Before & After
“My life took a definite change for the better after Maxi created my personal get-a-way space from the family for awhile. I started writing on my book again! This space has also taught me how to take care of myself, so I am better at taking care of my family, and how to set healthy, emotional boundaries with my family to respect private time.”Suzanne B., Los Altos Hills, CA.
Saving a Business, Saving a Relationship, Saving a Favored Watering Hole
Widow Reclaims Her Life Through Her Home
Customized Headboard, Mirror and Lamp
Bachelor's Side Yard Entrance
Beach Condo Conversation Area
New Condo Old Large Furniture
Artist and Musician Creative Expansion
Healing Room
Studio Apartment & Massage Business
Midwest Oak Meets Asian Simplicity
Condo, Meditation & Home Office
Small Berkeley Apt. Prep. to include a RoommateSaving a Business, Saving a Relationship, Saving a Favored Watering Hole
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 2011Two partners lost their lease for their chill out lounge in the US and decided to give it a try in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They purchased a building and transformed the business template for the prior lounge into one for the Mexican lounge. After six years in Mexico, the business stalled, and the two partners were ending their personal relationship along with the gradual decline of the business. So, this project was not just about rebuilding the structure or the business, it was teaching the owners how to separate out their past personal relationship and build a new business relationship.
I did all the demolition, plumbing, sound system, electrical, remodeling and design. I also hand painted murals, wall patterns, designed and hand sewed and installed upholstery and drapes, refinished and moved furniture, created patterns in the new floor cement, made light fixtures, and organized the kitchen. I used and reused all that was in the space so the cost for supplies was under $200 U.S. And, oh, by the way... all this was done in 95 to 100+ degrees with humidity at 75%.
THE NEW BAR CREATION
THE DEMOLITION
The process started with an analysis of what was already in the space, how functional was the use of space, and what needed to be added, like events, live music and dancing, that would bring in more business. I saw that there was a good amount of space wasted for a cluttered boutique that had little product and had a bunch of junk piled on it.
I straighten it up, and later rearranged the clutter to be more presentable and to give the owners time to accept change. I had plans to move the existing Bar to this area for a cozy and more intimate experience. The Bar was currently in the middle of the largest room that was needed for more dining and cocktail tables to an increased patronage.
When I cleared away all the clutter I found that the area had a built-in, full length cement bench seat attached to the outside structural wall. This meant I had to do major demolition and be careful not to disrupt the supporting wall while detaching this monster seat from the wall and floor, to gain the precious and much needed floor space.THE SINK
THE SERVICE BAR
The shelving unit fit in my a thousandth of an inch, but we decided ti cut the base off so we could shim it up to level it on the slanted floor.
I drilled hole in the back corners of the shelves and threaded string lights up and across each shelf to give back lighting for the liquor bottles and glasses. This was for function so the bartender had enough light to see the bottles and to create a warm and cozy attraction that lead people in from the front door.
Lighting was added to illuminate the bar area with a soft glow but enough for the Bartender to be able to function. I installed the sound system under the bar counter so the Bartender could control the volume separately for the intimate bar and the large, open Main Lounge. They would also be able to change the CDs easily compared to the old set up where the sound completely stopped while the Bartender climbed over the patrons and onto the stage to find the CDs to play, and then climb back to the bar to fill the drink orders. Yes, I think of everything. Function is a design unto its self!
THE BAR SEATING COVE
To the side of the New Bar area, was a built in circular seating area that was under some beautiful ironwork window. I found some old cushions from the seating we removed for the New Bar and I cut the foam to fit and recovered them with their original fabric.
There were also so old shaped cushions from the old seating and one of them was just enough of a funky shape to make into a backrest. Two pipes were cut and painted copper and attached to the pillars behind the seating. Two sets of fabric loops were attached to the back of the cushion and slide over the pipes to create the backrest.
There was a desperate need for a center ceiling light over the area, so I dug around the place and found a elongated iron pyramid shaped candle shed with stars and moons cut out of it. It was the perfect design with the stars that had been added to the arches leading into this space. I sprayed it copper and I attached it to an old frame, that I painted, and attached both to the new ceiling light I had installed.
Then to add some drama, I found amber crystal beads from a necklace with was decorating a large goddess statue and threaded it through the lower cuts out of the stars and moon.
I used an amber light bulb to keep the soft mystery motif, and it glowed at night and it sparked by day.
Note: You may view the new logo and the website of this project.
