Consultants for everything
You can turn to these experts for arranging art, feng shui and more
The pandemic has triggered all sorts of upheavals in residential real estate. But whether we stayed in our apartments, or left the city for the suburbs or second homes — and maybe have since returned — we are all spending much more time in our homes.
With each move and rejiggering of space, there have been possessions to cast a critical eye on (Keep? Discard? Put in storage?), not to mention furniture to arrange, art to hang and other design-related tasks. Some talented souls, blessed with visual and organizational skills, do it all themselves. Others, blessed with ample income, may turn to consultants for help.
Many such experts saw their businesses plummet during early lockdowns — and then boom as people stuck at home focused on their immediate surroundings. Some have adjusted to the times by introducing or ramping up remote consultations. Here, a look at some assorted consultants and what they charge — from decluttering experts to professionals who can help you choose paint colors for your walls, houseplants and signature scents for your rooms.
Houseplant whisperer
Houseplants were increasing in popularity even before the coronavirus arrived, but the pandemic has spurred even more interest. Not everyone, though, has a green thumb.
Enter plant consultants such as Maryah Greene, who runs the one-woman New York firm Greene Piece. Greene will walk into a new client’s apartment “with 200 plants in my head,” she said. But as she gets to
know the client and the space (amount of sunlight, the presence of pets or young children, for instance) she starts narrowing things down.
After each consultation, she provides a guide with plant recommendations and advice on care.
For a 45- to 60-minute plant-styling consultation, Greene charges $200 to $300, based on a clients’ ability to pay and the size of the space.
Feng shui consultant
You may be curious about feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of using design to enhance health and prosperity. Or maybe you just feel things in your apartment, and perhaps in your life, are out of whack. Feng shui practitioners such as Judith Wendell, founder of Sacred Currents, a New York-based consulting firm, may be able to help.
Wendell talks clients through feng shui’s five elements and the bagua — a template that divides a room into nine zones and helps guide the placement of furnishings — as she makes recommendations for a space, taking into
consideration a customer’s health, relationships and goals. She can recommend the most propitious place for a home office — or a litter box.
Although she always did her work in person pre-pandemic, now 40% of her jobs are remote consultations, which can be both effective and efficient, she said. “I have someone’s floor plan and we have photos. We work on Zoom,” Wendell added.
Sessions with Wendell start at $675, and she charges $180 an hour for a virtual consultation, with a two-hour minimum.
Environmental psychologist
Imagine you could paint your home office a color that could spur you to think more creatively during work hours. Or arrange your furniture so that everyone in the family could get along better. Or design rooms to support someone in your household who has ADHD or is on the autism spectrum.
An environmental psychologist such as Sally Augustin can offer advice on all of the above. Augustin, co-founder of the firm The Space Doctors, has pored over scientific studies to understand how sensory stimuli affect our performance and mood.
Working from her home in Chicago, Augustin examines clients’ floor plans and room photos and takes into consideration their personalities and goals. Then she advises how to “fine tune the physical environment to make the outcomes they want more likely.”
For consultations, she charges $50 to $125 per room, and $175 per hour for those with special needs.
Hanging art
One reason art installation firms began to rebound after the initial lockdown: Zoom meetings. “Clients were focused on their walls and what they look like and whatever was behind them in a Zoom call,” said David
Kassel, owner of I Level, which is based in New York.
Clients often contact I Level seeking help grouping artworks or framed photos on a wall, either in a grid or a free-form, salon-style arrangement, Kassel said.
The firm charges $295 per art handler for two hours of work, then
$95 for each additional hour.
Decluttering
Professional organizers promise to turn a disorderly home into an orderly one. But hire one and your place might momentarily look worse before it starts to look better.
The organizers from Horderly, which is based in New York, start each project by pulling everything out of cabinets and closets. They ask clients about whether or not items are used and, if they are, how often. Dispensable stuff is tossed or set aside for donation, and items that are used frequently are put back in the easiest-to-reach places.
Depending on the location and number of hours billed, Horderly charges $85 to $150 per hour per organizer.