When Libby Drew Carver first saw her future home in a historic Pensacola, Fla., neighborhood, it was the worst house on the best block. It was also down to the studs thanks to flippers who had stopped mid-renovation. There was no sheetrock, and there were holes in the floor.
The enormity of the project would have alienated most potential buyers, but for an experienced designer, the blank slate was a bonus.
“There was a sort of kitchen design, but I was not in agreement with whatever had been planned,” said Carver, lead designer at Pensacola-based In Detail Interiors. “I didn’t have to rip out anything, and I was able to customize every aspect of the house.”…