COFFEE, TEAS & BRANDY STATIONS
There was an old bookcase near the old stage. I cut off the extended legs and it fit perfectly under the overlapping kitchen counter. It filled in the awkward and unusable under counter problem. This was filled with books, puzzles and games to make in the same bar area to make a cozy coffee and tea space for the daytime quests.
There was a need for a coffee and tea setup that was not only pleasing to look at, but also accessible to the waitress and not to be in the bar area in the way. I found an old French bakers rack in the storage room, and it fit perfectly into the archway that lead from the New Bar to the New Dance Room. This saved us the construction of a new blocked off wall and also gave ambient light to the dance area as well as the coffee nook.
Right next to the coffee and tea station was a wall that lead out of the New Bar. It was too small for a chair because it would block the path to the kitchen and restrooms, and too large for just a painting or photograph. I found a, antique silverware cabinet and I placed in in the spot. Then I rewired on old glass jewelry display case with an amber bulb and placed it on the antique cabinet. I filled it with the brandy bottles, brandy glasses and some display crystals. The glow from the case was stunning, and I bet they sold more brandy and crystals!
ENTRANCE PARLOR
Inside the entrance (see photo below right, was a large area that divided the two sides of the establishment. It was wasted and unused and it didn't give a very inviting feeling from the outside looking in. I moved some of the baroque furniture into this space and created a gaudy lounge effect and made a parlor. Guests could sit and see out the door, or to the left and see the Main Lounge or to the right and see the cozy bar.
I cleaned the fabric to bring up the colors and I antiqued the wood trim with gold paint. Then I recreated the fabric pattern for a wall treatment to blend the furniture to the wall. Remember, this is an eclectic funky chill lounge and it was filled with antiques.I hand painted stars on some of the archways to give a brightness and intrigue to the rooms as you passed through them.
I hand painted the design onto the wall and then over laid the details with gold paint. I then used a fine brush with thinner and dabbled the thinner over the gold paint to make it shrivel and shrink to give a gold leaf effect.
Yes, this is a trick to make things match just enough to blend even if they are not great colors. This saved having to repaint the walls.
There is an opening behind the settee that allowed light into the room behind and it was softened by hanging chains. So, I ran a rag of gold paint over them to give and antique look and I added to the chains some of the leftover crystals from the Main Lounge chandelier. This gave just the right hint of twinkle to be exciting. There is also a very large Buddha head hanging in front of the chains, so I touched that up with some of the gold paint as well to bring out the features.
I hung some iridescent copper shear curtains from the beam that connected the Parlor to the Main Lounge to make a more intimate Parlor and A grand entrance into the Main Lounge. This also helped with the bouncing sound of voices and music off the cement walls, ceilings and floors.
THE NEW DINING, COCKTAIL, LIVE MUSIC LOUNGE
THE DEMOLITION
This is the view from the balcony of the existing bar space.
Sorry for the blurred shot of the half of the remolded Lounge... the Jersey girls were having a major disagreement, and I was leaving to move to the Jungle. Caught this on the run! You can see in comparison to the image above, how much floor space we gained by moving out the bar to the other wing of the building. Floor spaces equates to more income! I threaded rope lights through long gauze socks for lighting from above.
The wood bar, that come from the Jersey Lounge was reused in the new bar area, but they had an extension added to it built out of cement. The circle tile art on the front had to be removed by propping it up with padding so not to damage the edges when it came off, and I used a machete to squeeze between the adhesive and the cement bar, and gently saw away at the plaster adhesive. The actual bar itself was 10" thick cement with three over structured support posts of steel and iron Rebar that was almost impossible to destroy.
Sledge hammers, jack hammers, and sawing of the Rebar was needed and it took days of continual work. It took longer to remove than anything else we did in the remodel. We even considered leaving the post and painting them as art with a statue on top, but these posts were right on the prime spot that was the reason for removal in the first place. So, back at it we went.
PLUMBING & FLOORING RECONSTRUCTION
When we moved the old bar our out the Main Lounge, along with the required Three Basin Sink, we had to deal with the plumbing of the pipes coming in for the water the the drain for the waste water. Since in Mexico, everything is encased in the cement we had to figure where the water and drain sources where and how little we needed to tear up the cement to cap the pipes off.
Using my psychic ability and father, I did the "Thunk Test" which is where you tap the cement for a different sound and it will tell you where to start digging. That worked! Now all we had to do was to find the junction point of the pipes so we could saw off the junction and seal a cap-off. Again using my sight abilities, we hit the exact place the first time.
