Enchanted inspiration

Once upon a time in Zephyrhills, a rehabber with artistic vision created magic on a budget.

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF, Times Correspondent
Published September 10, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - Phil Sarlo likes to fix up and restore houses on a dime.

He takes run-down Florida snowbird cottages, magically transforms the exteriors with paint and gingerbread trim and then turns the interiors into storybook visions.

He's tried his hand at two homes on the outskirts of Zephyrhills: the Holland House, a tiny, self-serve bed-and-breakfast, and the "Once Upon a Time Storybook Cottage" where he and his wife, Diane, live. He's about to tackle a third renovation project, the small house-turned-office where he runs his business, Tiger Signs.

"I decorate them myself with things I find - like furniture from Big Lots," explains Phil, whose artistic eye is evident throughout his houses.

He buys deeply discounted furniture - like a china cabinet with a crack in the mirror or an entertainment center missing shelves - and then adapts the piece to suit his needs.

"He's very creative," Diane says. "And handy."

Their master bedroom, named "the Heaven Room," is decorated with angel figurines and murals including one with a bridge over the ocean that leads to what looks like eternity.

He created a sewing room for Diane, a talented seamstress, and a music room where he can practice his bluegrass gospel banjo you can hear him play on Sundays at Zephyr Park "when the weather cools down."

He's also fond of decorating with handmade mirrors that he covers with decals that he makes in his sign shop. The decals are typically quotes, usually religious sayings or proverbs. One declares: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."

A born-again Christian, entrepreneur and inventor of his own typographical font, the Original Sarlo Swiss Cheese (chunky letters with cheese-like holes), Sarlo has done just about everything. His jobs have included running a plumbing supply business (it's how they ended up in Zephyrhills years ago) and working as a national spokesman for a diet plan.

"I've gained and lost over 5,000 pounds in my life," he says with a laugh. "Once I was down to 150 pounds, though you'd never know it now."

Both Sarlos have led interesting lives.

Diane is known to friends and family as "the Flying Nanny."

A professional "executive" nanny by occupation, she dresses the role in sweet handmade dresses and a bow in her hair.

"I've always tried to dress in a ladylike way," she explains.

For years she commuted weekly from Zephyrhills to Saginaw, Mich., where she worked as a nanny for a family with young daughters.

"I was on four days and then off on the weekends," explains Diane, who traveled via commercial flights.

"Even with snowstorms, I was only late to work once," says Diane, who is currently hunting for another super nanny job, and is again willing to travel. Right now she's interviewing with four families, including one family that splits time between Boca Raton and Aspen, Colo.

"I tell parents that my goal is to teach children objectives like honesty, friendship, integrity and flexibility," she says. "I believe that if you teach a child how to live, he will make a living."

Both in their 50s (with 13 grandchildren), the Sarlos are considered pioneers in the homeschooling movement. They homeschooled their four children, all of whom are successful adults who hold college degrees (three from Clearwater Christian College).

They've been married 34 years. Diane grew up on a farm in Michigan. Phil, who was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, also grew up in Michigan.

They met, barely out of their teens, at a church meeting where Phil spoke about his life-altering experience running away from home to Miami Beach and then taking work aboard a yacht that cruised up the eastern seaboard.

It was a tough time for Phil and his family, though it eventually brought him back into the church. He still hands visitors an inspirational card titled "Lost" with the story of that time.

Diane remembers being captivated by his story "and feeling sorry for his mother."

Within seven weeks they were engaged. They married a year later.

The rest is Sarlo family history.

"A lot of my stories take four hours to tell," Phil likes to joke.

Elizabeth Bettendorf can be reached at ebettendorf@hotmail.com.

[Last modified September 9, 2007, 20:53:18]