SHUTTER UP!

My Mothers career as a Psychologist has paid off in my adult life more than I'd ever imagined. Sure I still shake when I see a clown, shiver at the thought of public restrooms and am a neurotic crazy fool when it comes to germs and open spaces, but the key principles of Psych 101 help me navigate through many projects. As a Designer (especially in the crazy world of Los Angeles) I'm often called on to wear the hat of Therapist: I step in mid-project to hand-hold, decision-make and pick up the shattered pieces of peoples renovation disasters. Typically it's a he said, she said situation: he said they couldn't afford it, she said for the contractor to start ASAP. He said trim down the budget, she said trade up the appliances. A recent project involving a couple in the throws of a kitchen remodel found me stepping in as a referee once again. She wanted an extended counter to incorporate office space for her growing business, he wanted to shove it all in an upstairs bedroom to hide her cluttered mess of paperwork. To calm him down I decided to shutter up...put a shutter up, that is. As a Mother and manager of the house, the new 1,000 square foot kitchen could easily incorporate an office area so she could watch the kids, cook dinner and deal with business issues without ever leaving the kitchen. To keep her paperwork from getting out of control, I purchased an outdoor window shutter from Home Depot, painted it and screwed it to the wall (upside down so letters fit, don't slip). Not only is it visually pleasing (it mirrors the traditional style of the new kitchen) but it holds mail, kids projects and files and, at least for now, has kept them both happy!

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: 1 hour

COST: Shutter: $29.99 at Home Depot (painted using left over porch paint in high gloss)

STRESS LEVEL: Shutting down the clutter: LOW