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Little touches can make truly special place
At the end of each yoga class, my instructor has us sit cross-legged, close our eyes, raise our arms over our heads and “create a special space” for ourselves. This idea is particularly meaningful to me because of what I do for a living. This is exactly what I do — help people create a special space for themselves.
Have you created a special place in your home? Perhaps your special place is your bathroom. I recently helped one client complete a beautiful bathroom remodel. We used a neutral color palette of browns and creams, with Baltic Brown granite counters, dark mahogany cabinets and tumbled stone tile in the shower. It is now a beautiful, calming space where she and her husband can relax and unwind. Another client made her bathroom special by splurging on multiple shower heads and a large spa tub. A small way to make a bath special is to indulge in your favorite bubble bath, light some candles and take a few moments for yourself.
Another client recently hired me for an interior redesign. This redesign was extra special, as it was a gift from her mother after she finished her treatment for breast cancer. As my partner and I rearranged the furniture and placed her special collections and family photos, we felt honored to be given the task of creating a healing environment for her. Arranging her things helped calm some of the chaos that had been her life for so many months. The redesign gave her a place where she could recover, surrounded by all of the things she loves.
The right environment can do wonders for a person’s productivity, emotions and well-being. A beautiful paint color, a room arrangement in balance, an organized and uncluttered space, can all contribute to creating that special place. Sometimes it is just small details in a room that create this feeling. For example, I love the incredibly soft and cozy fleece sheets on my bed. And the stained glass pantry door designed by my daughter adds a very unique and personal touch in my kitchen. I call my hallway my “happy wall” because it is there that I have hung a gallery of family photos. Each time I walk through the hallway I see the faces of many important people in my life.
For those of you who have ventured into new territory and finally used color on your walls — don’t you love how the new color makes you feel? For one client, the new golden yellow walls in her living room made a room that used to be stark and cold feel instantly warm and welcoming. She told me she spends much more time in this room now, all because of the feeling created by the color. It doesn’t have to be a big undertaking to make a good room great.
How have you created a special place for yourself within your home? Please share your examples with me and I will include them in a future column.
This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper
Group papers on Nov. 24, 2007.
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back to the list of decorating columns.
All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna
Jacoby.
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