When we removed the bar to find the pipes we found that there were multiple layers of cement and tile flooring we had to work through. Evidently there was an original cement floor with a wavy texture, then an overlay of tile and another overlay of cement, to try and level off the floor area behind the bar. The original structure was an open-air swimming pool with a sloped flooring to allow for drainage. Not knowing what was under nether, we carefully chiseled, inch by inch, to remove all the uneven flooring.
I then did the "Sculpture" technique to create a smooth transition between the levels so we did not have to dig up and re-cement the entire Lounge floor. I made clean cuts in the floor so that we could patch only those areas and over the capped plumbing. When the Cement was a bit more dry, I used a pencil to drain into the cement and match the original pattern. It was sealed and painted to match the rest of the existing flooring.
When the paint dried, it was an exact match and the flooring was level enough to evenly balance the tall Cabaret tables with tall feathered lamps.
WALL GRAPHIC RESTORATION
When we moved the Bar Bookcase shelving unit, it was covering up a full wall width of the owners beloved 1950's Jersey Skyline. With the humidity and heavy seasonal rains in Puerto Vallarta and the dust that becomes mud, some of the photograph was stuck to the back of the shelving unit. I carefully removed the pieces as best I could with a craft knife, and glued the small pieces back onto the photograph.
But the unable to be saved pieces reveal a bright white fuzzy photopaper with the semi gloss now removed. I tried to photograph the parts needing repair thinking that I could use Photocopy to recreate similar spots from the photo and paste it back on. But, the lighting in the space wouldn't lend itself to this process because the ceiling was part of the open-air Main Lounge, of corrugated fiberglass painted purple.
So, the light coming through plus the reflection from the light purple walls gave a glow on the lavender glow to the photographic I took and would not match the actual grayscale of the wall photo. I tried all lighting settings and different times of day without any luck. And it would be impossible top print pout on a paper that would match the faded and naturally dulled out finish of the main image. So, I pulled a trick that was a sure way to get kicked out of art school which was to fill in the torn areas with a lead pencil and over lead saturate the fuzzy white sections. I burnished it with my fingers to give the dull gloss effect and to reduce the white fuzzy image. Then I redrew the windows and details to match what was on the adjacent sides of the image. I then sprayed a light fixative and pressed the wet fixative into the wall photo with my hands to get the exact reflection of the existing photograph. With the soft lighting of the finished Lounge and the furniture in place, the damaged areas became completely undetectable.
You can also see in the photo, the amount of floor space we are gaining by moving the Bar out of the Main Lounge.
We gained 8-10 more seating and tables, with the flexibility to add larger tables for special events and private parties.
In the Bar and Restaurant business, that is a huge increase for profit with 10 extra tables turning over through a week of business hours.The remaining part of the Lounge project was the Aromatherapy Lounge, Musician's Stage and the Dance Room.
Widow Reclaims Her Life Through Her Home
Subject: Young East Indian widow woman starting over, reclaiming her life.
Type: Large hillside home. Three levels. Large yard without access from inside the house.
Goal: Create and reclaim a more feminine space especially the bedroom where her husband died.
Status: As the result occurred with the changes, she decided to redo the entire house. This was in two sessions.
Block Issue: Working with the existing paint color from the previous owner, and the bachelor type of furniture her
husband brought into the marriage and new home.
Note: See the customized bedroom pieces following this section.My client had long wanted to fix up the new home that she and her husband had purchased. Since they were both career people, they didn't have the time to repaint the colors throughout the home left by the previous owners. The husband said that he would take care of getting the furniture since she got to pick out the house. She agreed and regretted. Being that they were both from India, and lived in very nice but functional houses, the husband only purchased the minimum amount of necessary furniture but bought the "American Bachelor" type of living room furniture... the heavy black leather, over stuffed sofas, black iron tables and the fake wood entertainment center in the hopes of getting the electronics to fill it.
The space had to accommodate family that would visit from India and the house is very large and could handle that with grace. Unfortunately, before they could work on the house issues, the husband developed cancer and the house was turned into a nursing situation. He has passed and my client was sleeping on the downstairs sofa because her husband had died in their bedroom. This was the major task for the FengFunctional. We worked on this in three phases. First, I came to the house as the shaman and released the energies of the husband from the house. Later I returned to clear/store his possessions and clothing, then I returned again to begin to recreate the home for my client to live again.
