Happy New Year!

From my house to yours – Happy New Year!

Here’s to a peaceful, beautiful and organized 2018!

Treat yourself: Make your home as unique as you are.

If you have been reading my emails or following along on Instagram you know that I’ve been feverishly working to turn my garage into an Airbnb.

And guess what?

After 12 weeks of picking paint & tile, half a dozen trips to Ikea and collaborating with fellow creatives, my Airbnb project is finally finished!!

My old garage I once used as an office is now a cozy Airbnb, I’ve named Wedgewood Nest. The space originally had no bathroom, no laundry, no kitchen. It was just a 400 square foot box.

Now, the space has been transformed into a home.

There is a kitchenette, washer and dryer and spacious shower with amazing water pressure. (Because let’s be honest – a pretty space matters, but so does a nice warm shower!)

The best part: This weekend, I just checked in our 6th guest. (You can read the reviews here.) People LOVE staying at the Wedgewood Nest. And I have truly enjoyed hosting people.

If you’d like to take a virtual tour CLICK HERE.

Thank you to everyone who has followed along, commented and sent messages. As a designer I always enjoy bringing life to a space. But getting to share it in real time with you has made the process more enjoyable and exciting than I could have imagined.

Now before I go, in the spirit of the holiday season, I’d also like to give you a chance to bring life to your forgotten or unused space in your home. Whether you want to turn your garage into an Airbnb so you can make extra cash, upgrade your kitchen so you can finally enjoy cooking meals for your family again or you’re ready to purge, organize and create sustainable organizing systems – I can help.

For new clients I’m offering $50 off my ($350) initial design consultation.

In this consultation you will receive the following:

A 2-hour in person design meeting with me
Unlimited email correspondence for a month where I answer all your lingering design questions
My little Black Book of creative contacts so you can have your own design team at your fingertips

For current and past clients I’m offering 20% any session booked in December

Ready to reclaim your home?

You can book it here.

I will run this special until December 31st at midnight. Or until my calendar gets too full! 🙂

Have a beautiful holiday season. I hope it is filled with love and new beginnings.

P.S. Still need a gift for someone special? If you have someone in your life who loves design this is the perfect gift for them! Truly the gift that keeps on giving. To purchase this service and give the gift of great design click here. (Special note: If you want to treat a friend and yourself, I’ve got special pricing for that too! Give my initial two hour consult as a gift and you can get 20% off the $350 initial consult as well as your next consult. Again to secure your spot before the 31st, click here.)

Wedgwood Nest Air BnB Open House

Wedgwood Nest Air BnB

Open House

My Air BnB is finished! I’d love to share this labor of love with you.

Please join me for an open house.

In August I shared that I was converting my garage into an Air BnB. I’m thrilled to say it’s FINALLY done! My hope is that this little Air BnB can be a place for travelers to rest their weary bones or set up shop as they explore Seattle. Perfect for families with children at Seattle Children’s Hospital, parents of UW students, neighborhood families without a guest room of their own to have visitors close by, or travelers not interested in the hustle and bustle of downtown. Thank you to those who have been following me on Instagram and Facebook. I know Saturdays are busy with soccer games, errands and other commitments, hope you can pop over and take a look. No need to RSVP, just come and I’ll have coffee and nibbles. Click here for a sneak peak.

Saturday, October 21st

9:00 – 12:00

7025 38th Ave. NE Seattle 98115

Follow my driveway to the back of my house and you’ll immediately see the Air Bnb.

I’m turning my garage into an Air BnB!

Every house has a story.

This tiny house in Blenheim, New Zealand was built after Peter and his wife lost their daughter.

Needless to say, after her death, their home, life and family didn’t feel the same.

While grieving and healing, Peter remembered how both his daughters always dreamed of having a doll house. So he built one. He took recycled materials from the Christchurch earthquakes – the stained glass windows from the leveled buildings and the wood from the fallen houses – and gave them a new life. He used the unwanted, broken and forgotten pieces of past lives to build this tiny sanctuary in their backyard.

He named this tiny house after his living daughter, Abby. (Today this little work of art is known as Abby’s Shabby Shack.) The tiny home is and has been used by Abby as a little retreat. Every time she is home for the holidays she stays here.

Today, when this house isn’t being used by Abby, it is being shared with people all over the world as an Airbnb Rental. Peter loves meeting new people, but he also loves to give strangers a bit of the same healing magic this tiny house gave him and his family.

I’ve thought about this story a lot recently because I too am creating a little Airbnb Retreat in my backyard.

When I moved into my 800-square foot home in 1999 it was just me and storage wasn’t an immediate concern. Fast forward to 2007 when my twins came along and all of the sudden my space started becoming smaller and smaller I knew I would have to get creative with storage. So I turned the garage outside into an office slash storage space.

Over the years, I’ve dreamed of all the ways I could continue to transform this space into something more.

As some of you may know one of my boys has Down syndrome and Autism. Who knows what the future holds but I want to be prepared in case when he gets older he wants a place of his own.

It’s not quite time for my son to be off on his own, but I still wanted to take some steps towards that dream. So I’ve decided to get started and share the space with others as an Airbnb Rental. My hope is that this little Airbnb can be a place for travelers to rest their weary bones or set up shop as they explore Seattle. Seattle Children’s Hospital is actually right down the street from my house as well. I hope families who have children staying at the hospital for extended periods of time will use my second tiny home as a little refuge, a place to put their head down at night as they heal.

So far, creating this Airbnb has been an incredibly exciting personal and creative adventure.

An incredible architect helped with the plans. I waited through the long permitting process and then after some time finally got an amazing contractor (yes this is no lie!) on board. I’m working with my favorite Seattle organizing systems company, Organized Spaces, to ensure that I can still use a portion of the space for storage. And I even had one of my interior designer friends come over to be my second set of eyes, and help me pick the best layout plan for my bathroom. (I’ve forgotten just how hard it can be to design your own space…)

Today, I’d love to invite you on this adventure with me.

I’m going to be sharing this story in the blog, BUT I also will be sharing raw before and after images on Instagram and Facebook. Follow along! Send me your questions and thoughts. (If you have questions about design or where I purchased a specific item ask away!) I will be tuned in to answer questions and share my revelations along the way.

To building futures,