Downsizing………..it’s really the right-sizing!
Monday, January 12, 2009
For many years I have assisted empty nesters with their transitions from the large family homestead to a smaller more manageable home. Gone are the semi & retirees of my childhood, this generation of 55 and older are hip and fun! Their idea of downsizing is not ‘cram all my stuff into this 900 sqft apartment……… I don’t care what it looks like’. This new generation is striving for so much more. They request everything that with my 30 somethings want and more…….hot tubs, media rooms, home gyms, open floor plans.
Still there is one common thread these clients have……..they want not to just downsize but to rightsize. Rightsizing is becoming a new catch phrase moving out of the business world into our design world, with a much better connotation!
Rightsizing doesn’t mean starting from scratch completely. Many of my clients have furnishings, accessories & art work with a history they don’t want to loose. So how do I take the past, weave it into a new design, without looking like the 900 sqft apartment with everything stacked upon its self?!
Magic! Nah, just some creative approaches ……………… here’s some of my fairy dust!……..
- Reuse the dining table & side board. Change the chairs around the table, this could be as simple as just the fabric or using multiple fabrics. Want to be even more creative and keep the same chairs? Change the application of the upholstery if possible, add a skirt to a chair….it is amazing how easy it is to give a new look to an old chair! This is a chair I redesigned …….. I keep it on display at my showroom! Cool huh?!
- Instead of moving the entire bedroom set that a couple has had for 25 years into the new ‘rightsized’ home, use the head board only and start mixing and matching other furnishings. Loose the long ladies dresser - closet organizers can serve as well if not better than traditional dressers - the traditional dresser is becoming obsolete! Small chests of drawers make great night stands, added plus …..many of them are taller which offers a better scale for the new pillow top mattresses!
- Pop-up television cabinets leave prime real estate on the walls available for artwork! Think about it, when the large 48″ plasma is not in use, it is tucked down into a sideboard/credenza cabinet, allowing the wall to be used for art work, family photos, tapestries or shallow shelves for display!
- Don’t be afraid of being over scaled in small doses, for example chandeliers make great statements, even in smaller spaces! Large mirrors….. go ahead take that large mirror that hung over the sideboard and hang it at the end of a long hall. It’s OK if it takes up every last inch of the wall space…….its going to create depth!
- Think outside of the box when it comes to furniture function. Just because a small china cabinet displayed china for 30 years in the dining room, doesn’t mean it still needs to have the same ‘job’! Use the china cabinet in a library space for books and memorabilia. How about cutting the legs down on your kitchen table making it an oversized coffee table in the media room.
……..Not sure how to move forward with your rightsize? ……send along your questions!!!
