OrganizingLA Blog

Is QVC Portraying Compulsive Shopping as Sexy, Powerful & Glamorous?

On Saturday August 1, Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos are celebrating the art and glamour of shopping.

According to the Los Angeles Times, shopping is a "national pastime, a form of therapy, a means of self-expression." But the Times also says that "for 1 in 20 Americans, shopping is something darker."

Typepad to Celebrate The OrganizingLA Blog 4th Birthday This Wednesday!

We've just been given a head's up that the OrganizingLA Blog will be featured in tomorrow's Typepad Small Business Center Series July 15th.

Such a wonderful birthday present, seeing that our blog is now 4 years old this month (while you're at it, why not check out our first post, July 5, 2005?)

Top 5 tactics for a successful small business blog

July 15, 11:00 am PST - Worried where you'll find the time to blog or how make yourself heard online? Andy Wibbels and Denise Wakeman (pictured, right) of the BlogSquad will take you through the 5 key points that will power your blog, and your business, to the next level.

We honored that our blog is being featured as an example of a professional business blog with entertaining content. We've been a member of Typepad for four years now and we couldn't be happier.  Of course our blog will not be the only blog featured, we'll obviously be among many, many examples of how a blog can showcase your business.

Register Now:

• To register for this free webinar class or the whole series, click here.
• To review past Typepad webinars featuring fearless host Andy Wibbels, click here.
• To read the bio of webinar leader Denise Wakeman, click here.
• To check out Denise's blog, click here.

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Luxury Organizing for Skyscrapers

 

Los Angeles may not be the king of the skyscrapers, but we have a fair share.

In our expert opinion, organizing a high-rise residence is different than organizing a house on flat ground.  You must focus on the view, not the stuff.  Many people move from a flat ground residence and realize how much they need to get rid of before they can live in tighter quarters, way high.

In an interview we did a while ago for Estate's West Magazine on downsizing from an estate-size property to a high-rise, we had to explore our fair share of working up, how to sort through life's memories and negotiate what needs to stay, and what needs to go.

It's all about the view.

Here are some of the questions and answers from that interview.

What are some important tips that homeowners should keep in mind when downsizing their belongings from a large estate to a smaller high-rise living area?

In a high-rise space there is no room for mediocrity!  The City of Los Angeles has its share of high-style, high-rise buildings:  Wilshire Corridor, Century City, Marina del Rey, the exclusive Sierra Towers and the burgeoning new Downtown.  High-rise living has definitely come into vogue and so has space and storage planning.

If the trend is to move up, what do people gain, and lose, in their space?

Why does Hollywood’s A-list give up their homes for a “room with a view?”  They have little to take care of and amenities are within arm’s reach.  Just lock the door and leave.  But the price can be big, even for a small space— dwellers must significantly leave memories and larger furniture behind in favor of straightforward simplicity.  It may surprise some, but the high-rise homes we’ve organized seem very casual, but they are indeed carefully considered.  Everything kept serves an important capacity.

Is there a past, present and future for space planning in high-rise living?

The American home may typically be getting larger, but today’s high-rise spaces still remain relatively small.  For the past 3 decades, the theory on space planning included heavy, uptight cabinetry, bookshelves and storage from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, all jutted up against the windows where you’re “supposed” to enjoy the glorious views.  The renaissance of mid-century style has changed all that.  Now, storage in a high-rise space needs to be gently built around the view, with creature comforts hidden from sight, still within easy reach.

In our next post, we'll feature some tips for downsizing a large home (or estate) for easy high-rise living.  Stay tuned. In the meantime, no matter where you live, we'd love to hear your thoughts on organizing for a view.

Read More:

• OrganizingLA featured in Estates West Magazine - blog post
• PDF version of article in our press kit

Related Posts:

• Lindsay Lohan avoids getting organized (9/06)
  

image of Sierra Towers West Hollywood courtesy Bryan Chan, LA Times and Russ Filice, The Filice Group

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