bucks so we can raise as much
money as possible. But the way you guys approached it
were totally different. I can tell you that.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Yeah, nobody got by without paying five bucks.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
No, they paid the five and if this guy wouldn't
pay five, she'd go to the next guy and go
give me ten. Yeah, and deb was unbelievable. I watched
her as she just she just was like, no, No, you're
going to do this because we're raised money for good cause.
Plus he's horrible and you're gonna beat him. Thank you
for never saying that. I know you thought about it
because I kept losing balls in the water there, But
(19:09):
I appreciate it. And those were really fun days. He's
Bob Sebastian from Sebastian Design and here's our special guest
in studio for the entire hour, we'll get to a
break out. This side of the breakout, a number of
questions to ask him. This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin
Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty and your
iHeart Radio app. Welcome back to the Creative Construction Wisconsin
(19:32):
Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty in your
iHeartRadio app coming live from the Donovan and Jorganson Heating
and Cooling Studios, largest employee owned HVAC company in the
state of Wisconsin. Go to Donovanjorganson dot com. I'm Mike
McGivern alongside Bengo Emmons. He's the owner of Creative Construction
of Wisconsin and our special guest in studio. It's good
(19:54):
to see him again. He's just one of the good
guys in this industry. He's Bob Sebastian.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, you remember in the old back when this is
an airy show. You a long time ago, remember who
took the who the more shoals?
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Was that between me and yeah? Back in the days
all the time?
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, he was. He was the co host on that show.
He is the owner of Sebastian Design. They are located
in Wawa and I could give you all of the
you know m c R and.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
C R speaking of all last about do you know
that I'm an m CR Right? Do you know what
my teacher was? Barely?
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (20:34):
You didn't know you at one? A star right, I
got a star Wars. I got the star because I.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
You know, belly like Star Belly there it is.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, did you tell him how you cheated in that
final test? Yeah, the ear piece in and Dev was
giving him all the answers.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
In fact, we didn't have the same technology as they
got now.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
No, probably not.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
No, there are questions about whether you could bring a
calculator in.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Yeah, we're still talking about you know, cacolate had red
numbers on them.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, this is a while ago.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Yeah, the nuns never let me bring those in over
at Mesmer High School. Hey, what type of projects are
you seeing most nowadays?
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Oh? Well, you know, I'm surprised by the number of
whole house remodels that I'm working on, adding complete second
floors to homes, large scale additions along with rearranging the
existing home. Still do a good number of kitchens, bathrooms.
(21:35):
I've been working on a number of lake homes, custom
homes for waterfront property. So it's you know, people talk
about the economy, but I'm not seeing it.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Hey, the whole home model And when you said, look,
that's what I'm surprised. What does that tell you about
your industry? Deady? For me, I'm thinking people love their neighborhood,
love their schools, and they don't.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Want it's actually cheaper to remodel your house and is
to build a new one, right.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Now, Well, I mean that's yeah. You you look at
your home. You you normally you chose the home for
a number of reasons. However, many years ago it was
the location, or the relationship to schools, whatever it might be.
So just like in real estate, location, location, location, So
(22:27):
that's the main driver for most people when they're remodeling
their home. But now, if you want to build a home,
it's crazy expensive for a piece of land, crazy expensive
to improve that piece of land, and then you have
to drive to wherever that piece of land is going
to be. It ain't going to be in Wawatosa or
shorewood or cut a hay.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
And so they build them differently. They get intact fees
and here see how they build them. They actually build
a house and they put the dirt up to it
because you can't foundations can't be blow ground bl on
ground level of water anymore.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Yeah, they're a lot of different rules. The when you
walk into a new home, don't look at the finishes.
Get a feel for the space, and you will feel
differently than when you walk into an equally as luxurious
(23:23):
or or not luxurious home that was built one hundred
years ago or eighty years ago, because they're that's that's
a huge part of it, because when I walk into
a new home, even some high end luxury homes, you
don't get that sense of stability and security and massiveness
(23:48):
in terms of the materials. The materials are beautiful, and
they're well designed, and they're great rooms and so on
and so forth, but you just don't have that feel
of substance and when you walk into an older home.
