Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - April 28, 2021

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK APRIL 28, 2021
KAUA’I MIDWEEK COVER STORY
STORY BY NICOLE MONTON
PHOTOS BY LAWRENCE TABUDLO
Words like “adapt” and “pivot” were common in the vernacular of 2020, and while many took these terms to heart and adjusted to the proverbial “new nor- mal,” there were others who took a chance at creating brand-new destinies outside of their comfort zones.
“I realized there’s this side of me that was un- fulfilled, this creative side,” she adds.
people to have that, too.”
And, in the latter half of 2020, people began
Tune in as do-it-yourselfer Sachi Lord, pictured with husband Mike, brings a positive touch to the interior design world during One Room Challenge, a biannual renovation competition whose new season is just
around the corner.
Such was the case for Sachi Lord, a nurse anesthetist at Kaiser Permanente. While hunker- ing down in her North Shore abode with husband Mike and young son Luca during 2020’s stay-at- home orders, she launched Sachi Lord Design Co. in the heat of summer.
Lord found herself stuck indoors with no so- cial plans and a lot of time on her hands looking at her home’s interior. Since buying their house about a year ago — also right around the time of the pandemic’s start — she and Mike have been slowly fixing it up and transforming its spaces into much-loved areas, bringing life into a home that once had a story of its own.
to notice the inviting spaces Lord was creating, including notable companies like Better Home and Gardens, which selected her as one of 20 featured designers (and the first from Hawai‘i) for the upcoming One Room Challenge.
“Everyone in Hawai‘i and the nation were looking to make their homes feel more inviting,” shares the 2007 Hanalani Schools graduate. “We were spending so much of our time here, and looking for ways to turn closets into offices and homework stations, multifunctional stations.
“Once I started doing these projects around the house, working with power tools and getting creative with different tiles and paints and finish- es, I was hooked,” Lord admits. “That sparked the idea that if I can create a space for myself that I love and other people love, I feel like I have the ability to help other people love their spaces as well.
Lord had twice participated in the biannual online renovation event — of which the mag- azine is a media sponsor — as a guest design- er taking her talents to a master bathroom and then a kitchen by breathing new life into their interiors.
“I get excited coming home, and I want other
“I found out about the One Room Challenge through the DIY and design Instagram commu- nity,” remembers Lord. “I saw people posting that they were going to tackle a room, and I thought, ‘What is this? I like a challenge; I’m competitive. I want to participate.’ ”