Home and ensuring people feel at home no matter where their adventures take them has always been important to me. I can remember even as a little kid being excited to go to the Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel in Chicago. I also grew up on public TV watching and LOVING “This Old House,” “Mister Rogers,” and all the cooking shows.  

My life path has led me to have expertise in curating a home that not only feels great but also  energetically aligns with the goals of the occupants. Yes, that’s important in a home too. As a home furnishings merchant at West Elm I literally got to make rooms for catalog spreads refining how I coordinated pieces of furniture and accessories for the best use of the space. Teenage me, who was always redecorating my room, was filled with so much joy during that job. And as a NY’er I learned to make the most of small spaces which turned me into an expert purger and organizer. 

When I learned Reiki I started to understand the energy of stuff and how blocked energy gets locked in spaces. Have you ever walked into a room with windows wide open and still felt something heavy and stuffy? Creating a ritual and intention that clears the space and readies it for what’s next amplified the dreams of my life and many of my friends who humored my desire to do this. Even just bringing in plants or getting better lighting changes a room!

A heart-centered home is just this. It’s a sanctuary that aligns with the courageous vision for your life. And yes it can take great courage to get rid of something or many things that no longer fit the vision for your life, it also takes great courage to downsize and renovate. Change is never easy, and changing your home, your anchor, when you recognize what was, is no longer serving what will be is a brave act. 

In the last 3 years, as I’ve helped my mom purge my childhood home a huge lesson made itself known to me: taking care of your home as it grows and ages around you is the most important thing you can do. Simple things done regularly will not only make the house happy, but you too! It will also make it easier to pass that home on to the next person or family. Some of the most important steps: getting rid of what no longer serves you and weighs down the space, keeping paint up-to-date, making your bedroom your sanctuary, and giving everything a place is how I made my tiny NYC apt my solace in a busy city and how we prepared my mom’s home for the next owner. 

It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. There are great options for every budget. And there is an appropriate place that will make the most of what you no longer need. I explore all of this in this category.