And I think that that is one of the challenges
of working and remodeling, but it's also one of the
(24:10):
biggest satisfactions is that I can enhance that. I don't
want to change it. I don't want to get rid
of it. I just want to enhance it with whatever
I do for my clients.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Hey, with when people want to hire an interior designer,
and if they're going to hire or talk to you
and be higher Sebastian Design, what can they expect from
working with Sebastian Design From I'm sure lighting designs and
(24:39):
color selections, things like that, what else can they expect
when they work with you on their project?
Speaker 3 (24:45):
So most people approach me for the more of the
nuts and bolts aspect first, so maybe it's rearranged like
a kitchen or a bathroom, arranging it and enlarging it,
et cetera. And then the conversation moves on to the colors,
(25:09):
the furnishings, the accessories, lighting and accessories like the knobs
and all of that kind of thing. So you get
as much or as little as you want from me,
and we determine that upfront, and then the client and
(25:34):
I just start the discussion and go from there. So
I mean, I have a very clear and concise design agreement.
I think that's very important for both clients and the
designer really that people know what to expect. I think
anybody who goes into any kind of project without a
clear contract is taking a big risk.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I agree with that as you do Bingo, because you're
shaking your head yes, and you know how important that is,
especially in today's age, because you you want expectations. Let's
set expectations. How much time you're going to get with me?
How much time do you want with me? Do you
want I mean, do you want me picking out those
knops right? Or do you want to be part of
(26:21):
that process? Because that was And I've told this story
one hundred times when all I had to do was
pick the hardware for cabinets we were putting in our
home on eighty eighth, and it put me in the
fetal position. Bob, there's too many options. I'm irish. Our
final decision is maybe on everything, and we walk into
a big box store and there's four thousand options. I
(26:43):
want three, Give me three and I'll pick one.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Well, in this business, everything is based on relationships. You
have to trust the pre people are doing it. So
if you get a good relationship with a good designer,
then you can trust them. He goes, what do you think?
And he said, ask because that's what you know my
wife clearly, I mean, I have no saying anything yet.
And then you know, well you got to see what
she says. And then Jill will like, what do you think?
And she does this. She does that all the time.
You know, she'll talk to where we're you know, where
(27:06):
we was doing this stuff.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
We had Daniel from Baby Shade and Plind out to
our house on eighty eighth and our condo in Pewaukee,
and both times within the first three minutes he kicked
me out. He said, I'll get to you in a minute.
But when we talk about you know, this space, in
this space until we get to your office, you're out.
And and my wife is really good in that. I mean,
(27:32):
she knows what she wants and she's got Can we
look at this and this color? And and I'm not
because everything should be kelly green, because again getting back
to the old io thing. But then when it was
turned you know my time, he said, look, you obviously
this is kind of a man cave, right. You got
a lot of sports stuff, so we're going to completely
change what we're thinking from your living room and your
(27:53):
bedroom now this is yours. So let let me give
you three recommendations. And so he knew exactly how to
work with me, and the fact that two times he
kicked me out within the first three minutes because he said, look,
I I you're just not very good at this on
the radio and goes listen, you really are very good
at that.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
But my point is is, you know, I mean, when
you you're interviewing any home designer interior, you know, make
sure you have a good relationship with them. You want
some of your confrontational with someone that says, you know
what you're too dumb. You don't know what you're doing, right,
I mean you don't you want you want someone to
get along with because you you know, it's like you
know you. I mean you're married, you marry the people
that you work with. I mean you end up. I
mean you just I mean like when we do a
(28:36):
modeling project. I did a bathroom model with them, or
we got to watch the whole baby go from the
whole bathroom go from when you know she just got pregnant.
