I first met Karel thru a newly acquainted colleague (The Expert Organizer) who thought I could help her friend finally move forward on a renovation project after deliberating about it for over two years. I was flattered to think my approach to design projects gave this new colleague such confidence in my skills to create movement forward.
Amy saw something in me which is often difficult to recognize in ourselves – the passion to help people move forward with their dreams. My passionate approach to my work and my belief that our spaces support and reflect us is so much a part of me that it’s nice to have another person reflect back to us how we shine in the world.
After meeting Karel, and chatting thru all the options available including the pros and cons of buying a new place versus a renovation project, I thought that it would take some time to get the momentum to move this job forward.
I was surprised! After a brief but positive meeting with Karel’s mother, (who, although disagreed with my recommendations but respected my professionalism coupled with gentle approach), a contract was signed and almost before I knew it we embarked on a renovation project.
The design creation developed from my signature Magic Box progress where we combined an Urban Chic with a Country Charm to design a space that reflected the client’s vision for herself going forward.
A hungry contractor with a hands on approach jump started the project and ultimately we reach the end of the job almost a year after first meeting.
The project finished on time, on budget and was a beautiful reflection of the person to inhabit it, as the design had depicted.
HOWEVER, the real success of the job was reflected in the final week of the job which, is not only a testament of the success but a reflection of the ability to grow and expand oneself from the experience of doing surgery on your home and this as a metaphor for a onward soul search process.
On the last day of the job, I walk down the long hall toward the apartment front door, which was wide open, not a typical state. I entered into the apartment bustling with activity from the contractors all over the place in the final stages of completion of the work.
I hear the call of Karel from her bathroom for me to come in and make myself at home while she finished getting ready for her day. I came into her personal space sat and waited while she cheerily chatted as she finished putting her make up on as part of her morning routine. She then came out and we discussed the few punch list items. She smiled the whole way thru and when we were done she merrily said her good byes to the whole team and left.
Then it hit me – a year ago this woman would NEVER have left her home so wide open and exposed before I met her. A year ago she was anxious, worried, and fearful. It has taken her TWO years of searching to find the right person, the right team to help her through this process. All the terrible stories of construction and renovation jobs gone wrong, the disappointments, the costs, the stress, and the horrible tales heard through the grapevines of her friends of friends.
And yet, here she was, one year after meeting me, at the end of a long an often challenging project, happily enjoying the process, comfortable, wide open, and she was a TRUE REFLECTION of the newly designed home she now lives in.
The Magic Box vision was a chic happy upbeat altogether youthful and sophisticated woman.
In that moment, the success and the truth became clear to me – the process changed not only the face of the apartment and my client’s home but it too had positively affected changing Karel herself.
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