Many local companies volunteered to take part in ABC’s Emmy-award winning TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition all of
whom had the desire to help out a needy family. The outpouring of crafts people and volunteers was heartwarming. Local companies gave their time, materials and skill even though most were faced with one of the toughest economic times in history; they left their own work to take time to help others. One such selfless company was Picasso Pavers.
I met Leticia Brito and Matt Weaver, owners of Picasso Pavers out at the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition location as they were working on the homes patio. The show had contractors on a tight schedule; everything had to be done within an allotted time regardless of conditions. Leticia and Matt started their day in the dark and cold rain at 5am and finished in the dark at 10pm! Their enthusiasm for helping the community and others is contagious and they were thrilled to be part of this community supported project.
I was impressed that this company had done such a wonderful job under such rough conditions out at the Extreme Home Makeover site, so a week or so later, I sat down and asked Leticia and Matt and asked her how the company had got started.As soon as Leticia and Matt started to talk about their business I could feel their passion of what they do as they bubbled over with enthusiasm.
Leticia told me that she had been running a hardscape, interlocking pavers business for years in the Tampa area and had started under the guidance of her father at the age of 15. She remembered the impact of seeing a job well done from start to end and the simple beauty that a paver product could bring to a home’s back yard.
While in Tampa Leticia met Matt he was in his 12th year of serving in the Marine Corps Air division. Leticia said with a huge smile on her face, “Matt worked in areas that were top secret and he was 6 foot tall in camos and was so alluring”. Matt served in Afghanistan and Iraq and had been injured while doing a jump and after several surgeries’ was forced to take a desk job. He retired from the Marines as a disabled vet.
The combination of his meticulous military training and Leticia’s artistic background put the couple in a prime spot for a business idea. “We started talking about things we could do together, I had a pressure washing business and sealed pavers.
We both thought “Why stop at pavers”, that’s when we started talking about designing outdoor rooms. We spent months looking though design magazines, taking classes and even looking at different cultures. Leticia really has a knack for all over design” said Matt.
The couple took a trip to Portugal and Spain to look at the way the Europeans used outdoor space and fell in love with the romantic setting of outdoor entertaining and the use of wooded structures called, Pergolas. They noticed that Europeans used every inch of space and that even the smallest space could be improved with the right design at minimal cost and have a huge impact on the property and its value. Energized with these ideas they settled in Gainesville and got working on finding the right team of people to form their company.
Both of them came from a military background and had discipline, determination, and an ethical code, which they carried over to their business and insist on with their staff. This couple makes a great team; he is all about accuracy and plans jobs like a military operation where Leticia is passionate about the free form artistic side of the work.
The name of their company reflects their ideas, the great abstract artist Picasso used a lot of different elements to pull together a masterpiece just as Matt and Leticia do when planning their work. They are not just selling you a pile of bricks but an outdoor living room built for your needs. They both emphasize this with their clients on initial consultations as they go over the function and use of materials and design to fit the clients’ life style.
Many of Leticia and Matt’s customers have used Picasso Pavers to build complete outdoor living rooms, with stone or brick patios, pergolas, firepits and outdoor kitchens. The outdoor area becomes an extension of your indoor living room to the point where the lines blur.
Another way of thinking about this is like having a permanent vacation in your back yard. How much do you spend when you get away? Why not skip a vacation to build the perfect vacation getaway right at home! You will be saving money and adding value to your home.
When you enter the front door of Picasso Pavers you know you are in a design showroom. I could see an episode of HG TV being filmed here. Tons of gardening and interior design books are on every surface. A cut down pergola is used as a desk where the office manager, Susan, sits and Ben their technical guy works away on three dimensional computer designs so that customers can get a good visual idea of the end result of a project. For most of us it is hard to envision how the job will look completed and if the choice of materials will work with existing colors on our homes. These designs are extremely helpful to many homeowners when it comes to making an investment like this.
Beautifully framed photographs of work Picasso Pavers have done grace the walls of their offices. There are photos of firepits that are well thought out in design with plenty of seating around them,charming brick walkways, fabulous pool decks and small and large outdoor kitchens that are practical and functional. Their pictures are enchanting and make anyone excited about the many possibilities.
It can be an overwhelming task to do something to your yard that will make a positive impacted to the overall value of your life and home. No one wants to spend money and time on a job that results in work that is not finished, crooked or was just installed in the wrong place. I remember looking at my ugly concert walkway at a house I once owned. I hated the fact that this pathway was the first impression you got of the home, a straight piece of ugly concrete that had cracked over the years. No matter how I tried to hide it with plants it was still an eye sore. Being on a tight budget I decided to do an interlocking curved pathway myself, thinking that I would save money…ha! I hammered away at the concrete and then had to find a way of disposing of the heavy material. Laying the last brick I realized the pathway was not level and that it did not meet my entrance steps. After all that money and hard work I came to the conclusion that I could have had someone do this small job professionally and saved myself time, money and a whole load of chipped finger nails! Although Picasso Pavers can handle large commercial jobs as well as residential projects they also enjoy helping those that have small areas that need enhancing, just like my small pathway. If you look through Picasso Paver’s portfolio you can see that many small outside spaces have been magically transformed into places homeowners are proud of.
Start enjoying the great outdoors in the North Central Florida area and give Picasso Pavers a call, you will be enjoying your glass of wine under your pergola in no time at all!
Visit Picasso Pavers
at the Gaineville’s Home Show
at the O’Connell Center
March 13-14
Picasso Pavers
2420 NW 66th Ct
Gainesville, FL 3265
(352) 375-5166
www.PicassoPavers.com |
