What a Teacher!

My place is the same since you were here in April.  No new things added; a bit of new clothing, but nothing else. My cleaner has a much easier time getting around to clean what needs to be cleaned. 

I wanted to tell you about a trip I took last week. The friend I stayed with has this wonderful house and also a bit of a hoarding problem.  We had talked and talked about what a fantastic job you did and I said to her, hey while I'm out let's tackle your place!  And so we did, although not as much as we wanted.

I said to her:  "Put on your throw it away mind."  And she did.  So we just started with stuff (and more stuff) on the floor.  And "lo and behold" what a hoot.  Bags and bags for donating to this local group for the homeless.  Bags and bags and more bags and bags of garbage. But you would have been sooooo proud. I did what you did; made piles and said throw or keep with the emphasis on throw.  And throw (or donate) it was.  She was excited. 

What a teacher you are!

- Judi G., Washington DC   

A Profound and Necessary Shift

I was out of town for the early part of January and by the end of my trip, had sort of forgotten about all the work I did in the apartment in December before leaving. I can only begin to describe the wave of relief that came over my body when I opened the door and was confronted by the new and improved space, and how important this change has been for us. It's not exactly beautiful yet, but it is comfortable and feels like our home, finally. I'm so glad you and I found that perfect little window to work together at the end of last year…Having a place to relax and connect that feels like us represents such a profound and necessary shift that wouldn't have happened without you. Thanks for your guidance. 

- Leena S., Murray Hill

Best Decision!

Diane is very professional, courteous, and personable. I hired her to help organize my closets to serve multiple purposes. She offered great suggestions right away and helped me strategically plan the spaces for the future. She even helped me do a quick re-organization of my bedroom closet and desk during our first meeting. Ten minutes later it was a much more serene and functional bedroom and showed me the potential of how my space could work better for me. I am looking forward to working with Diane as I continue to improve the space. So glad I hired her!

- Farah P., Chelsea

Everything Falls Into Shape

Diane is awesome at sizing up a room and figuring out where furniture will go, which is the hardest part in getting an apartment into shape. She thinks it through, weighing the options until the vision becomes clear. Then everything falls into shape. 

She's very good at having you make hard choices about what should stay and go. Plus, she's a pleasure to work with!

-Meena G., FiDi

A Transformative Experience

I was in the midst of several big projects and completely daunted by needing to review and downsize 30+ years' worth of possessions to move into my new co-op. I had procrastinated so suddenly the moving date was less than a month away!

Diane worked with me only 15 totalhours and we got it done!  It's hard to explain how transformative the experience was. She staged a workspace and system to empower me to review and downsize my things comfortably and effectively in a short period of time.

Even more amazing and unexpected, however, was that I felt nurtured in the process of doing this physically and emotionally strenuous work.

- Paula M, Washington Heights

We Saved Tons of Time and Stress

We worked with New York at Home to prepare for our first child. Baby items had piled up in corners, we felt like we had no space, and the tasks ahead of us seemed totally overwhelming. Once we decided to ask for help, we not only saved tons of time but felt relieved from the stress these undone tasks was causing.

We rearranged our living room to provide a clear line of site and make it easier for us to maneuver around while tending to a baby. We converted our office nook into a nursing and changing area so our future baby room will be comfortable for visiting grandparents during those first few months when the baby will be in our bedroom. We didn't have was a co-sleeper, but another mom whose child had grown out of one gave it to us because Diane made the introduction. We hadn’t thought about these things before because we’ve been so focused on the pregnancy!

Tasks that we'd been meaning to take on over the past year—including cleaning out our file cabinets and editing our library—happened without much fuss because we clearly saw how this fit into the big picture. We donated or relocated items that we rarely access to the basement so only items we use often are in our living spaces.

Diane curated shopping lists of things we needed including links, which made trips to these stores (online and off) easy. She assembled furniture, hung the nursery artwork we'd picked out from a local coffee shop, hung curtains, fixed a broken outlet cover, and even did some tree pruning and landscaping in our backyard.

New York at Home helped us regroup, prioritize and execute all the tasks to get our house ready for our daughter.  We’re amazed that all of this took less than 10 hours of our time since she could do most of the work on her own. We can’t recommend her enough!

- Leone K.

All around a pleasure

Diane spent an incredibly busy day at my house! I had a list of items that required an experienced person to do the physical hanging, but also a good eye for where those items would best be placed. As the day went on, I found more things that had been accumulating since we had moved in two years earlier. Diane also made suggestions about how to rearrange some of my furniture that I'd been struggling with, and she later recommended a coffee table for my living room while she was vacationing upstate. All around a pleasure to work with!

Kara M.

Jersey City

Diane saved my life!

Honestly, I was overwhelmed by my downsize in apartment space, and had no idea where to start. Diane saved my life! 

She is proactive and personable; suggesting new layouts and items to order to maximize storage and space.  Her creative approach made organization sessions fun and effective. She is incredibly professional, and brings great perspective to spatial challenges. I really enjoyed our time together, and will be hiring her as an ongoing consultant. She is amazing, and I am confident anyone who works with her will be extremely pleased with her work. 

Alissa W.

Lower East Side

Lovely, reliable and highly recommended

I hired Diane to help me hang some pictures and in the end, she helped me find the best places in my apartment, organize some furniture to create a better hanging space, fix a bunch of lightbulbs, and generally do everything that needed done in my apartment at the time! She was lovely with me and my kids, who got involved at various times, and thought nothing of going to get a longer extension cord or her other drill to make sure the job was done correctly. She is lovely, reliable and I highly recommend!

Stefanie M.

Union Square

Acclimatize Quickly to Cramped NYC with New York at Home

Diane has a great knack for looking at a space and coming up with the optimal and aesthetically appealing configuration. She is also great at researching things on Internet and suggesting the right things once she has an idea what the customer has in mind. Moreover, she really listens to what your are saying. For people new to cramped NYC spaces, trying to acclimatize quickly, Diane's service and handy advice can prove invaluable. She is always on time and keeps you in the loop. I would call her again without hesitation.

Apurva P.

New York, NY

 

 

Small Adjustments to What I Already Have

I'm a Brooklyn based artist and recently worked with Diane at New York at Home. She put together a new layout and plan for how to make the most of my studio. My workspace felt cramped and disorganized after a recent move and her advice transformed my space in simple and practical ways. I loved working with Diane -- her ideas and energy are spot on and she is wise without being preach-y, with the right amount of proactive encouragement. Her smart recommendations are enabling me to accomplish so much more by making small adjustments what I already have. It was not only helpful but also very enjoyable. Diane has a great overall philosophy-- relevant to organization and beyond. I recommend her enthusiastically to anyone who is looking to get the most out of their space home or work space. 
-- Ryan
Brooklyn, NY

Incredible impact in a short amount of time!

I spent a November afternoon with Diane improving my apartment in a way that would never have been possible without her help. It was so much fun making huge changes to my apartment in a few hours, reusing what I already own.

We had an in-depth conversation to give her a better understanding of how I live as a whole and then discussed what I want from my living space. We figured out how to make my apartment work in ways I didn’t expect it could and made most of the changes together on the spot.

Diane followed up the next day with drawings and links to a few items, making it easy to continue making improvements.  

- James L, East Village