Interior decorator customizes residents’ new homes

By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Moving from one house to another is always a big decision.

When you make the decision to downsize to a smaller home, there are some additional questions to answer: How will your existing furniture fit in your new home? What is the best way to store all of the things you’ve accumulated over the years? What if the décor you selected decades ago doesn’t match your current style?

Decorator at the ready
For new Sedgebrook residents, many of these problems are solved by custom interior decorator Joseph Jania. The on-site decorator is available to help with everything from selecting custom upgrades and paint colors to arranging furniture to hanging photographs and artwork.

“They’re moving from a house where they may have lived for 35 years, and we want them to be just as comfortable here,” Jania says.

There on moving day
To make their transition a positive experience, Jania begins meeting with people long before they actually move to Sedgebrook. He helps them understand how to best bring their previous lives into their new homes.

“A lot of the residents who come here are moving from much larger homes, so the big concern is always furniture,” Jania says. The question is, ‘How are we going to fit in the large pieces of furniture that we cherish?’”

Jania is even on-hand on moving day to make sure the furniture arrangement optimizes the space. When Floralee Roston and her husband moved to Sedgebrook from Florida to be closer to their children and grandchildren, they took advantage of Jania’s services—and they say the custom interior decorating made all the difference.

“When our bedroom furniture got into the bedroom, it was overpowering, and he personally moved it all himself, and now it looks wonderful,” Roston says.

Roston says Jania also came up with a creative solution to make a low sofa more comfortable for her husband.