Meet a Grandma!
We are thrilled to introduce you to our favorite local grandma, Charleene, from Charleene’s Houses! Charleene’s Houses is a woman-owned local design and build company serving families throughout our community. From creating beautiful, functional spaces to building lasting relationships with her clients, Charleene brings creativity, experience, and heart to every project. Get to know the grandma behind the business as she shares a little about her family, her work, and what she loves most about both.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family! Where did you grow up? How did you start Charleene’s Houses?
I grew up on a 500-acre Angus beef cattle farm in Culpeper, Virginia, with my three brothers, both parents, and my grandmother. That multigenerational home shaped how I think about family and space—something that shows up in every project we do.
I started renovating houses out of necessity. I had to leave my son’s father because he wasn’t working, and I was supporting us both on $21,000 a year. I found a row house in Capitol Hill through the Washington Post—met the owner at a Holiday Inn in Tyson’s Corner and negotiated a deal I could actually afford: a dollar down and assumed mortgages. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I had to figure it out.
For months, I took a taxi from near GW Hospital after work and renovated every night until my husband picked me up at 11. That’s when I realized I loved this work. It became my way out.
What do you love about Baltimore County and what made you consider raising a family here?
The math was simple. In 1995, I could buy and renovate rowhouses here for $40-50K. In DC, the same houses cost $160K-plus before renovation. I was 40, my son was 14, and I felt like I was entering a smaller pond where I could actually make a difference.
I’ve been proven right. Twenty-seven years later, we’re still here, still building relationships that span generations.
What is your favorite thing to do locally as a family?
Family for me means my granddaughters, Carolena (11) and Tinsley (9). We live together in a multigenerational home, just like I grew up.
Our tradition is Christmas at the Nutcracker at Towson University—we’ve been going since they were 2 and 4—followed by dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It’s our thing. The rest of the year, we’re at dance class most afternoons and evenings. Those are the anchors.
Tell us about Charleene’s Houses!
We’re master space planners. Before we ever touch a hammer, we understand how you live in your home and reimagine the space to make it work better for your family. Sometimes that’s a full renovation. Sometimes it’s seeing that you already have the space—you just need it configured differently. Either way, we design it, build it, and finish it so you don’t have to juggle a hundred contractors.
We have three fantastic designers, a fourth in training, three project managers, an estimator, incredible operations support, and my son keeping everything on track as our operations manager.
But what I’m proudest of is how we stay connected to our customers. We run a kitchen contest every March where our Instagram followers vote on their favorite kitchen from the past year—the winner gets a real prize. We deliver chocolate-covered strawberries to every mom we’ve worked with in the past few years around Mother’s Day. At Christmas, we send Melissa’s cupcakes to the whole family. And honestly, some of my favorite moments are watching our customers’ kids grow up through Facebook and Instagram. This year, I got to see the daughter of one of my very first customers graduate from the University of Pennsylvania. That’s the relationship we’ve built.
Be honest, do you have a favorite room in the home to renovate?
Kitchens are fun, but I’m obsessed with first-floor reimagines and master suite reworks. So many Baltimore homes are broken up into too many small rooms, and customers call us convinced they need a whole addition. Usually, they don’t.
Last year in Reisterstown, a family thought they needed to add a family room because they could only seat eight people—ten at most. I walked their first floor and found four separate rooms, each barely used. I proposed removing the walls between them, taking out the fireplace, and opening the entire space. Now they can host twenty people comfortably for a game or holiday meal.
The space was always there. We just helped them see what it could be. Often there’s a smarter, more affordable option than digging footers and adding to the back of your house.
Where did your love for home renovation and design come from?
I’ve always been creative. My grandmother once stood in the doorway of my mom’s sewing room and said to me—loudly—”How on earth are you ever gonna feed yourself if you don’t take typing?” I was sitting on the staircase, and I said, “I don’t know, Gaggie, I guess I’ll just starve.”
I sculpted in high school through art. I sculpt homes now. The medium changed, but the idea is the same: take space and transform it into something that serves the person living in it and makes them happy. That’s been my outlet my whole life.
What advice can you give moms about home renovation?
Design for your family first, not for entertaining.
Make sure there’s a place for homework. Make sure you can see your kids from the sink window. Make sure there’s a play area upstairs that feels safe for them until they’re six or older. And yes—make sure you can close the doors so you’re not running around crazy when guests arrive.
The kitchen needs to function for how you actually cook, not just look beautiful. Storage matters. Your small appliances shouldn’t live on the counter.
Your home is for your family. Build it for them.
How do you find a balance between being a mother, grandmother, and managing your business? Do you have any tips for other working mothers?
I don’t try to balance it. I’ve designed my life around what matters: I stop all appointments at 3:30 to pick my granddaughter up from school. She dances four days a week and Saturdays, so those drives structure my day. After we have dinner and I drop her back, I start working again at night.
Honestly, I get more done at night. It’s quiet. During the day, it’s a hundred questions from the designers and project managers.
My only tip: find work you love that doesn’t feel like work. Mine doesn’t.
Anything additional you’d like to share?
I’ve told my son and my granddaughter the same thing: if you’re hard on yourself, the world will be too. Own your standards instead of apologizing for them. That’s how I’ve tried to run this business and raise this family.
You can reach us through our Calendly on Instagram (@CharlenesHouses) or our website (charleeneshouses.com), or call 443-797-2813.
We strive to support local businesses! What is your favorite place in the Baltimore County area to:
Grab coffee: I don’t drink coffee, but I start my day early and quiet before the family wakes up.
Go on a date night: Manor Tavern in Phoenix.
Get dinner with your family: Strapasta. We’re there most evenings after dance class—the girls know the menu by heart.
Have fun as a family: We added a playroom onto the back of our house last year, and the girls are constantly putting on performances for us, just the two of them and with their friends over.
Engage in self care: Back massages and eyelash curling/tinting at About Faces in Timonium.
Shop for your grandgirls: Filly & Folly has great clothing and accessories.
Local charity: We support the Towson Youth Center and contribute to the Towson University Arts Fund.