The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. This is a Japanese proverb, and is as true today as when it was first written. It’s a wonderful thought as 2007 begins to unfold. Read no further if you think I’m blogging about Goals!

As a Re-designer and Stager, ‘room’ and ‘improvement’ are my most favorite words. I get excited just saying them … just ask my friends and clients!

Improving a room can be as simple as adding a vase of flowers, clearing the clutter off a desk, putting the magazines back in the magazine rack, or moving the chair to the left of the fireplace. It doesn’t need to be a huge improvement, but it does have to make you feel better. Whatever you do to improve a room will affect how you feel whenever you are in the room.

Granted, being in my laundry room didn’t excite my senses, until I added a small plaque above the entry of the room which reads, “Men sort their laundry into two piles: Filthy and filthy but wearable.” I grew up with three brothers, and my son is carrying the Laundry DNA. My sister put a sign in her laundry room that reads ‘Laundry Room … Drop your Pants!” A sense of humor and a few signs are often the biggest improvement for some rooms.

Sometimes improving a room means taking all the furniture out, and only bringing back the furniture you like and want … this is what Re-design is all about. Aunt Edna’s brown candy dish may not make the cut. Same with your mother-in-law’s family heirloom clock that doesn’t go with anything else you have in your house (or the neighborhood).

The best thing about rooms and improvements is that the result makes you happy to spend time in that particular room, whether it be the living room, kitchen, bedroom, or even out on the patio or front porch.

Try this … pick a room, and just sit there 10-15 minutes. Slowly scan from left to right. Notice what bothers you: an object or picture that you don’t like, or a ‘bare’ space. Now ask yourself, “what can I change in 15 minutes?” Is it a table cloth, or a coffee table book, or a bedspread, or perhaps bringing in a plant from another room? Take out a chair, bring in a different one, switch the lamp.

Try it, and email me with what you did. If you get stuck, you can send me you your dilemma (and a picture, if possible) and I’ll help you out!

Here’s to helping you improve your rooms in 2007!

All best wishes, Ginger