Visit lettinggo2.blogspot.com for Joyful Thoughts!

The Decorating Divas made their first paycheck! Today we transformed an assisted living room into an area that provided more useable space and gave pride to the, “lady of the house.”

Imagine leaving your waterfront home, losing your husband of 50+ years, and taking a small room in an assisted living facility that is meant to keep your memories, clothes, bed, desk, and television.

It became apparent that “keeping stuff” was also a means of keeping control of what seemed to be lacking. We asked many questions including what she didn’t want to have moved, and in no short order we were given direction and we were then off to a great start. We created a small kitchen area, desk, tidy bookshelf, and sitting area that provided new light to read her beloved books.

The job was relatively easy in that we finished within two-and-a-half hours, but the truth would come during our check in phone call, after we finished the job. While one of the chairs had already been moved shortly after we left, it was clear that not only did the lady feel loved for what we gave in our time and talents, but she also seemed to feel a sense of pride. During our follow up she noted that, “it would take a bit of time to get familiar with her new surroundings, but she was sure it would work out”.

Sometimes compliments come in small forms and knowing that we’d made someone’s day a little bit brighter was well worth the effort!

Here are a few during and after pics.

Before

After

Shelf Detail

It seems once you get on the Diva trail it is hard to get off. Just yesterday Jen and I nearly completed the estate sale (after many days of prep and pricing) and I am now on to thinking about our next gig. The “bump in the night” woke me up at 3:30 a.m. and it needs a place to go!

One thing is clear – the Diva’s need a business plan! I can see where momentum carries you through but then when the end of the year comes you look back and have a hodgepodge of stuff that still needs a home and rooms that still need finishing. I think there is a place for everything but first it merits determining the steps that you have to do to complete a project.

1) Feel – enter every room with a blank slate in mind. Identify what you love and what you can live without. Write down what you want to move, sell or donate.

2) Function– Determine the purpose of the room. What function do you need the room to have?

3) Form- Think about color and combinations of furniture, fabric, window treatments, bedding etc.

4) Fit – Get a plan in place for the when and how (young teenage boys make great heavy lifters!)

5) Fun – Get your Diva gear on, get your girls and go!

So, I am mentally playing in my mom’s house right now and in the absence of pictures I am going to take a stab at writing out the plan – this one is for you mom!

1) Feel 
The rest of the house has just been updated including a brand new kitchen, master bath, living room, dining room and half bath. Beautiful teal blues, cream and pale orange are the palette. The 3 bedrooms in the back of the house need updating and lack ideal function.

2) Function
Papa needs an office and mom aka Jannie  needs her dining room back, especially because it is knock down gorgeous!  The grandkids still need a bed to sleep on when visiting, however, they seem to be hanging in the basement when they do. The bedroom set in the guest room is currently too big for the room and the master bedroom furniture is tired.

3) Form
Jannie is drawn to the teal blues and she already has a cream and teal combo in the master and guest bedroom. The office (currently the boys room) has a masculine wallpaper and thematically has a nautical feel.

4) Fit
– The master bedroom dressers and headboard go to the garage (Oh, did I mention we are going to have a sale mid August?)  The chair and table with lamp go to the office. The chair from the pub table room goes in the corner with a table and lamp (if it works with selected bedding)

– The guest room furniture moves to the master bedroom

– The office will have shelving in the closet, a long desk with filing cabinet drawers underneath for files and gadgets. A chair will sit in the corner with a floor lamp and possibly a small table next to it.

– The day bed that is currently in the boys room will be moved to the cove in the basement where there is a jerry rigged office currently setup. All of the “desks” which are countertops will be moved to the garage for staging.

– The “cove” will be used cross functionally as a daybed/couch with nice pillows as a backdrop. The small walnut desk with a computer on it can be placed on one wall and the beautiful 2 cushion “Florida room”  couch could be placed on the other wall with the glass table lamp. The current desk behind the couch in the basement can be dismantled and used for staging. All printer equipment, fax and copy machine can be moved to the office or storage room, if wireless.

