Friendships, Lifestyle

Use Your Move to Declutter your Entertaining Spaces

How to replace ‘pack and move’ with a little ‘edit and love’.

I love my clients and I love my friends even more. So, when a great friend, who is also a client, calls me and says she’s sold her big house faster than she thought would happen and is moving into a townhome but she has only 30 days to do it – I shift into overdrive and fly across the country to do what I do best – help her delete (not pack and move) what she doesn’t want or use for entertaining. Then we pack up what IS getting moved and I’ll fill in the ‘holes’ left from the ‘purge’ with things she will actually use and love.

Almost everyone I’ve ever spoken to has shared that they’ve packed and moved much, much more than they needed to. They realize this only after they are in their new home and face the often-daunting task of unpacking and putting away stuff they didn’t really want to keep. Sometimes they find that they don’t have room for everything they’ve moved and now wished they’d left behind. For some, this is where I come in… BEFORE they move. For others it’s when they realize they’ve moved too much and don’t like what they have.

I start with learning about the client and how they want to entertain and what they love. It’s always a surprise when I explain that, to me, entertaining isn’t only about having friends or colleagues over for a party, but it includes that first cup of coffee or tea in the morning, breakfast (or any meal) with the family or simply a quiet glass of wine at the end of the day. Everything (sharing, connecting, relaxing, catching your breath) happens ‘around the table’ so using items that give you joy only enhances those experiences.

Sometimes these conversations include the client’s interior designer or decorator for their new home who has already put time and effort into a style and color scheme that they know the client wants. Having everyone in the same room can often provide shortcuts to the discovery process.

Only after hearing what the client loves, how they entertain, and how they want to represent themselves do I search out what ‘holes’ need to be filled. We talk it over and the edit begins. There is absolutely no reason to pack and move anything that won’t be used in their new home. It’s at this point, after the edit and conversations about what they really want and how it will be used, that I get to do what I really love – shop!

Then, after insuring that the client really loves what I’ve picked, everything is purchased, organized and I put it all away in the new home where it will be easily found and lovingly used. I focus on all of the entertaining spaces – the kitchen/breakfast area, dining room, bar/bar cart, outdoor deck/patio and anywhere else that the client wants.

Each client is different in that some want everything addressed at once, for others they want to start in one room and then move on to other areas at a later time. Sometimes a client isn’t moving at all – they’re just tired of what they’ve accumulated over the years and their tastes have changed, or too much has gotten broken and needs to be replaced. Perhaps their situation has changed, and the kids have grown up and left the house and now they want something that reflects a more adult environment, or they find themselves single and need/want everything new. Or, the client is buying a 2nd home and needs it all! I have a client that is building a new home and I’m working with their architect and kitchen designer to make sure their kitchen is functional for how they want to use it.

This is what I call curating for home entertaining. I address everything behind the cabinet doors making sure that my clients have everything they need to entertain in the way they want. Whatever the situation is I always start at the beginning – what does the client love, how do they want to entertain, what will they actually use?

For my client-friend this week it’s all about me getting there quickly and helping make the transition for her as seamless as possible.

Almost landed and I can’t wait to start!