Cassie McDowell

Cassie co-founded brick&batten in 2017 with her sister, Alli, but her love of home design was born years earlier. Cassie’s passion for design can be traced back to her childhood, when she’d accompany her parents on road trips through small towns in search of inspiration for properties they would buy, fix up, and sell. 

Prior to launching brick&batten, Cassie worked as a fourth grade teacher, but her love of design, architecture, home renovation, and open houses inspired her to pursue a new career. When writing for brick&batten, Cassie aims to empower homeowners to make the best informed decisions for their property. She knows from experience how challenging home renovation can be, and when she writes, she puts herself in the shoes of every homeowner with similar frustrations.

Cassie currently lives in Florida with her four children, an old dog, and her loving husband. When she’s not working, Cassie is most likely checking out a nearby open house or traveling to learn about the latest house trends.

Blogs by Cassie McDowell

How To Find the Right Garage Door For Your Home’s Style

Choosing the right garage door for your home’s style is a huge decision.  It’s a decision that can significantly improve or demolish your curb appeal, as well as the value of your home.  Some front load garages take up nearly half your home’s facade. That said, it should be beautiful, safe, functional, and appropriate for ...

Painting Your Home? 12 Things to Know Before You Start

There are 12 things to know before painting your home. Choosing a home exterior paint color can be frightening. Our brick&batten designers have come up with some solid ways to help you choose the best home exterior paint color without losing your sanity in the process.  Spending countless hours in front of the paint samples ...

20 Painted Brick Houses to Inspire You in 2020

We virtually paint brick houses everyday and know what works and what doesn’t. We’ve found 20 painted brick houses to inspire and get you excited to paint your brick. Despite being a controversial topic, painted brick is a DO. Honestly I’m not sure why the hesitation. If you don’t like your brick, why are you ...

Best 2020 Exterior House Colors When Selling Your Home

A beautiful home exterior paint job is a show stopper! We’ve found the best 2020 exterior house colors when selling or staying in your home. So, if you’re looking to put your house on the market and want to get top dollar or you’re ready to paint your largest investment, you’ve hit the right spot. ...

20 Front Porch Ideas for Small or Sprawling Spaces

Having a sprawling front porch is beautiful and definitely adds value to your home; however, most of us have small porches that sit happily, waiting for attention. Even a smaller porch can look stunning with the right accents and furniture.  Whether your porch is small or sprawling, we’ve found 20 front porch ideas that take ...

8 Things You Can Do This Weekend to Improve Your Curb Appeal

We’ve come up with 8 things you can do this weekend to improve your curb appeal. Some home exterior changes require a dumpster in the driveway and serious contractor bills… or several trips to the hardware store to really confirm you have no idea what’s coming! That said, other changes are simple enough that even ...

Window Labels: What You Need to Know

Energy Performance Labels: What You Need To Know I know you’ve seen those weird blue window labels that just get peeled off with no thought.  Those window labels give important information and things you need to know! If you’re building a new home or remodeling your existing one, sooner or later you’ll probably need to ...

2020 Buzz Word in Home Design: Sustainability

What’s the 2020 buzz word in home design? SUSTAINABILITY.  Everywhere our designers travel, talking to builders, homeowners, and designers, everyone is referring to sustainability. Tackling that word, we asked around to figure out exactly what that looks like for homeowners like you and me.    According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of sustainable is “harvesting or using ...