RIPON — It looks like a typical elongated California ranch-style home as you pass it on the way to the Spring Creek Country Club.

The first clue that there is something grand behind the brick façade is the front door that employs extensive glass - clear not frosted - and iron to provide a bold and inviting first impression for guests as they arrive.

What is inside looks inviting, stately yet comfortable from the living room and guest bedroom all the way to the dining room. Even the backyard had been redesigned to continue the look that flows seamlessly from front entrance to living room to outdoor living space. It is what owner Steve Gikas wanted and a lot more all created around a few basic likes and dislikes, a couple of favorite pieces such as a Versace bedspread thanks to the magic woven by interior designer Georgiann Rose.

“The client wanted something grand that was still comfortable to make guests feel at home,” Rose said. “There were just a few key pieces and things that had to be used. Everything was based on that and what he indicated he liked (during initial consultations).”

Rose got hooked on interior design as a young mother. Her brother insisted she do something for herself when her children got out of school age so he paid to enroll her in a Delta College design class. She soon found herself hired by the instructor to work on jobs.

Then in 1984 she struck out on her own. Her first client was Sadie Cabral and her home on Lincoln Avenue in Manteca.

Today Rose is part of a fairly unique “one-stop” approach to real estate needs through Manzanita Ventures launched by former Florsheim Homes chief executive officer Susan Candini at 204 N. Sherman Ave. Manzanita Ventures offers residential, commercial and property management, sales, general contractor services as well as interior planning and design under one roof.

The concept is designed not just to make it more convenient for clients but to save money not just by coordinating all real estate and property needs but by partnering with a client from the get-go on the hunt for a new office location or a home.

Rose specializes in being able to quickly size up clients needs such as for medical offices, examine the space that is being considered and then creating schematics that indicates how it could work to meet needs or determine if the property is not a right fit.

“Sometimes things that aren’t too extensive such as taking out a wall can make a space that is in a good location work for what the client needs,” she said.

The kitchen and guest bedroom in Gikas’ home feature two different approaches to get to the same timeless look that brings the interior of the home together.

The client likes to cook. Rose was inspired by the passion that Gikas shared about food to make the kitchen reflect his joy of cooking. The end result was transforming a run-of-the-mill oak kitchen into one with rich wood tones with a number of unique touches including a metal back splash and coved ceiling with recessed lighting. She took out an exhaust vent that was built into fake cupboards above the stove top and replaced it with a custom creation that’s freestanding and matches the cupboards. The result was opening up an area that Gikas spends a lot of time at - the stove - to give it a bold and inviting feel instead of one that seemed crammed previously.

The guest bedroom involved one of the “must use” pieces - a Versace bedspread. The end result was reached by securing complementing furniture to creating a custom wall finish behind the bed that looks like marble that created a guest room that Gikas proudly refers to as “The Versace Room.”

Rose added a curvy step outside the family room sliders and a door from the laundry room to extend the living area outside. It includes an outdoor kitchen with three ovens, stamped concrete for the pool decking and adding rock to the space to complement the waterfalls on the far side of the pool.

The look was executed all the way down to changes in the large master bathroom window that had privacy fencing previously and replacing it with glass blocks to let the light through.

The end result created even more room in the backyard that pleased the owner.

Rose said the goal is about taking the clients’ wishes and finding way to build on them and make it work in ways they never imagined.

One of her favorite jobs was for a man in Victory Park in Stockton. His wife had returned to Europe for three months to tend to her gravely ill mother and he wanted to surprise her when she returned with an interior makeover. The job was challenging since she was unable to consult with the person the makeover was supposed to surprise and please - the wife.

Normally she’ll sit with the clients, listen to what they want and like and then have them go through magazines and cutout pictures - even if it isn’t of a room or furniture - to get an idea of what type of things they like.

She was able to glean enough ideas from the husband. The crowning touch was taking her children’s art work plastered all over the refrigerator and taking several pieces and having it farmed and hung on the kitchen wall.

“What made her cry was going into the kitchen and seeing her children’s work framed,” Rose said. “She said that her friends gave her a bad time about covering the refrigerator with her kids’ work. You could tell by looking at the refrigerator that her kids meant a lot to her.”

To find out more about Manzanita Ventures go to www.Manzanita.Me or call 825-0825.