Nikki McLennan
Enter Bree from Sage Organisation with her mantra ‘cultivating sustainable solutions for liberated living’, Bree is truly sage. She is knowledgeable, caring and a talented aesthete, and together we discussed the challenges of my inner-city apartment, with its two kids, two adults, two beds, no garage, no backyard and Marvin, the aforementioned feline…
Bree started with a consultation plan which outlined her ideas and strategies for each room. Each session started with a printed run sheet with a structured plan for the day. We worked methodically and thoughtfully, one room at a time and with one particular focus – decluttering, categorising, and/ or assessing if it was really necessary. The three labelled boxes Bree brought with her – to give, to sell, to donate – helped simplify the process, too.
Some things were instantly satisfying, others much harder. Sorting through my wardrobe was especially tricky, but having a stylist on hand with honest, frank feedback of whether an item of clothing suits you, flatters you… or not, is worth its weight in gold. Bree suggested I lay my clothes out on the floor, it quickly became apparent that I have an excess of skinny black jeans, leather coats and boots!
I love my new ‘mud room’ storage, too: now, when the boys arrive back from school, they have somewhere to dump their stuff, including hats, bags, coats and shoes, albeit not when they are muddy! It also helps in the morning, as the kids now know where everything is when they are getting ready. Plus, the Kallax pod system acts as an aesthetic room division.
My kitchen features multiple shades of grey, and not in a sexy way. We settled on incorporating pops of orange, teamed with wooden accessories and dried flowers to give it a uniform fresh feel. In addition, Bree helped organise smaller shelves for each cupboard, so everything now has a space, and no-one has to ask where things are/ go!
Mostly, though, I love that Bree made an effort to incorporate what I love most about my home – velvet cushions, clusters of family portraits on the walls, my grandmother’s vases and plenty of plants – and worked with it. We made some furniture purchases, but each was carefully chosen, considered for its purpose, and measured up. This was a refreshing insight as previously my impulsive nature would see me buying something I loved, dragging it home and then just shoving it anywhere when it didn’t fit perfectly…