A recent client sent me photos of the apartment she shared with her significant other. I love getting those photos because then I can see their home through their eyes.
This client had a bookcase, a big one, that was useful in terms of holding objects and books, as well as being an attractive piece in their living area. She and her partner had each chosen items to display on the shelves, so it felt shared between them. It was sturdy and stable, nothing weak or flimsy about it. But something wasn’t right. During our consultation she brought it up, “We like it, and we need it, but it still doesn’t feel like it fits. It feels off.”
During the consultation she turned her camera screen to the bookcase, and instead of looking at how the shelves were curated, I asked her to walk away from it, to pull way back. Once I could see the whole room, the entrance to the room, and the view from other angles in the apartment, I knew.
“What if you moved the bookcase over to the left about a foot?”
That was it. The bookcase was just enough out of balance with the room’s alignment, with the windows, the sofa, and an overhead light that it looked out of place, as if it was imposing on the room instead of enhancing it.
Just one foot to the left.
As soon as I said it, she shrieked, “Oh my gosh! That’s it! Why didn’t we think of that? We’ve already tried it in so many places that once we put it there, we didn’t think to adjust it! That’s just what it needs.”
When her partner came home, they took the objects from the shelves, moved the bookcase one foot to the left, and replaced their items with care and intention.
Sometimes another set of eyes, who are trained in finding balance, equilibrium, steadiness, and alignment, are all we need.
Let’s work together so you live in a place you love.
xo