Several months ago I was shopping with my husband and dear friend who doubles as my personal shopper/decorator. We were specifically looking for a piece of artwork for our dining room since there is one wall that was screaming for help. Our friend had done some pre-shopping reconnoitering (not in the military sense but in the “to do a reconnaissance of…” sense. (Thank you Merriam-Webster online dictionary.)
We had scheduled a date on a Sunday afternoon after I completed my client visits for the day. We went to our favorite art store in West Orange and spent some glorious leisure time looking through artwork that we could picture (no pun intended) in our dining room. We ended up taking home a beautiful water color…with some reservation. I loved the piece but at the same time I was not sure if it was the right one. It was calling out to me so I answered with a smile and a purchase.
We got home, unwrapped it and held it against the wall in the dining room. Then the strangest thing happened—the piece spoke to me and said “this was not the right space.” I turned to my husband and friend and said “Follow me!” We marched down the hall to the bedroom and held the water color against an interior wall.
Voila! It was home. We hung it and my love affair with the water color began. Then something unexpected happened in the process. I fell out of love with the color of our bedroom walls and linens. Nothing seemed right. So what to do…we decided to budget some money to invest in updating our bedroom/sanctuary.
Over the next few months we picked out paint colors and put the test colors on the walls. Once we picked the color we searched for a small bench and new linens (with our friend’s help).
Once all these purchases were made we scheduled a painter to work on the bedroom while we were on vacation. What better time to get a messy job done without disrupting our daily life than when we were out of the house. Our painter is also a friend who has done much work for us so we completely trusted him with the key to the house, the code to our garage door and the job to get done without our daily supervision.
All week while Don, Jason and I were enjoying the sights of Las Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, our bedroom was in the final stages of a makeover. When we arrived home the paint was dry and the new sheets were pre-washed and ready to be put on the bed.
One last task—we needed new lamp shades. That purchase was made at the end of August on one of our weekly trips up and down Route 10 doing errands. One lamp shade is on order so we are 95% done with our bedroom makeover.
I was recapping the process with my friend/decorator and she was delighted that we stayed on task to get the job done within our timeframe. As a professional organizer I am familiar with procrastination, budget challenges, buyer’s remorse and the curse of changing one’s mind about letting go of the old and familiar. I was determined to break through all the barriers that I help my clients move through in my work. With that came a refreshing feeling of starting something and seeing it though. It took planning, decision making, honest communication, freedom to slow down or speed up depending on the schedule for the week and careful budgeting of the funds required for the project.
Now that the bedroom is almost completed, I have a sense of excitement when I am driving home and I look forward to stepping into my own version of “Oz” with the light and airy colored walls, white cloud like linens and calming yet enticing artwork. I tell my clients that I learn from them at every session. I took the knowledge I’ve earned and put it to great use in my personal life. I am grateful for all the help that put this project together successfully. I did it, and so can you!
Happy Organizing!
By Eileen Bergman