At the very end, I mean, you get you move
in with them, right, you get to know their dating
and then you get to know their real personalities, the
real people. They're family problems. They tell you everything, but
you know everything because you become very close relationships.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Hey, a, I is obviously huge in our world right now,
and it's and it's almost like the wild wild West
a little bit right now. How much in your business
has AI kind of crept in? And is it a
good thing? Wait? I asked somebody once a long time ago,
is AI good or bad? And they said it's fire
(29:16):
good or bad? And I go both. They said, exactly,
it's both. Really, it can be used for good. It
can be used for bad in your world in the
design world, is AI do you feel like it's going
to enhance or is it going to hinder?
Speaker 3 (29:31):
It's going to enhance the ease of doing some things
for people on my side of the of the desk,
if you will. Because you can rapidly create a scene
or scenario using AI. It's a detriment for I think
(29:52):
homeowners who will trust it too much and they'll say
there was this, you know, even two or three years
ago there was Well. AI will never affect the job
of a home designer or an interior designer because it
just can't. Well. Now, there are plans online created by AI,
(30:17):
and someone seasoned enough can see that it's been created
by AI because it's not addressing certain things. And that's
ultimately what it comes down to is if you want
a form letter of a design, AI may work for you.
(30:40):
But the problem is there's no, like Bingo said, relationship
and that is where you get to that next level
of your project being just what it needs to be
for you.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
I want to talk about is an AI one, Zach,
I always listening. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Well, anyways,
they put a wall in right and it was right
in the middle of a window. It goes right to
the edge of the window. But on the plans the
window's not there. It was there. They moved the window,
but then you can't just move a window on a wall,
(31:12):
and I think that's just like consequences. So they moved
these as well. If we moved this window over, work's fine.
But the you know, the contractor we're working for, didn't
know anything about moving a window because we're just there
to bill a wall. Because you're you know, you're doing
a bathroom. You put it that stut And to this
day that stud is in the middle of the window.
What it is It made the glass black so you
can't see it, but there's a stud in the middle
of the window.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Well, I again, AI is like fire right, it's good
and and I think some of it is bad. How
important is it for people to understand at what part
of the project do we bring in Sebastian design. I
would think for you to be at the forefront, right,
don't don't bring me in two months after you've already
(31:54):
figured out what you want. You're working with a contractor
and now you want to make tweaks for them to
the first phone call to you and say, listen, we're
going to remodel that, you know, our entire home.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Though for example, I looked at a job yesterday. The
lady wants to add a window in a storic house. Right,
I can't just do this without a permit. You can't
do that, right. And you know, the first thing Tolst
wants to see is he wants to see a permit.
You know they're not going to see. Yeah, just going
and add a window, don't You don't know? So I
guess someone's gotta draw that, draw that up, and it's
got to be approved in order to get their tax
(32:27):
credits or whatever they got to do for historical stuff.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Yeah, I think that, and you would probably agree to
have the first phone call to come your way.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Well, I mean, you could certainly start your research on
contractors and so on, and then maybe make your decision
as to whether you want to work with a contractor
who has a designer or not. But the designer should
come in, designer, architect, whatever should come in at the
very beginning because making changes is expensive and time consuming,
(32:58):
and a good designer will know what is required, not
only structurally and physically in that sense, but Also, we'll
have either the knowledge of or a way to find
out if there are restrictions from the municipality. You know,
(33:18):
what are your setbacks? What are you know so all
of these things. If you start planning a project with
someone and then you find out you're two feet too
close to your lat line, you've wasted all of that
time and money and you got to start over again.
