Renewing Sacred Space.

A big part of my daily work life is to provide counseling to individuals and families of all ages. At the hospice where I work in the big city, I have my office, a counseling room, a family room and two classrooms (one for children, one for teens), as well as an art storage room and then shared space with other staff members. Other than the children's classroom, all the other spaces are decorated in soft, creams, light greens, pale blues and comforting earthy tones of brown. Very subdued but classy, warm and stately. The kids class is darker tones of greens, blues and whites and rainbow hand prints on the far wall, but we are going to have it painted soon to match my other spaces. I love the softness of these spaces and find I can work well because they are so calming and so beautiful. 

My centre, the one I started in my community, has been housing a number of programs for years and our colors keep changing. This summer, the staff and I spent  more than a month painting all the walls and any wood furniture that was in our way. We were amazing painting machines! We changed from darker colors to lighter tones and it's been an amazing transformation. The only space we didn't touch was my office, which doubles as my counseling space. Recently I realized that other than popping in to answer the phone, I hadn't been using it as the intentional space we envisioned it to be. So it was time to make changes. The first thing I did was move a love seat from our storage room into the office. This required moving a few things around and although the couch fits by size, it has made the space quite crowded. I've now done a number of sessions in the space and my clients have commented how much they like the quiet and the "cozy" feeling. But it still wasn't right. Time for change. 

After much thought and a bit of dreaming and a fundraiser that has given me a budget, here's what I've come up with for our new "Sacred Space" ....

Shades of light lilac, cream ivory, sage 

green and light pink. All soft colors.

The love seat is currently orange but in perfect condition, so we'll keep using it. I chose a light brown slip cover to hide the bright color. The upper walls will be lilac, the bead board and window and door trim will be ivory, the accent colors for any accessories will be sage green, pale pink and soft white. Perhaps a tiny bit of light blue will be added to the mix as the armchair we have has all these colors, with a tiny bit of light blue. I chose a white throw that looks soft and comfy for the couch. And the Lyrik lamp for the small desk and the end table. The coffee table will sit on a rug and hold the candle we light for sessions and a tray for tea. The rug may be the one below along with the purple pillow to hug. All colors that are calm but inspiring. 

I have to take out the two bookcases that we have in the 

space. These are the ones but without the glass doors 

on top, just the solid doors on the bottom. It matches the 

desk and looks great but again, takes up too much space. 

I have a small wooden desk that I'll paint ivory 

and that can sit over in the corner by the door. 

A smaller but sturdy bookcase we have  in the 

garage at our old house will come over and be 

painted ivory as well. I'm so excited to do this!

So that's the plan to reclaim this "Sacred Space".

What do you think of my scheming dream?