Solution
We started with the living room since that was the place that she and her visiting father used the most and she was not yet ready to approach the bedroom issue. However, as she saw the change throughout the house and felt the energies change we did begin the bedroom transformation. The point of FengFunctional is to use whatever in on the property and in the space to recreate pleasing and balanced comfort of space and then the client can replace or add furniture and elements more to their liking. We did not paint out any of the walls accept for the bedroom, the painting will come later when the client decides on her new sofas and color schemes.The living room was redesigned according to function, then by what the client enjoyed having in the room, like collectibles from
various artists around the world. As we went through closets we found that many things were still in boxes and we went through the crystal cabinets as well. The client likes the Goddess elements so, being from India, I felt that the Goddess Lakshmi, goddess of Abundance and life, was a good design place to start.
Hallway: The client wanted to have the memories of her first passage to the U.S., So I created a hanging memory of the clothes
her mother made for her to come to the U.S. and the jewelry she had as her only possessions. This also filled the large blank wall that was seen by the bedrooms.
She know has a direction of who she was and where she is now going!
______________________________________________________________________________________________Customized Headboard, Mirror and Lamp
Part of the above project.
Client wanted a Goddess bedroom with the image of her favorite Diva, Lakshmi.The bed wall was painted a very light lavender and was stamped with a gold design to give a fabric feel.
Soft, shear fabric was draped on the wall to frame and extend the feeling of a large bed.Headboard & Original Design
Creation Process
I created the design by drawing into my computer, the inspirations I have photographed on my trip through India, Nepal and Tibet. Then I printed them out on my color printer, enough to fill the sections areas with a patchwork design of patterns. I then hand cut each design and they were then ready to spray glued them into place. I made a template of the outside shape of the headboard and cut the piece to size and shape. Then sanded and wood filled, and sanded. I used strong cleat changes on the back which would later attach to the wall. The design was transferred to the board and the sections where taped off for painting, fauxing, gold inlay and the placement of the cutout designs. Then a thin coat of spray fix set the ink on the paper cutouts and the final stages, I used three coats of lacquer for durability.
Matching Mirror and Lamp
The same colors, fauxing and gold hand painted designs were used on the mirror and the lamp and shade. The mirror was placed on the opposite wall of the bed to make the room look larger and so that the client could see her headboard when in the bed to enjoy it. The lamp shade was trimmed in light lavender hanging crystals.
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Subject: Semi-handicapped single older man with younger male roommates.
Type: Ranch style home with a large garden and side service yard.
Goal: Create a sacred space in the garden for Puja fires and ceremonies and spiritual events.
Status: The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Trash area was where people would enter to get into the garden for meditation.The project below was a side yard with a large gate that gave way to the backyard. The yard was used for full moon ceremonies and Pujas. The guests, dressed in spiritual clothing and carrying their scrumptious pot luck offerings and sacred talismans would enter through this garbage area, laden with paint cans, old boards with nails, trash, old rotten furniture and general disarray. Not a very nice way to enter into a beautiful ceremony with many great healers.
I had very little to work with, but I used as much of what was there. I added a few items, such as fabric, old rattan shades, some paint and some bamboo sticks to tie into the existing bamboo growth. This space is lived by three bachelors, so I had to find a way to keep it simple for maintenance. This space was now to be used for entrance and drop off of the pot luck food and have enough space to handle people filling their plates, circulating and entering the event.
Solution
I moved the old work bench out of the main passage way to the opposite side of the space. This created an better flow from the gate to the backyard. I converted the old workbench by spraying the base with a blackberry stain, deepening the old wood with a slight deep berry hue. I covered the top with an old rattan window shade. In the stack of boards, I found a piece that had a dark finish board with two 2x4 cut pieces on each end. I painted the 2x2 ends with some old paint that was a oriental orange. I placed this on top of the workbench, now a serving table, as an extra dimension for the table top that housed a nice jade plant from another part of the yard and some simple round rocks on the ends.Above the table, I used what was remaining of the shade. My first idea was to make a straight piece on the fence above the table like a picture, but when I made the first staple in the center of the shade, a gust of wind came in and folded the piece into a wonderful self expression of its force (see below), so I stapled it as it landed, and place some twisted bamboo in front of the shade and behind the jade plant. There are two niches in the fence, so I filled in the background with the rattan shades, stapled a twisted bamboo sprig in front and placed round stones on the fence runners. These are on both sides of the newly created serving table to balance out the look. I used the large empty oil cans, painted the tops and placed potted plants on top of them and places then in front of the fence niches. In front of the large stand of live bamboo, I found a frame construction which I added some bamboo sticks and a chime to create a more modern/artistic industrial piece.
