The transformation on Carriage Drive

After months of extensive renovations, an East County interior designer has converted a Mote Ranch home from rags to riches.

Tackling a bank-owned home that had been prime real estate for squatters was no easy job, but Lynda Contarino, interior designer and renovator for her business Castles and Cottages, knew the investment would be worth it.

“This was my most challenging project, but the most rewarding,” she said.

The “Nightmare on Carriage Drive” home, built in 1991, had potential. It was a rare two-story home in Mote Ranch with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a pool and a lakeside view.

Its location, near the University Parkway corridor and the Mall at UTC, was ideal. But lots of problems existed.

Mold dotted some of the walls and the pool had several feet of standing, gunky water. The bedroom walls were pock-marked with fist-sized holes. The carpet was covered in stains and the doors had been ripped off the hinges.

With more than 25 years of experience, Contarino was up for the challenge.

When she started the renovation process in July, Contarino said the home had to be taken down to the bare bones due to the damage inside. She used licensed contractors to re-carpet, re-tile and replace the HVAC and plumbing systems and clean up the pool. Sixty-five percent of the drywall had to be replaced, and all of the carpet upstairs. Downstairs, she introduced a tile styled to look like wood.

The pool got a makeover with new tile and new pavers to cover the former plain concrete slab.

She also had all the air ducts and vents replaced to get rid of the musty smell and get fresh air throughout the home. The exterior was repainted a dark taupe to replace the previous powder blue.

“The neighbors used to call it the Smurf house,” she said.

The interior design, she did herself.

She knocked down a wall to open the floor plan and designed the color scheme and kitchen to have a coastal contemporary design.

Contarino is listing the home through Karin Swanson, a broker with Key Sarasota Real Estate, for $519,000.