Love Where You Live

For me, home and the way it looks and feels makes a massive impact on how I feel; how I operate. I have an innate need to make it my own and FEEL good. It doesn’t need to be top designers, or custom, or insane expensive….it just needs to be curated for me, my family, a reflection of what we like and what speaks to us. If you’ve been following me, you know I’ve been starting over after my husband and I went our separate ways in March 2021, which included selling our home in Westport and me moving into a sweet, much smaller home this past June. The process of growing into Meredith 2.0 in this new stage of my life as a single mom, making my space feel like mine has been even more important to me. Making where I live into what makes ME happy.

As part of my partnership with The Container Store, I was asked to create a custom space using one of their four closet systems: Elfa, Elfa Décor, Avera, or Preston. Each line has a different price point and varying levels of features: Elfa is the most utilitarian, functional, and more readily available with certain sizes available, while lines like Avera and Preston take between 3-6 months from start to finish due to lead time and what goes into the process, as these are custom made for you. Each line is customizable to your space and needs.

I chose to work on a sitting room that I wanted to turn into my home office—my business has grown, and the days of working from the couch or dining table needed to evolve with that. I went with Elfa Décor, which takes the frame from Elfa and pumps it up a bit: wood shelves, drawer fronts to cover wire bins, covers for the tracks attached to the wall. These make a huge difference in the overall look of of the space: a quick jump from from Utilitarian to Luxe. And, a quicker turn around, which I needed.

This project absolutely blew me away, and the finished product was WAY beyond what I was expecting. Here is what I did to create a space that was full of beauty and purpose, and of course highly functional (and organized!).

Step 1 — PAINT

Before: This room was previously used as a sitting room. The walls were dark (which I thought was really cool when I saw the house). For a space I was working in, I wanted it to be light and bright.

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After: Light, bright, neutral canvas, ready to be turned into an office space. Amazing what paint can do for a space, right? It looks completely different!

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Step 2 — CORE DESIGN

I worked with a wonderful Design Specialist at The Container Store. There is no charge to do this, and the specialists are very talented and know each of the closet lines by heart, so they can recommend different options. Another aspect I love about creating custom spaces with The Container Store is that you can also design your space virtually with a closet specialist (which I’ve now done successfully for clients since this project). I came prepared to our design meeting with photos, measurements, and an idea of what I wanted: floor to ceiling shelving, with some drawer space.

I had previously worked on the base design of my office, and wanted the shelving to compliment that. My current house is a sweet 3 bedroom, so the rooms are close together and it was important they all worked together design wise.

The office needed to work color wise with the rest of the house, so I decided to go with a white/neutrals/pops of pink as a color scheme. It all came together very organically, which is how I prefer to work on spaces. I had chosen a whitewashed desk from Crate & Barrel, an upholstered neutral desk chair with brass finishes, and a solid, glam blush pink rug. I also updated the light to a chic flush mount from AERIN collection with Visual Comfort which gave the room an understated glam touch. The desk was a bit of a wait, but totally worth it. I needed a decent size but also didn’t want to sacrifice style. This desk is GORGEOUS. I’m thrilled, and the best part—it can be 1 piece or twist into an L shape…either way! It twists. I love that flexibility for future spaces.

Not much made it from my old house (firm believer in energy and wanted to start fresh). I made the very conscious decision to start anew. One piece I intentionally brought with me is from an artist named Haley Mitchell called “Ka'iuliani”—but in my house, we all call her “The Lady.” I’ve had The Lady for 5 years now, and I NEVER tire looking at her. This piece has always made me feel powerful, beautiful, and female, which was important to me living in a house with all males. Even in my hardest days of family change over the last year and a half, she has always made me feel strong. Maybe it’s the pink acrylic frame and unapologetic feminine energy. Whatever it is, I wanted it in my office as a reminder and for motivation.

I also ordered these curtains I am in LOVE with, but didn’t arrive in time for our shoot…..my fault, I was late on ordering! They arrived and they are incredible! From an online brand I found called Pepper Home. Custom (and ships within 7 days!) but without the crazy price tag. How cute with the white pom-poms??

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Step 3 — SHELVING

To be honest, I kept putting off the design meetings at The Container Store because I was overwhelmed and always had something going on. It felt like it was going to be too much, even though I was excited about it —driving to the store, meeting with someone, making decisions. I am so busy between work and momming, I couldn’t put another thing on my plate.

In reality, it was SO EASY. So easy. Even with supply chain delays, we figured out a way to make it happen within a few weeks time. The closet specialist works with you on a 3D rendering, and changes or updates are very simple to make in this phase. Below is what I left the store with.

You can also have The Container Store install your Elfa system for you! We were short on time, so I used my go to for anything home improvement related, AF Contracting, to install my shelving (Alan and his team also work on our client’s homes when we need hep and are EXCELLENT if you need anything done to your home in the CT/NY area). It was up and ready within a few hours.

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Step 4 — ACCESSORIZE

And my FAVORITE part…..the finishing touches!

Now that I had all of these beautiful shelves, I could not WAIT to style them. I wanted both functional pieces that served an organizational purpose but also books, objects, anything that inspired me and made me FEEL HAPPY walking into my space.

When designing your Elfa Décor unit, you have a few choices on finishes for hardware on drawers. As my project evolved, there was a gold undertone to the details in the room. I swapped out the silver pulls for brushed gold ring pulls from Amazon—easy, affordable, and ties into the Circa Lighting Aerin Triple Flush Mount light fixture beautifully (that my talented Interior Designer friend Allison was kind enough to introduce me to!).

I tried to think about how I would use the shelving: Top shelves, not touched often and not used often. I used Bigso Stockholm Letter and Document Boxes in White: each child has a box for special pieces or memories that come home during the year (and one for Mom!), plus a box for other family keepsakes. Finished off with a custom Cricut label in Light Pink for an elevated touch.

Mid-tier shelving was mostly for decor: aspirational books with images of the places I’ve been, and want to go; Fashion Houses that I love and inspire me. Other fun objects, like these pink metallic Balloon Dogs, inspired by the timeless Jeff Koons pieces. added some punch and whimsy. Topped off with loads of white vases, orchids, plus pretty folders in acrylic magazine files….a balanced, happy shelf.

Organization was easy—rattan bins for my essentials, office supplies organized in drawers, acrylic collators for important files…..this Elfa system made is SO easy for me to work, and feel GOOD about working. Both aesthetically and functionality wise.

THE AFTER

SHOP THE ROOM

I hope you enjoyed learning more about the process behind the Elfa design system, and also about how I created a space that feels good to me. In the end, that is the most important….surround yourself with items that make you feel great. Decor that makes you feel INSPIRED. Objects that make you want to stay in the room. And not what other people think is chic or gorgeous….what YOU think is beautiful. We all deserve to be in a space that we feel really, really happy about.

Below, can you find all of the pieces I used to create this space, plus others I thought were great!

Create a home you LOVE.