On the house wall, where the main passages from the gate, I cleared everything away and worked with a simple attraction that was no more than 8" wide. To soften the space I used an old shower curtain of soft hues and interesting design that matched the theme. I used on of the old sticks and stained it with the blackberry spray on the ends, stapled it to the stick and hung it from hooks from the beams in the roof overhang. I found some metal rods and inserted them into the bottom hem to keep the fabric from blowing in the wind. I then painted a long board with the oriental orange paint, placed it on stacks of existing bricks. On top, I place two large bamboo pieces with a potted plant on each end, a twisted bamboo sprig and some round rocks.
The total supply costs was $43 for the fabric, shades, stain, paint, robe and hooks.
This first use of the space is coming up, two days from this posting, so we will see how it fairs. I'll add more pictures as it is in use.
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This was the condition of the entrance space in the beginning. The photo on the right shows a partial clearing of the space and the small area to work with.
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Subject: Single woman. Large social life.
Type: Small Beach condo. One bedroom, one bath. Very small eating area shared with the laundry closet.
Goal: Create an intimate. Cozy, exotic area with more seating for her chocolate parties, without blocking the view of the ocean.
Status: The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: The client also wanted her private time to be as special, so she wanted the sofas to be placed so she could see the fireplace, TV and the ocean... all of which were on separate walls!!!!This was a very small space off the kitchen. The resident had a small square table, two chairs and a screen which was never used for eating just for piling "stuff". One the right side was the overhang from the kitchen sink and on the left was two full length sliding mirrors that housed the linen closet and laundry appliances. In front of this area was the main walkway from the bedroom, bath and hallway. The living room runs directly out from this space.
This was a challenge because there isn't one full wall anyplace in the apartment that wasn't cut into without a fireplace, window, doors, ocean view, or accesses to other areas. And, my client wanted a cozy space for her upcoming chocolate party and to make better use of the space, and yet be functional.
After assessing what she needed functional-wise, the flow pattern of the space and how she used the space, we added the elements of party space.
Solution
I removed everything except to the Moroccan type screen, wood with bronze metal insets and pulled the sectional carpet out expending into the walkway and thus opening up the space. This also softened the walkway. Next, I created a low seating area from wood planters turned on side so they made storage areas, placed a heavy weight board over them and began padding and pillowing. The client had a magic closet with fabrics and pillows and such that were in similar hues. Almost everything in the creation came from that closet and around the apartment except for a few extra decorator pillows that the client purchased.
I hung a drapery rod with some beaded shears behind the screen and on the wall to soften the backing wall and create a larger expanse. We both began draping and tucking and placing fabrics. The bench was covered with a silk embroidered
bed guilt, and the screen was p[laced behind the bench against the wall.On the right side the kitchen counter overhang left an awkward gap so we took an old bookcase that was going to be
removed, turn it on its side and slid it into that space. We cover the top and side with a fabric runner to pick up the pillow colors. Then we placed wicker cubes inside to hold up the shelf and place photos and interesting articles inside along with books as conversational pieces to the conversation area.We covered a round piece of wood with fabrics, place a gold palter charger in the center, filled it with amber glass stones and shells with a bowl of polished rose quartz in the center to run your fingers through. Rose quartz is the spiritual stones for heart, love and compassion. In front of the table is a carved golden vase that holds round stones and will later be filled with fresh oranges for the party. The chocolate demonstration at the party will be in the kitchen and will be enjoyed in the conversation area, so guests can sit in comfort and watch the demonstration.
We pulled the two fancy ottomans from the living room into the opposite area of the bench for additional seating and to round out the area. The client will be doing some more tweaking and then it will be ready for her party.
The cost of the table and bench structures was under $100. Everything else was from the site except for the
additional small pillows purchased by the client.Before
After
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New Condo Old Large FurnitureSubject: Single woman. First home.
Type: Small Condo. Very limited wall space. Long narrow accent windows in corners, fireplace, deck/garden and eating bar.
Goal: Make the large and overstuffed furniture from her larger rental space work in this small condo. Room for visiting niece and nephew to play.
