Need A Room Makeover?  Rearranging Spaces Delivers Wow…Now!

By John Voket

Imagine you’ve just completed the harrowing and exhausting task of packing up your home for a move to Newtown. As you pop another Aleve to ease the pain in your aching back, you shudder at the thought of handling one more box or piece of furniture.

But when you pull up in front of your new home and walk through the door, you are greeted by the sight of all your furniture expertly arranged, all the boxes unpacked with their contents placed exactly where you need them to be, all the artwork and knickknacks integrated on your walls and shelves. Your entire new home looks like next month’s feature spread in Better Homes and Gardens.

This is no fantasy conjured up after watching too much designer television. This is exactly what you get when you contract the services of Newtown resident Neci Marr and her new company, Rearranging Spaces.

But Ms Marr’s crack team of rearranging experts is not only reserved for those moving into the area. Her services are available for those who have lived in their spaces so long that clutter has overtaken one’s ability to deal with it, or even recognize it.

This was the case for one of her local clients who wanted to throw a party, but couldn’t begin figuring out how to prepare her living room for incoming guests.

“We wanted to throw a party, but we knew our living room would have to be redone if we were going to have guests in,” said Rearranging Spaces client Bev Sova. “Neci spent about three hours working with me and the results were just amazing. The room looked completely different and I didn’t have to buy a single thing except her service.”

Ms Sova and her husband Chris said they had some really nice furniture, but over time the clutter just got out of control.

“The space was really crowded — it just didn’t work well,” Ms Sova said. “But after Neci left, the room not only looked incredible, but it seemed to be twice the size as it was before.”

Along with moving out part of a sofa set, and bringing in some items from other rooms in the Sovas’ home, Ms Neci lowered some of the draperies, got rid of several wall hangings, and repositioned a huge 3-by-6-foot horizontal artwork into a vertical piece hanging above the couple’s big-screen TV.

“While she was doing it, I just kept saying…duh!” Ms Sova said with a laugh. “But when you live with this stuff for so long, you just lose the ability to figure out what to do with it, or to see it from another perspective.”

Ms Marr said her services are also welcomed by individuals going through the trauma of divorce, or those downsizing their homes, or moving to smaller quarters after children move away.

“We can quickly make a nice place for moms or dads who have to deal with the same space and half the furniture, or brand new furniture,” Ms Marr said. “We’ll create nice spaces for the kids, and utilize the available furniture and other items – it really makes a difference, it makes you and your family feel better.

“And if you’re downsizing to smaller spaces with too much stuff, we can help you sort and make the right choices about keeping what you want, while advising you on what would work best in your new space,” she added.

Rearranging Spaces is not only available to consult on one’s changing space needs if a child is leaving home for college, but returning from college or elsewhere to move back in as well. Ms Marr is also more than willing to help when a new arrival is coming home for the first time.

“If you’re expecting a new arrival, we’ll work with you to get that spare room converted from storage to a nursery, usually in just a few hours,” she said.

One of the ways Rearranging Spaces can help homeowners save thousands of dollars is by consulting for “real estate staging.”

“Our system provides decluttering, and creating strong focal points as potential buyers come looking,” Ms Marr said. “If you’re ready to drop the price of your home by a few thousand because it’s not getting the buyer reaction you want, invest a few hundred dollars in our service, and you’ll be amazed to see how fast buyers start getting interested.”

Ms Marr firmly believes the cost to hire her team to get a home prepared for sale is always less than a price reduction.

With 12 years of experience as an interior decorating professional, Ms Marr has honed the niche skill of being able to transform a room, or an entire home, quickly. And she can do it alongside the homeowner, or in concert with one or more of her trained staff.

“It’s fast, and it’s what the homeowner wants — instant gratification, in just a few hours,” she said. “And typically it only costs a few hundred dollars and the difference makes our clients feel so great about their homes again.”

If a client suspects their home requires more than just decluttering, like some good old-fashioned serious house cleaning, or they have too much clutter to donate or trash, Rearranging Spaces has developed a couple of key partnerships with local businesses to help in that respect.

“We are working with The Maids cleaning service, Westy Self-Storage Centers, and even a couple of local painters if you need more than the quick fix we can provide, or a new coat of paint before we reapply wall hangings and artwork” Ms Marr said.

Marleen and Nigel Harrison of Katonah, N.Y.. knew when they obtained a gift certificate for Rearranging Spaces that they wanted to make a few changes in their living room, but once Ms Marr and company “completely transformed” the central room in their home, they wanted her to come back for more.

As a result, Ms Marr is combining her services, utilizing Rearranging Spaces concepts wherever possible, as well as digging deeper by consulting on long-term decorating projects.

“The first moment she came through the door, Neci started immediately coming out with these amazing ideas,” Ms Harrison said. “And to see the transformation achieved in just a few hours…I just didn’t think it was possible.”

Anyone interested in consulting with Neci Marr or contracting Rearranging Spaces can call 426-7997, or visit the company’s website at rearrangingspaces.com.