Judy and Michael Biliunas didn't set out to go into business together, but the marriage of an interior designer and a general contractor has turned out to be a winning combination in Creative Home Solutions Inc.

Judy originally worked as a kitchen designer for Angerstein's, a Wilmington, Del., building supply company, and Mike was one of Angerstein's primary contractors. When Angerstein's decided to sell its kitchen & bath and glass divisions, the Biliunases seized the opportunity to start their own business, Creative Home Solutions.

Judy has no regrets at making the transition from employee to employer, but she laughs at the common assumption people make about the self-employed: "Everyone thinks that we can just come and go as we please because we have our own business, but they're wrong," she says. "I envisioned myself retiring in 10 years, but instead I'm working 16-hour days."

For Judy, the business is all about the customers. "Some can get testy at times," she says, "which is not really surprising when you realize that they're investing as much as $50,000 in a kitchen renovation." For the most part, though, the couple's interactions with their customers have been very positive. "We've actually developed some personal relationships with the people we've worked for," Judy says. "When you spend that much time with someone--from the initial visit we make to their home to the product selection stage and finally completion of the project--it's not unusual for us to be invited to dinner when it's all done."

Judy does apply the word "unusual" to some of the challenges she's met in dealing with customer's tastes, including one home in which an old wooden cow trough occupied a place of honor in the kitchen and another with bales of straw in the living room. "You just take a deep breath, smile, and say 'I can work around this,'" she says.

The Biliunases are particularly proud of a few special projects, including a Victorian home that was on Wilmington's well-known kitchen and garden tour. "We did an addition to the house, including such period details as a punched tin ceiling," Judy explains. "Mike had duplicated the original so well that even the historical society couldn't tell that it had been redone.

"That was one of the most fun projects we've done because the owner had many good ideas herself and she also gave us lots of leeway in designing the renovation. She was so happy with the job that when she moved to the Chicago area a year or two later, she actually called us to see if we'd work for her out there."

The Biliunases also came close to having the opportunity to do a project on a Caribbean island, with expenses paid by the owner, but the taxes on imported merchandise proved to be prohibitively high. "I could have easily made that project last a year," Judy says.

Home Solutions is a family affair in several ways. Daughter Nicole Tucker, an education major at UD, keeps the books for the business, a responsibility she has had since she was a high school student. And younger daughter Danielle was the inspiration for an on-site playroom in the company showroom. "I designed it to keep her occupied while I was working, but it's proven to be very popular with the customers," Judy says. "Kids usually pester their parents to leave a store like ours, but here they want to stay and keep playing."

Family closeness spills over from the business to free time. Mike is a member of the Delaware Enduro Riders, a motorcycle racing club with about 100 members, and the rest of the family works as his pit crew. The timed events in this sport take place on trails, through mountains, over streams and even into caves. "The routes are between 80 and 120 miles," Mike explains, "and the events take all day. It's great having the family along to gauge my time in reaching checkpoints, provide moral support and replenish supplies." The family travels up and down the East Coast, from Rhode Island to South Carolina, with Mike competing in 18 events each year.

"He's done very well at it," Judy says, "with some sponsorship money that enables him to at least replace the damaged parts on his motorcycles when he runs into trouble."

Judy and Mike Biliunas may not be able to retire in 10 years, as they had originally planned, but it's clear that they're taking time to have fun.