Counselling Space.

As we work hard to get our new centre's renos

underway, I'm realizing how much I'll miss our

little counselling space. When we took on this

space, it was painted grey and was not cozy or

comfy at all. But we chose a lovely green, then

found some furniture and our little fireplace, and

now our clients never want to leave! We plan to

duplicate this feeling at our new space. Hoping

we can make it just as lovely. It's going to take

a ton of work but we'll get there. Beyond excited!

~ Chy

Office Update.

I'll have to take some pictures during the day when

my new office is full of sunlight. I ended up staying

the night recently at our hospice when a blizzard blew

in to town. I packed a bag that morning when I knew

the weather was going to change. And it turned out

to be the right move. I'm now settled in to this space

and am loving how cozy and comfy it's become in a

very short time. My clients love their sessions in this

welcoming spot and even staff is coming by to chat

more and more as the days go by. I love how it's not

so much an office but a gathering place. You can see

by the final two pictures that even sleeping is comfy!

What do you think of my new space now

that it's all set up and open for my clients.

~ Chy

Counselling.

I offer compassionate counselling at our Centre.

Families now struggle with so many issues.

We have become so busy with this component

of our Centre but our counselling space is small.

You may have noticed that it is actually our

office. Not ideal but for now, it is the only

space we have to use. I'm hoping that maybe

in 2018 we can gain enough additonal funds

to secure more space, ideally separate from

the preschool setting so there is a division

for programming. I love we have space but

now we need more in order to expand and serve.

Writing Niche.

When we designed our house, we wanted

to have a spot that was multi-functional.

We ended up adding the turret to the far end

of the house, between the Great Room and

the Living Room. On the blue prints, our

builder marked it as the "sun room".

It lives up to it's name with the afternoon

sun pouring in and the late day sunset that

filters the light in to darkness. An eclectic

spot, it has been our music room, our sun

room,  our play room, our Christmas room

and now it is finally our sweet writing room. 

My favorite place in the house, I love

the location, the light, the lamp, the

desk and most of all, the feeling of

being in a spot that is private yet open

to the family all at the same time. I can

sit and dream, write and chat, and be

part of whatever is going on in the house,

without feeling isolated and shut out.

Do you have a dedicated spot to write?

A place just for you to be and dream?

Cozy Corner.

I have the pleasure of having a

number of office spaces. One for

my hospice work, another one for my

preschool work, one for our keeping our 

family functioning and one for my writing.

Each has a purpose and each is different.

This is my office space at the hospice.

An ancient building on a quiet

residential, tree lined street.

My big banker's desk with sunlight on bright

days and lamplight on hazy, gloomy days.

Bookcase to hold my resources for

grieving children, teens and families.

My filing cabinet to hold confidential

files and extra tools and resources.

I love the landscape outside my window.

Beautiful vintage houses and huge trees

that reach for the blue sky. Incredible shade

in the summer and pretty leaves in the fall.

Where do you do your best work?

Do you have more than one office space?

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?