Status: The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Client didn't want to let go of the furniture to buy pieces that fit. She was still holding onto the "Rental" life style and missing the joy of owning her new home.A single woman had been renting a medium size house and finally was able to purchase her own condo. But when she began to move her furniture and life into the condo, there was a collision of her dream image of her condo and the size of the furniture. She didn't want to let go of the furniture as it was all new. Huge entertainment cabinet, coffee table and large overstuffed leather sofa and chair filled all but 3' of the room. Nothing was functional or comfortable.
The entertainment cabinet was so large that with the doors open (and they had to be open all the time to see the TV and use the remote on the stereo) it covered half way into the living room. She also had a niece and nephew who, when visiting, would hit their heads on the corners of the doors. She had place the unit on an angle so she could place the large chair and sofa to see the TV and in so doing, she blocked off a beautiful vertical ribbon window.
This room was a challenge, because like most condos, they are designer to sell and look good when you see it bare, but there is little wall space to place furniture. This particular condo had an obstacle on every wall, sliding doors, entrance to dinning room, entrance from front hall, pass-through from kitchen, fireplace, ribbon window.
Before Before Solution
Fortunately, all the furniture (except for one small parsons table) was made of the same wood. So we began pulling furniture from one room to the next to make things work. This client was a wine collector and she was getting ready to purchase a small wine refrigerator. When I saw that there was hardly anything in the entertainment unit, we moved the unit into the end of the hallway in the dining room and turned it into a wine cabinet with enough room in it to house the wine refrigerator. This gave great function and made the dinning room look well balanced.Then, we took the long low chest of drawers in the bed room that was full of through away junk and piles of clothes on top and moved it into the living room under the windows that had a view to the patio and placed the TV set on top. (She is in the process of buying a flat screen to go over the fireplace.) The mirror from the dresser was used in the hallway of the front entrance. It was a very careful, inch by inch, move to angle the furniture in the living room just right to make the entire room functional and pop with a comfy invitation!
This is just the shell on which she will unpack her art work and decorative items for the walls.
After ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Artist and Musician Creative Expansion
Subject: Husband and Wife artists and musicians.
Type: Small Rental house. Landlord does not allow changes in paint color.
Goal: Create a share space for art and music with entertainment area. Bring their artistic passions into the main area of the home.
Status: The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Client has a large Italian family and friends/musicians that visit often, so the largest room was only for that traditional usage and their passion and main life purpose of the arts and music was crammed into one small child's room and the small one car garage.This small rental is home to two creatively large artist and musician. All of their creativity is crammed into the garage and a tiny 9x12 room. They were loosing their creative drive and becoming very frustrated in life. The music room was so full of large instruments and recording/editing equipment that there is hardly any room for the musicians. One of their passions is to have jam sessions with other musicians and often this meant acoustic, so all the electronics may not always be involved.
Solution
I assessed that the living room was set up for walk through and a catchall 1960's Danish modern breakfront desk/shelves dominated the space. It didn't really have anything function so we moved it into the artist garage to hold the art supplies books and photo albums from which the artist based her creations.We then moved the acoustic instruments and interesting ethnic instruments into the living room to CO-mingle their passions of art and music. This makes it easily accessible for the musicians to reach the instruments and adds warmth to the room. Easy to move around seats where created from an old chest and pillows. Hand painted art stands became the pedestal for collectible hand drums. The framed painting on the wall was switched out to hold smaller art that created more wall space to include hanging interesting instruments from various countries. The remainder of the room stayed the same but shifted down a bit to accommodate the music area.
We now had created more than a place to jam, we had moved their passion out into the larger space and claimed it as their way of life to share!
Before
After
Before
After
The next area of concern was the area right of the front door entrance which was an awkward space between the kitchen and the living room. This space was not clearly defined as to what part of the space if belongs to... kitchen, extended entrance, or living room?
I found a delightful and interesting table covered up and used as a night stand in the master bedroom. It turns out that this was a hand made piece but the father of the artist/musician and she loved it dearly. So we moved the water cooler which was and "overflow" from the kitchen function and replaced the space with the wonderful table. We added some color with vases and more of her art work. This gave a beautiful extension to the entrance and set the tone to enter the musician/artist gallery living room.
Before
After
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Subject: Single female. Home business, Healing Arts.
Type: Three bedroom, two bath, rental home.
Goal: Creations of a separate room for healing sessions with an altar and set energies that remain in place.
Status: Some removal of previous tenant's handiwork of a Murphy Bed wall unit.
