Contracting & Interior Design Gallery
I was contacted a while ago by a lady who lives in Mission Viejo. She had been referred to me by someone who had seen our staging work and she wanted to know if I could assist her in decorating a few rooms in her house. She wanted to buy and keep the items, but had no idea where she wanted to start. Of course I said YES! (I love shopping, no matter if it’s for me or not!). We started with a consultation and I had already asked her to start pulling pages from magazines, looking online for inspiration and I set us up with a shared Pinterest Page. Before we even met for the consult, I pinned dozens of different ideas on the board so that we had a starting point! She also sent me photos of the spaces which assisted me in getting a feel for the size and type of pieces we would need to purchase.
Let me say at this point, I am NOT an interior designer and would never pretend to be, but I do enjoy decorating and helping clients with re-design. I also make sure to be very clear… I am a budget kind of a gal… I LOVE HomeGoods, Target, Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, AtHome and all the other great places where a deal can be had (and ideally, a coupon that can be used!!!).
I scheduled 3 hours with her and we only chatted for about 15 minutes while I looked again at the spaces before I suggested we just go and shop! You can talk about something for hours, but there is nothing like actually holding and seeing something first hand to know if you LOVE it or not!
We went to HomeGoods first, and piled up 3 carts of great stuff, followed by hobby lobby which always has the BEST greenery and silk flowers.
Once we got back to her home, I set about emptying off the shelves in her dining room and getting busy with the decorating.
We used a mixture of weathered woods, gray and black to complement her shelves and lighting, as well as mixing pieces to give some height and texture to the display.
She was absolutely thrilled with the result and I have to say, it was a very fun way to spend 3 hours on a Sunday morning!
Thanks as always to my clients for letting me do what I really LOVE!
The fantastic Debbie Lewandowski had a project in mind for us, and after some detailed conversations about her overall vision, we had a plan!
In the Newport Beach offices of Coldwell Banker, there are a number of “hoteling” desks (15 total spaces) which are meant for agents to pop in, have a place to work on their computers, make calls etc. They are not assigned to any one in particular and as such, Debbie wanted to make them more appealing and productive for anyone who wanted to utilize them.
One of the most specific requests was to have desktop access to a USB outlet (these days, most agents use their laptops, ipads or phones to run their businesses). We were also tasked with a more industrial, black and brass decor look to make it more appealing and up to date and for each desk to be just a little unique!
We spent a while sourcing the best items for the job and once they had all arrived, we set about unpacking and grouping everything by type (The Organizer always comes out in me!!!!).
The highlight of our purchases were the various different desktop lamps, all of which had usb ports, allowing us to not only provide agents with power,
but also be aesthetically pleasing to boot! One of our struggles was the generic fabric on each cubicle which made it difficult to hang anything up. We found some fantastic pins for JUST this purpose and were able to buy light weight art for each cubicle.
Each desk included a tray, art work, a lamp, a plant, various utility pieces (pen holders, tape, staplers) and each one was unique. We had so much fun shopping and installing this job and the feedback has been super positive from the CB agents.
This little cupboard space has been a catchall for anything that can’t fit into the kitchen or stationery supplies room. We decided to remove the black chest of drawers and instead maximize the available height for overflow storage. I purchased a metal storage rack at Target while I was getting my all important sterilite containers and within 1hr, voila! A new place for coffee cups, paper towel and reams of paper. There is also now room for maintenance items like lightbulbs, power cords, tools etc.
This odd shaped room had been kind of a catchall for maintenance supplies, building drawings, gifts, disposable plates and party decor as well as important training and education files and papers. Coldwell Banker wanted to limit is’s use to Training & Education primarily, with a request to remove items not intended for the room, categorize and label remaining items in order to make it a much more useable space with quick and easy access to the training and education items used. To begin with, we moved the filing cabinet that was directly in front of the window, replacing it with a 5 shelf wire rack. Not only did this open up the room for easier access, but also allowed us more surface space for storage of items.
We transferred all maintenance related items to the buildings main facilities area, containerized by type all entertaining and decor pieces, decluttered and organized the existing drawer space. The training and education items are now labeled for quick retrieval and the space has become much more accessible and is being used for it’s original purpose after being thought of as a disorganized dumping ground for years!
Less Stuff Means…less to clean, less to organize, less to store, less mess
Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.
Myth: Organizing is a skill you have to be born with. Fact: Anyone can learn to become organized.
Clutter is a weight that has built on top of you so gradually, you don’t even realize anymore that it is holding you down.
The Zen of Organizing philosophy refers to the creation of a calm, peace-filled, and joyous environment.
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.
Being organized is being in control.
