For as long as I can remember, I've been watching homes get transformed.

I grew up absorbing it — my mother spent years renovating historical homes across Charleston, SC. I watched her see potential where others saw problems, and somewhere along the way that became a part of how I see the world too. A home isn't just a structure. It's where life happens. And there is something about giving one a second chance.

In 2023, the year my mom died, I bought a historic fixer upper in Sylvan Park — a 100-year-old home with real bones and a real story — and spent the next year renovating through my grief. I threw myself, as I had watched my mom do countless times, into a whole home renovation and addition. It challenged me, taught me, and completely hooked me.

Word traveled of my new obsession. First friends, then strangers. Clients started coming.

Primary bathrooms. Kitchens. Mudrooms. Whole home renovations. And most recently, a historic home given a second life as a wine bar.

I'm Kathryn Crawford, and this is Second Story Designs — a Nashville-based renovation and design consulting practice. Consulting means you get the design expertise without the full-service overhead — I guide the process, you own it.