Glass Staircase, January 2018
Tyler Karu Builds [Designs] Her Business & Invests in the Future of Young Women.
When does the dust really settle? You might not realize it, but you’re building something. Maybe not a physical structure, but instead a career, a ‘home’, a family, the courage to do something new…
If you were to ask Tyler Karu, real estate investor turned designer and renovator, she’d tell you ‘the dust never really settles’ – and it’s not a bad thing. She’s been building her career and the foundation for her life day by day, detail by detail for years, and it’s really something marvelous. Her mother, an eclectic, fun woman, is one of her biggest supporters – Tyler has always wanted to be just like her.
Portland, Maine is home and the foundation of her fem-pire; Landing Design. She grew up among renovation dust, and plethora of different homes under construction as her family developed and renovated their way through life; and that’s where it all started. Dust in the air, the random plastic covering newly painted cabinets, and the smell of stain as it dried on old wood. It was her natural habitat, and what unknowingly cultivated her future.
“We were never in the same house for very long and I became very comfortable with the construction process. I always enjoyed watching the evolution of our new houses. I suppose construction, renovation and design felt very natural to me...Now I own my interior design and renovation firm. I work with clients on residential and commercial design, new construction and large-scale renovations.”
Her accomplishments in business are very impressive. As a young woman, she’s followed her dreams and made practical decisions which led her down this path – she didn’t just land there by chance. She tested out the real estate market in New York City after college, but discovered her passion wasn’t in traditional real estate…she was meant for something more.
