Well did everyone have a busy summer, I know I did and that is a bit unusual for me. Summer is not my favorite season, I am not that fond of the heat and it is always slow at the store, so clearly neither of those would make me happy... But this summer seems to be passing quickly, it was still hot and still slow at the store but there were many other things to keep me busy.
I had a wonderful project that I worked on and wanted to share it with you. A lovely young woman of 93 was making a rather large move, leaving her long time home and taking up residence at Claremont Manor, a wonderful Senior Residence located here in Claremont, CA...I happen to know a bit about the Manor since I dine there weekly with the lovely Florence Webster. So Vera is now going to reside there too, and she will be living in her own one bedroom cottage on the Manor grounds. This was right up my alley, clearly we were going to downsize, actually we did more than downsize, we basically started over.
To begin with I had a drawing of the new space with the measurements, you can't really begin without this information. I made a trip to her home and we discussed the items that she wanted to take with her, she wanted most of her bedroom set, she felt no need for the highboy which worked out beautifully leaving room in the bedroom for a small computer table and her exercise bicycle. Vera had a beautiful dresser in a guest room that was perfect for the television in the living room, I always look for ways to re purpose the things that you have, a little paint or just some cleaning can make a big difference. The matching accent tables in the living room were made by an uncle and received as a wedding gift some 70 years before, there was no question that they would travel with us to a new home. And the last and maybe most important would be Vera's piano, as a gifted piano player this was a must.
It is always nice not to be working under strict time constraints, we had a move in date but we had no end date at her longtime home since it had not been sold and we would be dealing with that as a separate project. Several trips to the home were made to pack up dishes and other small items that would be making the move. Furniture and boxes were marked for the movers, and we were able to take stock of the things that would be remaining for a future garage sale. After going over styles and fabrics we ordered a love seat and chair as well as a recliner for the living room, a small dining table and 4 chairs were also purchased.
And so we began putting together Vera's new home...The cottage itself was fresh with new paint, flooring, counter tops and appliances so that was a great way to start. We began with the kitchen and bathrooms, filling them with new items as well as a few old favorites...The kitchen table was put together and placed in it's proper spot, we placed 2 new bar stools under a counter, set up the dresser that had been cleaned and polished and would now act as out TV stand. The bathrooms were set with fresh towels and accent pieces and the clothes were arranged in the closet...The movers arrived with the remaining items from the home, the accent tables in the living room were cleaned and polished, the bedroom was set and ready for the new mattress to arrive. Sometimes time is not on your side but this time we were very lucky, all of the actual moving took place on Monday and the furniture was to arrive on Tuesday...And it actually did...The mattress were delivered and the bed was made up with new bedding, the love seat and chair joined the recliner in the living room and were arranged perfectly...The televisions had been set up, the food was in the refrigerator and pantry...We were ready for Vera...She was, as she put it, beyond thrilled with her new home, it was beautiful, comfortable and organized.
I enjoyed this project very much it came together well because it was well thought out and organized from beginning to end...
This is what I love to do, so if you have a move coming up or maybe someone you know is downsizing call me or stop in the store...I can make it so much easier for you...
Talk Soon
Caren
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