This shift in furniture not only lightens the load, it helps to have a use for every room which is much needed, since this is a home and office for both mom and papa. This separation of “church and state” will give Papa a place to go and when he is finished in the office his oasis will be awaiting him. This also gives mom the space that she desires and provides a place where she is not concerned about the volume of the TV when Papa is on the phone doing business. When Papa gets an office outside of the home it can still be used as a home office or swiftly be changed to a secret hideaway reading room.

Now once last thing. When you start moving a to b to c you are going to end up with “stuff” that doesn’t have a place, plan or purpose. So it is important to schedule either a Purple Heart pickup, Salvation Army drop off or a sale if you want to make a few bucks.

In this case, a sale is in order. Many items from the previous home renovation are now strewn about downstairs and the storage areas and basement are not useable because of the “collectibles”  are stashed here temporarily.

5) Fun 
This is where we need the strapping young grandson and son in law to come in to do a bit of moving. This Saturday items above can be moved and placed while in for the birthday party.

My recommendation is that between now and mid August Papa unloads the garage and mom unloads the storage areas to the main part of the basement and they are sorted for sale or donation. A staging area of long tables (counter tops that were used as an office desk in the basement) should be setup in the garage and items that are not being used should be placed for the sale.

The Divas will swoop in and organize, price and sell the goods. A sale will be advertised in the local paper, Craig’s list and several signs will be posted. One idea is to contact your HOA and suggest that they host a subdivision sale the same weekend!

Larger items such as dresser sets, desks and TV’s can be sold in advance on Craig’s list.

In this case we have re-purposed most rooms and there are likely only a few items that need to be purchased. Items recommended for purchase in this shabby chic expedition are as follows:

– A dresser and side table for the guest room
– A flat screen TV for the master bedroom
– A desk for the office

The estimated profit on the sale is likely $1,500 and the cost to purchase the above items is about the same.

Now that I have downloaded all of this from my mind it is time to go back to sleep! The bump in the night is a precipitous for change and may be just what Jannie and Papa need to complete their renovation in this wonderful 3 bedroom ranch home!

Unleash Your Inner Diva!

Getting dirty requires a certain amount of grit and I am not talking about dirt. I am talking about being willing to do the “less than glamorous” diva work which almost always includes the garage and basement.

That is what the Diva’s are up to this week- getting dirty! Yesterday was a day of sorting, sweeping, throwing, stacking, moving and grooving! Jen clocked in 18,000 steps on her Fitbit- way to go girl!

The mission is to get as much stuff out of her “new home” take it to her “old home” and sell it. This weekend we are having an estate sale to unload some of her most beloved items that she has decided to part with.

An estate sale draws a different crowd then a garage sale and it requires more planning. The hawks arrive early and they are generally looking for antique items that the seller under values. That’s where Georgie comes in!

Enter in Diva #3- Jen’s mom Georgi – she  owned an estate sale business back in the day. Georgi will join us for pricing and will make known what items are to be left in the family arsenal.

My role in this excursion is not only to sort, discard and make it all look pretty but it is also to build in accountability on whether or not an item is truly worth keeping. We all have dishes or a rocker from our grandmother but if it stays in a box then is it really worth keeping?

This is a delicate role to play when you are talking about people’s lives merging together. Just yesterday when we were sorting the “man cave” areas (aka garage and basement) it became very clear that men and women value different things.

The choice and chore was to see if form followed function or function followed form. I would say for most men – function rules! The problem with omitting form is that things don’t usually end up matching. Women on the other hand typically value form which means that it might look good but it may not “work”. I think God brought men and women together to strike a balance internally and externally.

The real challenge is trying to check in with your inner self to see what you value. If keeping high school trophies is important because you gave your life to that activity growing up, then display them. I believe we all have things that represent our inner souls and whether it is books or figurines, tools or chairs – it  doesn’t matter as much as “knowing” what lies within.

After all of the sorting and selling is done it is important to sit and reminisce about the things that matter in life- people, time together, hard work and being present.