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Sadie R. Gunnink, Ed.D.
Learning architect. Experience designer. Builder of better ways to learn.

Construction & Design

I LOVE the construction of buildings and homes! I was born into a family of contractors, and I spent countless hours on jobsites learning the craft from my uncles and brothers. I also spent hours with my grandmother learning how to read floor plans and blueprints and how to rework them when needed. Building design and construction have always been a part of my life to the point that every time I walk into a new building, I can't help but look at how it was constructed and imagine how the build must have gone. From new homes to creative remodels, every project has a story, and I find them all fascinating!


Building and remodeling have taught me the same principles that guide effective leadership: vision, structure, adaptability, and persistence. Every successful build, whether designing a space or leading a team, begins with clarity of purpose and the determination to see it through. I approach every project, from building teams and businesses to designing spaces, digital systems, and meaningful content, with the same care and craftsmanship.


Here's a look at just a few of the homes that have been my project houses:

The Stick House

This home was lovingly nicknamed "The Stick House" by the neighbors before I had purchased it. The entire wrap-around porch was literally built with nothing but sticks!


This was my first experience with a complete teardown, maintaining one foundation wall for code reasons, and (re)building an entirely new replacement structure. I learned about shared wells, zoning variances after completion, working through local compliance issues, and tiled my first bathroom floor and shower walls.

The Penny House

This was the first house I purchased at auction, sight unseen. It was a risk, but the end result was worth it!


My family nicknamed this house "The Penny House" because we found pennies in every room we entered during the tear-out. There were FOUR layers of flooring throughout the house. We found old newspapers under the original flooring, dated back to 1912! (Those were interesting to read.) We replaced all the windows, the roof, and the plumbing, as well as refinished all the floors, patched broken plaster, and repaired the stairs. I gutted the kitchen, reworked the layout, and updated both bathrooms. I learned about tree roots growing into drain lines, and that I am definitely not a plumber! This house also turned into my first Airbnb.

Necedah Cabin

Sitting nestled on a private 5-acre patch of woods, next to the always flowing Little Yellow River, you will find "The Cabin." We owned the land for several years before, one day while scrolling through Facebook Marketplace, I came across an ad for a cabin that needed to be moved. It was perfect! This adventure taught me about timing, building on sand next to a river, mound septic systems, and learning someone else's numbering system. I got to drive an excavator and clear some land before the build. And what we purchased was a shell of a home, so I designed the floor plan to make the best use of the just over 600 square feet.

Pearl

"Pearl" was another auction purchase. To date, this is one of my favorites. This is a 3-unit home that was moved to its current location in the 1950s. It's got great Victorian-era details throughout the home that have been restored. I gutted the whole structure and redid both the plumbing and electrical systems (there was knob and tube wiring still active when I bought it - gasp!) All new bathrooms, all new kitchens, and uncovered and refinished the original ornate wood floors, and more!


Here is a short video: https://youtu.be/qwCn2OKF9Vw?si=WGDxe2Eqf2CZbCND

Pandora's Cabin

Yes, you read that right. Pandora's Cabin. I plan to write a (mostly) fiction series of books based on this house! Something like Stephen King would write. That isn't to say I don't love this house for all its quirks. There were just a lot of them!


When we bought the home, we did not realize that it is on, or very near, old Indian burial grounds. It is literally no joke when I say for every thing that was fixed, something else broke. Then, one day, while in the crawl space running a gas line to the new gas fireplace, the plumber found a bone under the house! It looked an awful lot like a thigh bone...

The Gypsy Wagon

This is my first tiny home. It started as a 1969 16' Forester camper. I tore it down to the metal frame, took a grinder with a steel brush wheel, and removed all the dust, rust, and debris. Covered the frame in a rubberized coating and built an entirely new tiny home/Gypsy wagon structure up from there. Inspired by the ornate Gypsy vardos of old, this tiny home will be just as kitchy and comfortable. 


It is a work in progress, but I have already learned so many things from this build: trailer weight to axle capacity, lighting to make it road-legal, tiny-footprint space planning, choosing lightweight yet durable materials, and material repurposing. This build is for fun, so I am taking my time and putting in all the little details I want as I have time.

Vista Hermosa, Puerto Rico

The latest in my property rehab adventures, this house is teaching me patience, a new language, and a love for the people of Puerto Rico. This home is a 2-unit that had people living in it when we bought it. We were not aware that the previous owner was stealing water from the city, hooking up to electricity illegally, and that several other issues were not disclosed. However, I am now familiar with all the hoops to jump through to get electricity and water connected, the importance of cisterns in the Caribbean, the value of meeting helpful local people to navigate the issues, and the challenges of managing a project of this scale in essentially a different country, even though PR is a US territory.


Side note - I painted that mural while waiting for the electrician. LOL!