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

20 PRO TIPS From Our Home Exterior Designers

Our brick&batten designers are sent emails every day asking for PRO TIPS and suggestions on home exterior design.  That’s exactly what we do! After hours of traveling, workshops, color classes, seminars, speaking with professionals in the field, research, and AIA certifications, phew… we have compiled a list of our own 20 Pro Tips from our ...

House Makeovers and How to Get the Look

So you’re interested in house makeovers and how to get the look… We are asked time and time again about our house makeovers and how to get the magazine look at home… What color paint is that?  Where can I get those lights?  Do you recommend a metal awning over my porch?  What’s the deal ...

Use an Exterior Home Designer to Create Max Curb Appeal

Use an Exterior Home Designer to Create Max Curb Appeal Using an exterior home designer to create max curb appeal can save you time, money, and a headache! We’ve all drooled over Chip and Joanna Gaines masterpieces and saved houses on Pinterest.  Our goal at brick&batten is easy. We want you to love your home! ...

Exterior Home Trends Coming Your Way in 2020

Over the past few months our designers at brick&batten have done a lot of traveling, interviewing, workshop attending, color studying, and interviewing of experts to discover home exterior home trends coming your way in 2020.  We’ve found some interesting creative ideas headed down the pipeline. #1 // Beautiful Garage Doors In many home communities garages ...

5 Tips for Choosing Exterior Paint Color

5 tips for choosing an exterior paint color… you’re probably thinking, only 5!! Trying to pick an exterior house color is overwhelming. You’re expected to pick up little paint swatches and make a call on whether that would look good on your home. There’s no way! It just doesn’t work like that! So, if you’re ...

Your House. Three Ways.

Your House. Three Ways. Are you tired of searching Pinterest for the perfect house or browsing the paint section at the local hardware hoping a chip jumps off the shelf as the perfect color for your home exterior?  Ya. What a waste of time!  See your house. Three ways. Search no more…our brick&batten designers can ...

6 Home Makeovers: How to Copy the Look

You’ve seen beautiful homes on Pinterest and tried desperately to do your own home update. Here’s your chance to get it right with 6 home makeovers: how to copy the look. If you know me at all, you know I’m a firm believer in loving where you live and feeling great every time you pull ...

10 Patio Trends: 8 are HOT and 2 are NOT

Have you been dreaming of creating that beautiful patio design that welcomes guests, keeps family outside, and is comfortable enough to just relax?  It has never been easier! Our brick&batten designers have compiled 10 patio trends… find out what 8 are HOT and what 2 are NOT! Out with the rustic farmhouse and IN with ...

How to PAINT Your Home’s EXTERIOR BRICK

Painting your home’s exterior brick is a daunting task.  Choosing the right color, right paint, and right person to do the job is essential in achieving the results you want!  After years of experience in painting and getting to know my painter, I have come up with a few suggestions on how to paint your ...