So it's definitely something that you want to have. Pretty
much in the beginning.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Hey, how hard is it for people to translate what
they're thinking and what their style is? When you talked
in the first segment about how important it is for
you to be in their space right to have a
meeting in their home, to be able to look at
the rest of their house and kind of what their
style is, how difficult is it for people to be
(34:02):
able to show to you, Hey, look at this is
kind of what my style and what my imagination is
and what this space is going to look like. I
think that that's hard for guys like me that don't
have that vision that you have, and that BINGO has
to be able to say, listen, here's what I'm thinking
I want and will this work in this space? The
(34:23):
other part the woman told me yesterday was the amount
of people that say, hey, I really have this modern style,
and then everything they pick is traditional, and you keep
going back to I thought you had this modern style,
and she said, it's those conversations get to be a
little bit difficult sometimes because they keep thinking I've got this,
(34:44):
I want to have this modern look, but then they
keep picking. And that goes back to my question, how
important is it for people to be able to translate
what they're thinking to you verbally?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
So when I work with clients, I'll, for example, say
I'm working on a kitchen for somebody, and I'll be
talking with them and I'll ask them if they've seen
pictures of things they like, and I'll make sure I
communicate to them that I'm not just looking for pictures
of kitchens. If you see a picture of a gazebo
(35:19):
on the waterfront and that speaks to you, I want
to see that picture. If you see a picture of
a historic building that has nothing to do with this,
I want to see that because all of those things
add up to help me figure out you. Because most
people don't have an idea of what those terms really
mean or what their style really is. So it's a
(35:42):
matter of that communication, having that relationship, that comfort level,
and then showing them things, whether it's through drawings or
other pictures that you know, you say, like modern, this
is what was considered. Oh no, I don't like that.
That's too cold. Okay, I understand. So is there anything
in here you do like? So those kinds of things,
(36:04):
you can't rely on the client's ability to relay that information.
You don't ignore it. I'm not saying that you have
to ferret it out. Like when I go into someone's home,
it's say it's a small home and it's an older couple,
empty nesters, and I look and I see pictures of
family and there's like twelve people grandkids, and they're kind
(36:29):
of all over the place. That tells me that that
family is probably pretty important to them, and that may
have an impact on what they want to do here.
I have a project on a lake that they added
a whole second floor to the house because they want
their kids and grandkids to come out all the time,
(36:52):
so we added bedrooms in a family room up there,
and so on and so forth. So it's not looking
for specifics from the home owner. It's looking more for
feelings and desires and then helping them focus it.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Yeah, I'm just questioning because because I'm ash you thinking
about doing the same thing in a legos. So you
design it. So you have to design and then they
have to I'll think, build that real quick without because
you have to take the little while of the roof off. Yeah,
I meant like a big umbrella.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
What are you doing?
Speaker 3 (37:21):
Well, no, you know, obviously you look at you look
at the weather forecast. But like for this example, this project,
one of the important, really important things for them is
on their first floor. Because it was a ranch, their
first floor was thirty feet wide, no walls. They wanted
a second floor above that, no walls. So I had
(37:44):
to figure out how to do that best. So we
have twenty four inch tall open web floor trusses spanning
thirty feet. So you have to make sure that the
first floor structure is capable of handling that. You know,
(38:05):
is it a two by four wall sixteen inches on center? Well,
then you're good. You can add a second floor above
that if the foundation is also decent.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
But if you've got two by flowers, designer, you make
sure that that all works out right.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That's that's why you have me and I work closely
with a structural engineer in case I have questions myself.
Again going back to that working with the contractors in
the past, I have a good grasp of what can work,
but ultimately I will bring in a.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Professional mister volunteer to be the cream guy to operate
when you install the trustes really wants to be the
great guy.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
I definitely yeah. You may not want to call me
on that.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Just know this site was it was quite incredible to
be able to get those trusses in place because it
was a long uphill driveway, narrow between trees, and it
was crazy. It's a beautiful house.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
But he is Bob Sebastian. He's our special guest owner
of Sebastian Design. They're located in while with Tosa, I've
got a number of questions. Want to start the next
segment into or outdoor living in the state of Wisconsin.
I am sure that you're getting a lot of work.
