After 4 Days of Intense Unpacking... Bedroom

The white cubbies were used for books in her previous home but she wants this new space to be clean, uncluttered, and sophisticated and since most of the books are paperbacks, I'm suggesting a closed cabinet for them. For now, the cubbies fit perfectly in the bedroom showcasing her 95+ pairs of shoes.

I have reasons behind everything I do and my main goal when transforming a space is to get it completed in the least amount of steps. It's important to plan things so you're not moving things around more than necessary. The books are not immediately important and can stay packed until we get the cabinets to put them in, plus they're easier to deal with packed.

I set the shoes up this way for several reasons:

- they were carefully packed and took up a lot of room in the moving boxes

- I do not know how she dresses everyday so I didn't know which ones she'll want right away

- the entire collection is visible making it easier to categorize them once the new storage piece comes; everyday shoes, special occasion, off-season, archive, etc

- since we don't have anywhere else to put them (i'll be suggesting a closed cabinet for them), they're safe and out of the way until we get the new cabinet

I know she's motivated to get the space 'done' as soon as possible so she shouldn't be living this way for too long. Will keep you posted on the progress....

UPDATE: For more pics and details, check out my Flickr.

After 4 Days of Intense Unpacking.... Entry + Living Area

At this stage, things are set up 'for now' so she can function nicely in the space. One of her filing cabinets fits perfectly near the door so it's there for now until we decide a better place or she gets another table. Or maybe we'll leave it there but cover it with a nice cloth (which she has a lot of).

I'm going to suggest a cabinet for pantry items where the leaning mirror is shown in the first pic. She cooks a lot and needs more storage space for the kitchen. The mirror is there for now as it's opposite the bedroom door so she can use it as a full length mirror.

The banker's boxes are all books and cd/dvd's. I lined them up like this without anything on top to give her the idea of how the closed cabinets I'm going to suggest will look. They'll be for the books and give a surface for the TV and other decorative pieces. The last pic shows the things not unpacked; photos, memorabilia, office supplies and some organizational pieces she already had that I haven't used at this point.

After 4 Days of Intense Unpacking.... Kitchen Details

This is not how I generally work. I've never met this client and didn't see pictures of her previous home. She moving from the west coast but got called away on a job leaving me to unpack on my own, and 1 week until she came to town (which was really 4 1/2 days, I have other clients you know). The goal was to unpack as much as possible to see what additional storage she may need.

I unpacked the kitchen first as kitchen stuff takes us so much room when packed and I needed the space. She mentioned (the day after I did it) that she and her mother would do it once she got here but the thing is, nothing makes you feel more at home in a new space than when you can use your own dishes and make a meal right away. She can always tweak things like if I happen to put the dishes she used the most on the upper shelf.

I doubt she'll keep it but I LOVE the rug in here. It fits perfectly, is super comfy underfoot, and is really beautiful.

Wednesday

Just after the movers left. Forgot to take pics of the bedroom which has about 3 more garment boxes, 10 other large boxes, mattress and boxspring on their sides against the wall to give me room to move around... OH! And you may have noticed the new elfa system in the closet that was installed just before the movers came.

Tuesday

(living room to the left, bedroom to the right)

This is a client's new rental apartment the day before the movers came...

Stay Tuned...

(afraid i do not know any of the photo credits...)

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm helping two separate clients get settled into their new apartments. Working 8hr days while keeping up with my regular clients has left me quite exhausted. The good news is I'll have some projects to show you very soon so please stayed tuned!!

In the meantime, here's a few pics from my inspiration file...

George Carlin on Stuff

If you've never seen George Carlin's rant on stuff, you must! My favorite line is "Have you ever noticed that their stuff is shit, and your shit is stuff?"