About Freshwater
Freshwater Design & Build was born from a passion for transforming spaces, sparked when our founders, a husband-and-wife team, remodeled their first home years ago. Today, we bring that same dedication to excellence, offering luxury home building, expert renovations, and full-service interior design. Whether you’re transforming your current residence or creating a custom home from the ground up, our team is here to guide you with expertise, craftsmanship, and a commitment to exceptional quality at every stage.
Meet Our Founders
Karen Schmidt
Co-founder, Principal Designer
My name is Karen Schmidt, owner of Freshwater Design and Build. My passion for design began over 20 years ago when my husband and I were renovating our first little home in Southern California. I began taking interior design classes at a local college, later received my degree and have been taking on projects ever since! My passion grows with every project I work on. I love to take spaces from beginning to completion, working with my clients every step of the way. I love seeing my clients’ faces light up when they walk into their newly designed space for the first time. It’s amazing how a well-designed space can make you feel, knowing everything has its place, functions properly and looks beautiful. It just makes our clients happy –and that makes me happy!
Alan Schmidt
Co-Founder, General Contractor
Hi! My name is Alan Schmidt. Originally from Southern California, I grew up in the construction industry. My father owned a Landscape construction company, and I worked with him since I was a child. I loved going to the job site and seeing the building process. As a teen, I helped my parents renovate our family home. After my wife Karen, and I married in 1998 we renovated our first home together, which ignited a passion for building and design. We have been following that passion ever since. We moved to North Carolina in 2004 and now have four children and love living in and serving the Lake Norman community.
Meet Our Team
Elizabeth
Designer
Hi! My name is Elizabeth Parker and I am a designer at Freshwater Design and Build. I was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and love being back in the area. I graduated from Liberty University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design and am so grateful to be able to pursue my passion for design!
Ceara
Designer
Hi! My name is Ceara Davis and I’m a designer at Freshwater Design and Build. I graduated from Liberty University in 2024 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design. I am originally from Maiden, NC and I am so excited to be working in the Mooresville area! I have always had a passion for design and all things creative.
Betsy
Project Coordinator
Hello! I’m Betsy Adair. I am the project coordinator at Freshwater Design and Build. I have a background in customer service. I oversee all of the ordering, tracking inventory, and scheduling. I also keep all of our clients updated on their projects on a weekly basis. There are many moving pieces to each project and I help ensure that everything is running smoothly.
Austin
Project Manager
Hi! My name is Austin Schmidt, and I am the project manager here at Freshwater Design and Build. I graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor’s degree in Project Management. As the project manager I help ensure that everything is running smoothly and staying on schedule.
Jillian
Shoppe Manager
Hi! I’m Jillian Smith, and I’m Manager & Retail Designer at Freshwater Shoppe. I graduated with my bachelor’s from Appalachian State University and bring over three years of retail design and merchandising experience. I love helping customers discover pieces that reflect their personal style while making their house feel more like home! I can’t wait to meet you!
Kind Words
“Working with Freshwater Design & Build was the BEST decision when choosing to renovate our home. We did a complete renovation of almost every inch of our home with hundreds of decisions to make and the design and build teams seamlessly helped us make every decision and detail including anything and everything that was needed to do so…. They took our house from a very dated choppy layout to the most beautiful, well thought-out layout that is truly comfortable and warm and inviting, but also magazine worthy. The Freshwater team left no detail behind in every inch of our home. They did so much more than we could have ever imagined. Alan and Karen and the whole Freshwater team will always be some of the best people we have ever worked with. Their reliability, expertise and character are unmatched. We are so thankful we chose Freshwater.”
– HEATHER
Interested in working together?
Our team would be thrilled to make your dream home a reality. Fill out our inquiry form today to get started.
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