We don't get to use the outdoor space a ton,
but we want to be able to use it and
(39:16):
I'm sure that that that's part of what you do.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
And I've got a couple of We had three nice
days last year.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
We did two and a half. But if it gets
too warm outside, just come in the studio. You'll you'll
get cold.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Awfully christ Wisconsin, you go from long underwear to swimsuits.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Spencer, you should have taken the spencer should have let
us noise worn't long.
Speaker 3 (39:37):
The queue from the meat hanging from the hookies you
really should have again, here is Bob Sebastian from Sebastian Design.
Speaker 1 (39:46):
This is the Creative Construction Wisconsin home improvement show on
Fox Sports nine twenty and Your I Hurt Radio app.
Welcome back to the Creative Construction of Wisconsin home improvement
show on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio
A coming live from the Donovan to Jorgansen Heating and
Cooling Studios. Big our producer just went out and got
(40:07):
a parka from his car. He didn't he didn't bring
us anything.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
He didn't.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Our special guest has had literally he's like shivering over there.
Could you please go cuddle with Bob Sebastian please, he
had Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design. Hey, we don't have a
ton of time in this segment. Have you seen a
rise in in people looking to to to update their
their outdoor outdoor living space.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Yeah, I think, uh, like you mentioned before the break
that it's Wisconsin, what can you do really, But the
way people are integrating the indoor and the outdoor is
even in Wisconsin a huge part of what I'm doing.
I've got a project up on Big Cedar Lake where
(40:57):
the current house has a screenport. It's about eight feet deep,
and then there's the house with a patio door going
out onto the screen porch. The homeowner wants to take
the entire lake facing wall of the house and do
a pocket sliding door, so the whole wall twenty whatever
(41:18):
feet will open up to that porch, which will then
be we're going to enclose and make it a four
season space, and we're going to do accordion folding glass
doors that will fold out out away from the porch
so they're not folding into the porch. And he can
(41:39):
in essence extend his intoor living another eight feet but
have it open to the lake with screens. The screen
is like the big ones that pull down our garage doors,
iron so on, so integrating that it can be a
fully you know, in the winter, he can close the
outside and it'll be fully enclosed, but otherwise he can
(42:00):
be right there on living his living space right on
the lake, and then all of the you know, the
outdoor kitchens and so on. It's got to be smart
in our area about that.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Hey, Bingo, when the lake home that you guys have,
I see a light bulb going over your head when
he's talking about a sliding door to the lake, to
the outdoor. How much when you're down in living there
or there for the weekend, how important is it for
you to be able to utilize both the indoor and
(42:33):
outdoor because that's what you're.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
That's the whole point. The whole point is that we're
barely in the house really center part. Even in the
winter time. We did the wies fishing thing. We just
I mean, we just we just use the house as
like the sleeping but we want to be on a
deck or space in a lake or everything we do
with space in a lake.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
There's something about that that's good for the soul, right
to be able to see the lake, to be able
to I sleep the best, Maybe not this last week
with all these grand kids, but you know, sometimes if
we are up at my sister's house, there's something about
being on the lake that just kind of is calming.
Speaker 2 (43:09):
And then we got that they got the famous bullfrog
that that'd be loves oh right, so we had all
the windows open like this. I like it, but she's like, oh,
there he goes again.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Yes, my son was was outside where we were again
up in Rome, and he walked and shaking his head.
He goes, Nature's overrated, and I go what. He goes,
These black crows came and took the baby bunny and
took off, and the and the mommy bunny was like
running around. He goes, I don't want to be outside anymore.
And I said, no, that's the circle of life, man,
(43:41):
that's how that works. Right. Hey, we're not going to
be able to spend too much time. But trends in
your business compared to I guess we're even three years ago,
colors are different now. Are there trends that that designers
have to be You have to be on top of, obviously,
But are there trends that you see that are coming
(44:02):
up here in the next six to twelve months.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
Yeah, it's if you want to be aware of the
trends and you want to watch them, but you don't
want to be trendy. That's the problem. So right now,
there's a huge movement in design called biophilic design, which
is basically bringing nature inside lots of dark wood tones
(44:25):
and life plants and so on and so forth. That
if you think about it, if they hadn't assigned a
name to it, it would be a pretty long lasting thing.
