A Tulsa Craftsman Home Gets Organized and Beautiful

William and Angeline were recent home styling clients. They picked the mini-session which starts with a little soul-searching and ends with us coming over to make the magic happen. Meaning, we spend an hour rearranging, sharing advice and getting your space as close to your dreams as we can. We will "shop your house" to find things we can use to style your rooms. We also leave you with a lot of follow up ideas to continue working on your space.

This particular couple was an interesting case. They use their living-room in really specific ways; playing music alone and with friends, and teaching students in the Alexander Technique (a study and practice of efficient movement and posture). We love knowing what clients need to use their spaces for, so we can help them make their homes serve their lives best.

The problem: Angeline and William felt like their living room was a collection of random furniture they'd brought with them from past homes. "None of [it] made sense in the new home," William explained. They felt guests and clients didn't quite know what to do (e.g., where to place their coats and bags or even sit) upon entering their home.

Their visual hopes: The couple wanted a space that felt welcoming, open and comfortable where they could teach, practice and play music, relax and socialize. They wanted their living room to feel comfortable not only to them, but to friends and clients, so it was important for the couple to create clearly defined spaces.

The solution: Angeline and William completed our Personal Home Survey and created a Pinterest Board to help them collect and convey their visual hopes for the space. Based on their input, we worked with Angeline and William to remove and rearrange what we could during our in-person mini-session. We then left them with homework ideas that they completed over the next couple months.

Changes to the room included:

Removing heavy shelving on either side of fireplace and instead installing simple wall-mounted shelves for books and meaningful knick knacks.
Re-styling the mantel with only loved objects and artwork.
Placing the family cedar chest underneath one of the windows to act as extra seating/storage.
Adding a long narrow bench near the door as extra seating and as a a place for clients to store bags/purses.
Installing wall-mounted hooks near door for guests' jackets.
Bringing in more plants! Both Angeline and William have green thumbs, so we encouraged them to bring in more of their plant babies.

The biggest change was removing the large, heavy shelves from in front of the windows and instead installing wall-mounted shelving that looked good and had a lighter footprint. These changes made functional sense, but also emphasized the beautiful a… — The biggest change was removing the large, heavy shelves from in front of the windows and instead installing wall-mounted shelving that looked good and had a lighter footprint. These changes made functional sense, but also emphasized the beautiful architecture of their home!

“With the Ashleys’ help, we were able to feel good about letting go of many things we didn’t need, replacing a few of them with things we do need, and turning the living room into a comfortable space for us. ”

— William

*They added a simple coffee table that would not infringe on the floor space needed for teaching the Alexander Technique.*

*We loved that the knick knacks on the new wall-mounted shelves represented this charming couple so well– Angeline's hand-blown glass pieces and William's Lego sets!*

We cleared out the old furniture that wasn't functioning well and instead placed a simple, long bench to serve as seating and storage upon entering the home. Plus, a wall-mounted hook for guests' belongings was a lighter, more functional soluti… — We cleared out the old furniture that wasn't functioning well and instead placed a simple, long bench to serve as seating and storage upon entering the home. Plus, a wall-mounted hook for guests' belongings was a lighter, more functional solution than the coat tree.

*They repurposed the coat tree as a plant hanger, of course.*

*William is a master at air-plants. We ask him questions now!*

The dark wooden bench near the piano is a family heirloom that used to be near the front door. The bench better fits in this space near the piano and can encourage conversation as it faces the new entry bench.

“Seeing [the Ashleys] be excited about our space helped me get more excited about our space.”

— William

Angeline and William worked steadily on their living room, checking in with us as they made changes towards their new space. We are so proud of all they have accomplished since we first met them! Not only is their living room more organized, functional and attractive, but we have enjoyed getting to know them as both customers and friends.

Here's to you and your home, Angeline and William!

xoxo, Ashleys