a little more "therapy"

Connie and I were so inspired by what a difference a day made to the dining room that we decided to do a little sprucing up in the great room too. I forgot to take before pictures, so you'll just have to use your imaginations.

With the dining room  looking so fresh and bright, it made the others look  worse than they actually did. So we decided that after church on Sunday, we'd check out a home decor store for some fresh accessories and we'd spend our last afternoon together re-arranging furniture and touching up paint.

We moved the living room sofa from the center of the room to the window wall, which opened up the large space dramatically. We took down the heavier curtains and opted to just use the shears. We added the throw pillows to the sofas, which made them feel like new and took out the rug that was showing too much wear. The biggest change was bringing in a colorful, fun clock for over the sofa where she had a collage of family photos. While family photo walls are great, the collection was a bit busy, by bringing in one large item, it made the space seem more restful.

On the other side of the great room is a seating area with a fireplace with built-in shelves on each side. The shelves were mostly empty except for a few books which we moved to the bookcase that was on the other wall. We decided to take out the shelves and use the niches for two large pieces of art. I removed some of the family photos from this area and we pared them down to the most recent of each family member and chose frames that were most alike.

Because the two areas of the great room are open to each other, we chose to use art that had the same look and feel as what was already in there. The spot lights in the niches highlight the paintings and make the space feel very elegant.

There are very few accessories and that creates a more calm space, where the senses aren't so stimulated. Again, this make-over was mostly with things she already owned. We only bought the art for the niches, the clock and the throw pillows. The entire thing took about six hours and that includes the shopping.





It was so satisfying sitting down that evening and looking at what we had accomplished, but nothing could compare with the smiles and laughter we had shared while we worked together. 

So, the lessons here are these: Updating your space and creating order to your home can change your outlook on the rest of the world; You can make a huge difference in the look at feel of your rooms for very little money just by looking at what you have more critically; And last but not least, making these changes with a friend make lasting and wonderful memories!

Re-decorating "Therapy"

So, any of you who have read my blog for a while, or who have worked with me, either as a client or co-worker, know that I truly believe that our environments profoundly impact our spirits. When our lives get crazy and chaotic, we can retreat to our calm and serene spaces and get rejuvenated. But, when our homes are also crazy and chaotic, then we have no respite from the stress. This is definitely the case for my friend, Connie.

Connie and I became friends our sophomore year in high school, but after high school, as happens so often, we went our separate ways and lost touch for twenty years. (How can that be when we are only 39? well, stranger things have happened.) Since our re-connection we have tried to get together as often as possible and have enjoyed traveling together and getting to know each other's families.

In the past few months, Connie and her family have had some pretty serious issues to deal with and their lives have been turned upside down. Their home life has been in complete disarray and their once warm, cozy and fun-filled home has taken on the image of the upheaval as well.

Their family has lived in this house for twenty-two years and they have remodeled and redecorated and expanded to make it fit their family's needs. Over the years this house has become the place where their best memories have happened, so when the troubles came, the memories became difficult to hold on to and the house began to lose it's warmth.

My family went through similar issues a few years ago, so I wanted to share with my friend and encourage her, so I took a trip to the mid-west to see what I could do to help. Now, I'm no professional counselor, and I've never played on on TV, but every woman knows that a little "retail therapy" can lift the spirits like nothing else! So, we decided to go shopping and there was a Danish Furniture store just down the street and that's where we started! (I know you are wondering if this shopping trip was about helping Connie, or all about ME!?)

Connie had mentioned that she wanted to get new furniture and that freshening up the house was something she'd been thinking about doing, so even though I'm not a professional counselor, I am a professional designer, so I knew I could help!

All we had to do was polish the floors!

She wanted a new bedroom suite and a new kitchen table and chairs, but the room that needed the most TLC was the dining room. It was the most un-used room in the house and we decided to change that.

The carpet had seen better days and we knew that there were hardwoods under there, so we decided to uncover them and see how bad they were... but, they weren't!

Once the carpet was up, we patched a few spots on the walls, touched up the paint and decided to move the kitchen table (which was in good shape, just needed new chairs) in and went back out to find chairs and a new light fixture.

Now, you're probably wondering where the therapy took place, well, it was in the tearing out the carpet, focusing on something other than what was bad, it is seeing a change in your surroundings and feeling fresh new starts. Sometimes doing something physical can give a sense of well-being, but when you are struggling emotionally, it's hard to be physical. Some of this was hard work, but the more we did, the better she seemed to feel.

The kitchen table was a light maple finish and Connie had the two chairs that were in the dining room, they were in good shape, but one had a little candle wax on the upholstery and the legs were a dark color. We decided we'd use them so we removed the wax from the fabric* and decided to find a way to make the dark and light finishes "work".

I found a great natural fiber settee that had both light and dark in the woven materials and shared the same dark colored legs as the chairs. We decided that we liked the fact that it wasn't the expected, so we bought it and brought it home. We also found a fantastic light fixture that was simple and elegant, but added a bit of "bling" and after just a few attempts, we got it all wired up and working! (never underestimate the power of two women on a concerted mission)

The curtains had already  been in the room, we just brought them back in, and the new light fixture repeated the circle pattern of the curtains. We added round placemats to continue the theme. We brought back in the mirror and sconces that were in there before, but centered them over the table, which we positioned center of the light fixture.

Before

After (almost)

The best part of this therapeutic make-over, is that everything except for the settee and pillows, light fixture and very few accessories were already in the house. And, it took us only twelve hours to complete! (including the shopping)

After

The room is bright and fresh, and for one day Connie was able to focus on something besides the pain she'd been feeling for so many weeks. We spent that night just sitting in the space, we had our coffee there the next morning and so many times since I left she has told me she's using the room.

No, the trials are not over, the situation isn't "fixed", but there's a new outlook and a place of calm and serenity where she can go and rejuvenate. Her devotion book is there on the table, and there are no bad memories to distract her from prayer and meditation. It's a place that she can now share new and wonderful memories with her family.  And as her friend, I can't help but be proud and honored to have been a part of that with her!



*My Aunt Pat taught me to get was out of fabric by laying a paper bag over the fabric and then using a warm iron, go lightly over the paper bag and the heat will melt the wax and the paper bag with absorb it. You might want to use a thin towel between the paper bag and your iron, but it works! Thanks Aunt Pat!