1: Unpack Essentials First like a few days clothing, toiletries, tools, pet supplies. Put them in their rspective rooms.

2: Wipe out shelves, clean windows, & mop under appliances before putting things away. Plan ahead where to place certain items, like putting dishes & glassware in the cupboards above the dishwasher. Decide what goes where before unpacking.

3: Plan where to place furniture before putting it in place. Make a sketch of the room, and locate furniture on the sketch. Easier to erase a sketch than move a heavy piece of furniture.

4: Focus on unpacking one room at a time. Unpack the items most-used first, like shower curtains, toilet paper, soap, kitchen glasses, silverware, dishes. Set-up the beds, and make them with fresh linens.

5: Unpacking the living room can be done by everyone living there, as it will contain lots of items & several electronic hook-up. Use a surge protector when setting up computers or stereo equipment.

6: Have the garage set up with shelves & hooks for tool placement, yard supplies, and sports equipment.

7: Make your house feel like your home.  Hang window shades, blinds, or curtains. Consider painting some rooms a different color. Add new knobs to cabinets, and/or refinish the cabinets. Hang family pictures, artwork, and mirrors. Add potted plants.

8: As you unpack boxes, take inventory to see that nothing has been lost or broken.  Remember insurance claims need to be filed within a few days of moving, and damaged items need be kept as evidence.

9: Collapse each moving box as it is emptied, and set aside for storage or recycling.

10: Start of list of home repairs & maintenance that needs to be done; and create a shopping list to make sure you have everything you need.

Before you know it, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your new space! Remember, in order to be functional for you,  it should fit you like your favorite shoe fits.  After you are in, ask yourself, “Does the Shoe…..FIT?” If you need some  help, give us a call; we’re the interior & exterior space experts.

What do I do?  Well, I use a lot of my mom’s old techniques. I block some of the sunshine from coming into the house. It’s hard for me to live in a dark environment, but even simple sheers at the windows are a help. We have light-blocking top-down / bottom-up shades for the 6’ high bedroom windows, and set them to give us early sunlight only, while still having some daylight in the rooms through the entire day. It’s amazing how only 18” of opening in each window will give plenty of daylight in the summer.

Our mountain home doesn’t need air conditioning, but we do keep the hottest window exposures closed until evening. We’ve always planted or had a few shade trees in the yard, shading some part of the home. We save MUCH energy by these few tricks.

This is the time to get the cooler colored accents through the home, those in sky blues, ice blues, grass greens, mint greens, and purples and blue violets. Be sure to have live plants around, perhaps a water feature or two, and take the extraneous out of the space to give a spacious, airy feeling.

Have cooler-evening or under-shade-trees get togethers. Splash the table with bright, colorful summer prints and foods. Set a garden atmosphere. Again, have a water feature.

Summer is a wonderful time for enjoying our homes as havens of relaxation. Create the environment, and then give yourself a little down-time daily to enjoy them.  Remember–YOUR home should fit you like a favorite shoe. Ask yourself, “Does the Shoe….FIT?” And, give me a call if you need some help adapting your spaces to your lifestyle.

I look forward to your comments!–Sharon Breay, Breay Design   &   “Does the Shoe….FIT?” Workshops

The exercise room is an example: for some it is becoming a wellness center. It may have an in-house sauna, steam room, double shower, fountains, etc. And we’re seeing outdoor kitchens. Regardless of age, income, or other demographics, we want specially designed private getaways. Size is not an issue; these spaces can be quite small. Think of multi-tasking a space. For instance, when we rearranged a formal dining room, and added book-shelves, lounge chair and reading light, our client got a library as well! Another example is turning a laundry room into a hobby center and laundry room.

One client was astounded to come into the new quiet room and find all three of her sons sitting quietly reading! We had removed all electronic equipment and laid the furniture out on a diagonal. That was all, and the children were responding to the changes.

This type of space should  be digital free, windowless unless there is a beautiful full scene from the outside. The space needs a good reading/sewing light, lots of puffy pillows, and warm earthy tones with deep browns. However, color and a quiet zen quality is up to the client. No other space needs as personalized design as this. Joyce Goldstein of J. Goldstein Interiors recently created a space in a garage, later featured in the Robb Report periodical. It was a man’s playroom, with a 92” projector TV with a continual feed of car races. It had real race car seats for lounging, and bar stools made from car wheels.

In our next blog, we’ll discuss how we create Sacred Spaces/Healing Spaces Outdoors. It will get us all planning for summer.  —-See you then!  Sharon  Breay