About

Hi, I’m Carrie Gonzalez

Founder of Penny Modern

I help homeowners design kitchens and bathrooms they love - on a budget they can afford.

A Quick Snapshot

⭐ 65,000+ YouTube subscribers
📺 11+ million video views
📝 Penny Modern blog since 2019
📩 10,000+ homeowners on the Penny Modern email list
🏡 4 homes personally renovated
🛠 Dozens of homes designed for friends & family


Everything I teach comes from real remodeling experience — not just Pinterest inspiration.

How Penny Modern Started

My design journey began with my own home.

In 2014, my husband Robert and I bought our first condo in San Diego. Like many homes built in the 1970s, it needed major updating:

We didn’t have an unlimited renovation budget, so every decision mattered.

I spent hours researching cabinets, countertops, layouts, lighting, and materials. But I quickly realized something frustrating.

Most design advice online fell into two extremes:

• luxury inspiration that cost a fortune
• DIY advice that didn’t always look great

There wasn’t much guidance for homeowners who wanted a beautiful home and a realistic budget.

That’s why I started Penny Modern.

 

The Moment I Realized Remodeling Is Harder Than It Looks

During our first remodel, I remember standing in our 1970's kitchen (with an avocado green stove!) surrounded by paint samples, design magazines, and lighting options.

Our kitchen, before:

There were hundreds of decisions to make, and every choice seemed expensive.

What should we do ourselves and what should we hire out?
Were we overpaying for materials and labor?
How long was this going to take?

That’s when I realized something important:

Most homeowners don’t overspend because they have bad taste.
They overspend because remodeling decisions are complicated and guidance is hard to find.

That experience shaped the Penny Modern philosophy:

The best remodels come from smart planning, NOT bigger budgets.

Our kitchen, after: 

How Penny Modern Grew

Penny Modern started as a blog in 2019, where I began sharing ideas about home design, decorating, and remodeling.

My philosophy was simple - anyone can create a home they love - even if they are on a modest budget.

Writing the blog helped me organize everything I had learned from renovating homes and researching design decisions.

In 2020, I launched the Penny Modern YouTube channel to share these ideas in video form.

Since then the channel has grown to:

  • 65,000+ subscribers
  • 11+ million video views

Several videos have reached hundreds of thousands of viewers, and one video has surpassed 1.1 million views. Which is totally mind-blowing!

Today Penny Modern helps homeowners through:

  • YouTube videos
  • My blog
  • The Penny Modern Design Insider Newsletter (Over 10,000 Subscribers Strong!)
  • My AI Bathroom Design Tool (bathroomdesignmagic.com)
  • And this Shop, of course!

My Background

I’m a self-taught designer, but my work is grounded in real-life experience.

Over the years I have:

  • renovated four fixer upper homes from top to bottom.
  • designed and decorated a high-occupancy Airbnb near Palm Springs, CA
  • helped more than a dozen friends and family members design their spaces
  • researched hundreds of design products and materials 
  • researched, written, and produced over 450 YouTube videos on design

 

My kitchen before:

My kitchen after:

Airbnb in Palm Springs I designed:

Why I Created My Planning Guides


Over the years, viewers kept asking the same questions:

  • How do I plan my remodel before talking to contractors?
  • How do I avoid expensive mistakes?
  • How do I organize all my design decisions?

While videos can explain ideas, they can’t always walk someone through an entire remodel step-by-step.

So I began creating simple planning guides and resources that homeowners can use while designing their spaces.

These tools are designed to help you:

• organize your renovation plans
• avoid costly mistakes
• make confident design decisions
• save money during your remodel

Many homeowners now use these guides alongside my videos while planning their kitchens and bathrooms.

 

Planning a Remodel?

If you're getting ready to update your kitchen or bathroom, you can explore the planning guides and design resources in the Penny Modern shop.

They’re designed to help you plan smarter before spending thousands on your remodel.

👉 Browse the Penny Modern Shop