The elements of a peaceful or spiritual home are not solely about icons, incense and color.

While working for an old client and preparing her home for sale, I was left alone with a house full of belongings from which to choose things I wanted to use to "stage" the home. As I looked through the artwork, I found pieces that appealed to me for no particular reason. One was a simple pen drawing of a beautiful woman. Her beauty was much more than physical. There seemed to be an element of love and wisdom that radiated from her face. I liked her very much. When I looked further, I found a framed poem written in calligraphy. I liked them together, although they did not seem related. I placed them on a small wall near the entry. When my client retuned home, she saw the wall and with astonishment, asked why I paired those two pieces considering her art collection was extensive. I replied, they just "felt" right. She explained that the woman in the picture wrote the poem. The poet was an amazing feminist and educator whose influence on my client was immense. My client commissioned the poem from her as artwork. The portrait of the poet was purchased from a separate artist because of the huge appreciation my client had for the poet's work.

Another time left alone in the home of a friend who hired me to decorate, and again looking through seemingly unrelated pieces from all over the house, I grouped several items that I thought "felt" good together. Likewise when she returned home, she asked why I had chosen those particular items. All I could tell her was that they "felt" like they wanted to be together. I soon learned, all of the items were her Grandmother's and each had some special meaning. I remember thinking, something wonderful is going on here, I love this thing I call my work!

And yet a third time, a woman I had not met before, hired me to help create a meditation room in her home. I walked through the entire home which was already quite nice and found some things that "felt" like they wanted to be moved. The items included a framed photograph of a little girl. Immediately, when this client saw the grouping she began to cry and I got very worried. Then she told me the display was perfect and made up of what turned out to be her childhood belongings. I didn't know at the time, but the picture was of her and her intent in building a meditation room was to honor the child inside.