Everybody wants a bit of nature to sign a name
to it. I couldn't even spell it right. So once
they do that, that's going to be out in probably
(44:48):
I think, in not too long a time. So those
are things you have to be careful of. But the
concepts of it are valid and usable. But things like
things that are going on the way out all white kitchens,
gray barn doors, thank god, and things that are coming
(45:08):
in are more deeper, richer colors, more wood tones, more
muted metallic finishes like brushed.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
Hey, how do you and we just have a minute
a minute and a half left, how do you if
somebody says to you, now, hey, I really like the
idea of having a barn door here, do you go, Hey,
we can do that, but understand that that that is
on its way out. I mean, do you have that
conversation and how honest. You have to be in your industry.
Speaker 3 (45:36):
I'm very honest with my clients because a barn door
is it's a cool statement. If you have a cool door,
the nice hardware. It's a terrible idea for a bathroom,
and it's a terrible idea for a room that you
want to have some privacy because it's not a private door.
It's got big gaps on the side. Sound gets through,
smell gets through. So I'll talk to them about what
(45:58):
do they want to use it for. If you want
it kind of as an accent type of thing, it
can work. But if you want it as a functional
door as well, I probably would advise against it.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
He is Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design. How much of your
business do you get from a word of mouth from
people you've worked with in the past, from guys like Bingo?
Is that kind of the circle for you?
Speaker 3 (46:22):
One hundred percent of my business? Well, I'll say ninety
nine percent of my businesses referrals and word of mouth.
Speaker 1 (46:29):
Man, that's awesome, and business is good. Yeah, good for you.
The business side of a quick books makes a difference.
I'm telling you, I agree with you one nd percent.
He is Bob Sebastian Sebastian Design while they're looking at
Wawatosa and you can, yeah, I look up his background.
There's a number of places to get his phone number
(46:50):
if you want to talk to him about a project
that you are thinking about. How far out are you now?
If somebody wanted to talk to you about something they
wanted to at least start in the fall or the winter,
are you available for that?
Speaker 3 (47:04):
Fall is really dicey. Winter spring we can probably accomplish that,
but they need to find a contractor pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Yeah, get get moving on that. And I know that,
Uh Sam has let you know, don't don't go on
the air and say hey, call us and we'll get
we'll be out to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, yeah, we're looking at an inside work for January
and February. We're kind of full for the you to
be honest with you, And yes, see Sam, I did
say I'll be honest.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Hey, how much does your granddaughter enjoyed being down by
the lake by the way.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
Yeah, she loves that. She I mean, she just she
heard me talking about right now the lake house. You know,
she just wants to go, she want so we just
go on and playing fishing is this funny? She was
swimming this week. I mean, you know Sam and you
know they went down there. They went down there Thursday.
They went swimming doing stuff. So they're taking pictures. This
is our do you said? They're calling us our Sam
Lake's office branch.
Speaker 1 (47:51):
There it is.
Speaker 2 (47:53):
And then if you want to see me live, I'll
be a badgerck Tarku, the race director of Supernational.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
This weekend, it came to you already have a couple.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
It does live stream, so I'll send it to you
least too.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Yeah, yeah, I'll be looking for that. He is Bingo Emmons,
our special guest, Bob Sebastian Sebastian's design. I always love
when he comes in because there isn't really any questions.
I can't ask you, right other than he fixed my
golf swing. I won't ask you.
Speaker 3 (48:18):
Yeah, because if you want to know how to get
that putt around the windmill, I can help you.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
Yeah. I didn't do very well in that space either.
It's good to see you again, Good to see have
a good weekend, guys. This is the creative construction of
Wisconsin Home Improvement Show on Fox Sports nine twenty in
your iHeartRadio app
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