Block Issue: Creating a healings space of peace and removing the bedroom appearance.
This room is in a rental house that has built in shelves and cabinets that protrude into the space and not leaving much room for anything else. There was a Murphy Bed alcove on one end and a sliding door closet on the opposite wall. There is a nice window that looks out into the small side garden.I took the doors off of the closet and turned it into a Persian cushioned seating area (photos to come). The Murphy bed was
not in the space when the house was rented, just the blank area that it was in. I created a sacred altar for meditation and prayer. A healing table was placed in the center of the room and I added soft down lights under the hanging cabinets. The shelves were arranges with spiritual items from around the world. There are shelves for incense, oils and crystals.In the alcove, the altar was made of small tables with half round that I cut from a single round sheet. All was fauxed with gold and lavender paint. Soft white and gold thread gauze was draped around the altar in the alcove and soft white accent string
lights were rolled into the gauze all the way around the altar to create a luminous effect. Items from pilgrimages and sacred places are placed on the altar. Gold painted palm fronds are attached to the wall to give and Egyptian feel. Other elements in fabric and textures are in soft lavender and purples and blues.
Before After _________________________________________________________________________________________
Studio Apartment & Massage Business
Subject: Single female. Home business.
Type: Studio apartment. One bath, studio type kitchen. Shared space with eating area, living room and bedroom.
Goal: Create share space in the common areas, storage, office and massage area and downplaying the bed area during work.
Status: The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Client wanted functions that the small space could not handle.This studio apartment was a real challenge. The client had several requirements for the small space. One of her careers is massage therapy, healing herbs and vibrational oils. She would like to increase her clientele past her friends and family but is
not at a point with enough clients yet to rent a separate space. We needed to create a slight separation between her bed area and still create an open space for her to set up the massage table and a small table for her oils. I felt is was necessary for her to have some grace and comfort and function for herself when not in use as a massage area. We also needed to have the bed, which is a futon, placed so she could fold it into a sofa for quests. She doesn't have a dining table and eats on a tray at the side of the bed and watches TV, so the placement of the TV and bed was also a challenge since they are the largest pieces in the space. The computer area needed to be increased so her business can grow. As far as clutter, it was somewhat organized by categories, but there was no place to put the piles or to create files for the information. Books and study materials where
mixed in with healing books and pleasure reading material.
Before
After
Solution
So, here is what I did. I took the two very nice oblong folding tables out of the sleeping area and moved them as a wrap
around the wall going into the small dining area which was not being used for anything but stacked boxes. There is a service
bar counter that we converted into surface space for nice wicker trays to hold sorted piles of collected papers, files and
"things to do". the wrap around the wall made the wall appear to drop back, thus creating a larger look to the studio area.
I took the wheels off of the wood file cabinet and placed it under the computer table to create a desk effect. As soon as she sorts out her piles, she will know how many more cabinets she needs and they will be placed under the second table of the
wrap around area. For now, we have placed the files, boxes and stacks that will go into this area. If she wants to upgrade to
an actual desk, she will now know exactly what size and function she needs.There was a fake wood storage cabinet on the sleeping area wall too! so we moved it on the TV wall next to the TV cabinet
so it would not be as obvious. Since it was light in color like the TV cabinet, we lined then up flush to each other to make more of a "one unit" look. Now the bed could be moved against the wall and that opened up the space in the living room area for the massage table to be set up when needed. The client is looking for a small folding screen to place at the end of the bed to give a
sense of privacy when the massage table and client are present. The remainder of the space and tasks was eliminating stacked boxes by organizing their contents throughout the space according to like kind... books with books, tapes with tapes, etc. Now the walls are clear so we could begin to hang some of the pictures and items that were leaning against the walls.Everything in the before pictures are still in the after pictures. All we did was rearrange, sort and place items in attractive and functional places.
Before
After
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Condo, Meditation & Home OfficeSubject: Single female in need of a creative and stimulating home office, meditation area and entertaining space.
Type: Small two bedroom condo with glass wall/ceiling space and deck.
Goal: Client was feeling blocked, uncreative and unfocused in her writing work and need a space that was supportive.
