Giving a Room a Purpose

“I have an unused room in my home and I don’t know what to do with it. Can you help me?” asked my empty-nester client. Her children were either off to college or well-established in their professional lives, and my homeowner found herself with new decorating frontiers. Now that her children had flown the coop she wanted to update her home – new carpeting, new paint and the repurposing of several rooms.

It’s very common for couples with newly vacated rooms to be at a loss as to how to use them. They have grown so accustomed to treating the space as “Johnny’s room” that the idea of taking it over for some other purpose doesn’t occur to them at all or seems disrespectful. This room used to belong to one of my client’s children, and she was stumped as to how to use it.

On my first visit the room was empty except for a few pictures leaning against the wall. But during the walk-through of her home I noticed a colorful set of outdoor wicker furniture in her garage. “I bought it at a consignment center for a song, and I am not sure what I want to do with it yet,” said my client. As we stood in the doorway of her son’s old room discussing how the room might be used I suggested she move the white furniture into the room just so that the space looked pretty. The furniture wouldn’t collect dust down in the garage and at least she’d have an appealing vignette to look at when she walked down the hall.

On a subsequent visit, I discovered my client was in the habit of meditating and doing some daily spiritual reading. “Why not use this room as your retreat? You can bring your cup of coffee up and have some privacy and quiet as you contemplate!” My client loved the idea, and we started to “create a room of her own.”

Before

•My client’s husband had thoughtfully brought up the garden furniture from the garage, but the placement wasn’t quite “it.” With the settee in this position the room looked out of balance, and my client had a great view of the closet!

•This room needed some life! My client has a warm and vibrant personality, and we needed some accessories that reflected her aura and made her happy to look at as she did her morning practice.

After

•By simply repositioning the settee under the window and angling the companion chair to face it, we created a more inviting, balanced arrangement. The couch now faces a wall on which we could create a pleasing focal point (out of view). We hung a large, colorful painting across from the couch and put a rustic bench underneath it. We stacked some of her favorite books on the bench, along with a vase of flowers – an uplifting scene to contemplate during meditation.

•My client was a clever and thrifty shopper. We searched through her kitchen cabinets and butler’s pantry for accessories that reflected the sunny, cheerful feeling of the room. The accessories added a fresh and lively feel to the space.

My client loves this room now and spends lots of time in it. She was able to claim the space as her own. She also found it satisfying to use what she already had and to be able to save money on having to buy new furniture. She’s going to use the money she saved to get new carpeting.

View Foreclosure Article Archives