When I arrived this room and walk in closet were crowded with many years worth of papers (personal, financial, you name it) mixed in with the genealogy papers. Together we set to the task of sorting through these papers and deciding what to keep, what to toss and what category the keepers fell into. We began working together in one room tackling the transformation of the guestroom into something more comfortable for guests and also creating a functional work space where this client could work on the computer and her family genealogy projects. The practice of Patience teaches us creative transformation in action. It requires a slow and steady approach but by sticking with it we are rewarded in the end!
Entrance to room
Guest Bed
Desk
Walk in closet shelves (all clothing that was hanging here was relocated)
As you can see from the before photo’s things were a bit of a jumble. We worked together on average twice a month for a few hours each session. Along the way as we began to see progress and as room was created we started to discuss the clients vision for this room.
- How did she want it to feel and look?
- How did it need to function in their day to day lives and for the guests who frequently used the room?
I discussed all of this with the client and asked her to gather some inspiring images to share what she liked. We ended up working from one particular photo for the rooms inspiration. Before things got finished the room actually looked worse! That’s pretty common with almost any organizing project.
Things were pulled from the closet to sort through and this stained glass lamp served as inspiration for the color palette in the room.
The paint color was chosen and the room got a fresh paint job.
Furniture was re-arranged and cherished accessories were sorted through to select the ones to be used and displayed in the room. When I left we had wrapped things up as best as possible and discussed before I left the possibility of my continuing to work with her “Virtually”. This was roughly how things looked when I left Maryland in November. I knew my client had her work cut out for her but I also was confident in her progress and motivation to complete this project. So, we embarked on monthly phone coaching calls where she and I would “work” through her goals, progress and obstacles along the way. I was very excited to see her progress when I returned to Maryland this past month. Based upon what I had heard had been done in my absence, I knew she had done a great job. This is what I saw when I returned!
A big part of this rooms re-designed focused on the function as a guest room for musicians and a genealogy office. I also wanted to help this client use and appreciate the sentimental memorabilia that tied into the overall theme of the room and were too beautiful to be shoved in a closet! Several stained glass lamps are being used and the violins and other musical instruments are now on display. Furniture was relocated out of the room and the gold chair was brought in from another room. The primary color palette inspiration from the lamp worked well with most of the accessories and furnishings the client had on hand.
This desk is much more proportional to the room and was the only piece of furniture purchased. The client loves it, I love it!
The closet got a transformation with the installation of shelves built to fit the basket filing system we created for the genealogy files. In this case the client wanted to be able to pull out one family’s papers to work on at a time and she wanted to be able to work on them in this room or other areas of the house. The final detail will be putting tags on the filled boxes. No filing cabinets in sight!
The client has a bit more genealogy filing to do to complete this system but this part of the task will be something the client can easily handle on her own. I know this because I see how incredibly far she has come in the past year of working together and in the past 4 months of her working with me on a coaching only basis. Way to go! I love to see these kinds of transformations, they can be so self motivating as the clients see how much progress they have made. Working with clients virtually isn’t for everyone. I only recommend working this way with specific clients who are interested in doing much of the work themselves, they have clear and specific goals encompassing a specific project and are very self motivated. If you think you might be a candidate for working with me on a “virtual” coaching basis, send me an email and we can set up a free phone assessment. What transformations have taken place for you in the past year?
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- Makeover Monday::His & Hers Walk in Closet (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
Inspirational – nice to see “real” projects instead of the “wonder make-overs” from television that probably don’t last 6 months!
Thanks so much, this was primarily an organizing project so that was my main focus but the client also wanted to make the room feel and look great too!