Status: This was a work in progress project. The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Intense emotional issue arose that caused us to work on bringing her out of the corner and using the open
spaces.This condo had an exquisite view of a stand of Redwood trees, that the owner's Grandfather had planted as a young boy. So, even though the view of the trees was somewhat sacred to her, she had blocked herself into a corner where she couldn't really enjoy the view. The client's complaint was that she worked at home and just couldn't stay focused on her work projects or seem to get them completed without a struggle. She also wanted and area to do yoga and meditation along with a socializing area which included a fireplace and TV as issues. As with most condo floor plans, almost every wall is cut into with an
elements, be it a door, a window, a fireplace, a recess, that doesn't leave a blank wall for the main furniture piece or a focused direction of interest.
Before
Solution
There is a beautiful Glass and mirror alcove off from the kitchen that the client had a huge dinning table that was not used for dinning since you could not walk around it in the space and it was piled with clutter. We took out the extra table leaves and it folded into a smaller shape, covered it with tapestry fabric and we used that as the base for the meditation altar in the living
area. Then we moved the smaller sofa and coffee table that the client was using as a desk/office area, into the alcove so they could enjoy the view and the wonderful patio outside.
After
This cleared the living room for the client to then fill with furniture they would later purchase to fit their needs. In the corner of
the living room where the client had originally closed themselves in, we moved the bookcases to create a working library by separating and organizing work and resource books from the metaphysical and leisure books. We also flattened and restructured the lightweight bookcases to fit in the alcove since the client was not comfortable with being right at the edge of
the window. (I have to take into account the personal issues that clients may have, and boy, they really show up when you move furniture. This is the part of the Feng that helps them personally, as I talk them through their fears or
issues while still having the design honor their concerns.) We placed the current or often used research books in the
alcove for convenience and organization and decorated with the plants that were craving the sunlight. Since the client likes the bohemian feeling of writing on the computer on the coffee table, we kept that in the alcove, and they can always move the computer to eat there or have visitors/clients in the space._________________________________________________________________________________________
Midwest Oak Meets Asian Simplicity
Subject: Single family, Midwest man, Asian woman, and their child.
Type: Large, mountain setting home with huge view, decks, four story with additions and a home office.
Goal: Originally to rework the home office, but the entire house was reworked on the same day of the space analysis.
Status: Creation of a livable home, with function, warmth and use of rooms grand rooms for family not used.
Block Issue: The wife was too into Feng Shui, that it directed her into miss use of her office. She was also afraid of moving
her husband's heavy oak furniture. East meets West and how to make it integrate!This was a wonderful challenge! It was filled with many surprising obstacles that we eventually worked through... everything from structural issues to emotional issues. This is a very large home with a huge view onto of a 2,000 ft elevation above Silicon Valley. The first obstacle was a husband from the Midwest who was into very heavy antique oak pieces, a wife that is from Asian upbringing and a seven year old son. Original challenge was to set up the wife's office for her new business and she was well into the concept of Feng Shui that was too complicated for the space allowed. Feng-functional simplifies these restrictions and bends the energy to make for a comfort of space and advancement of productivity. As we searched through the house for other pieces to work in the office we began to change three others rooms at the same time, the living room, dining room, and kitchen. We even worked in concept of the front entrance. The young son sent me an email thanking me for giving him his parents because they now use the rooms to play with him more and watch TV and Videos together, and also to eat together at a real table!
Office Before
Office After_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Small Berkeley Apartment Preparing to Take on a Roommate
Subject: Single female looking to take on a female roommate to share the rent.
Type: Small two bedroom, one bath, studio type kitchen open to living space.
Goal: Create share space in the common areas. Integrating the oriental and makeshift furniture. Storage and function.
Status: This is a work in progress project. The following is what we did in the first session, including the analysis of needs.
Block Issue: Entertainment center, however, hardly used.The client was completely bound and blocked by the emphasis on her entertainment center. The cheap, found at the curb,
piece caused her to clump all her CDs, sound system and TV into one unit that was to large for the space and all the other fine art pieces of furniture and collectibles suffered in placement because of it. She struggled with the idea of separating out the pieces, so we played with a few elements until I could help her see that this problem piece had to be reworked.
Before Solution
The client also wanted more surface space to exhibit her collectibles, so we dismantled the entertainment center and used the boards to create end pieces, magazine and paperback racks and a tasteful shrine table for incense and enlightenment crystals
and books. We covered them with fabrics and scarves. We used the copious amount of decorative and interesting pillows and books, interspersed throughout the room to soften corners, awkward blank areas, and to add warmth and welcome to the
space. The sofa was now moved to the large wall where the entertainment center had dominated, giving a more open feeling when entering the room. The client is shopping for baskets for books and supportive elements for the walls and windows.
After
