NAPO

"Neat" Find: N.A.P.O.

Being organized is no longer a frivolous endeavor, it is a necessary factor in our busy lives. Yes it is true that the economy is frightening, but we still have to work, care for ourselves and our families. How do we do it all when time is so limited? -
We have to be efficient and organized.

I have been in the interior design and construction industry for over thirty years, for the last 18 years I have been designing cabinetry specializing in organization. I design closets, home offices, garages, pantries and any room of the house that needs storage cabinets. Several years ago I was referred by a client to a professional organizer who had come in after I had built her the closets and garage cabinets and helped this client put everything away - in order.

This was Lanna Nakone Cairns, a professional organizer and member of a prestigious association; N.A.P.O. (National Association of Professional Organizers). Lanna and I have been working with clients ever since. We work together in creating efficiency and organization for our clients busy lives. We assist them in saving time and preserving their personal effects.

Finally, I asked Lanna to come to my house and give me some pointers. Although I am quite fastidious and know how to organize, so I assumed, I wanted her professional advice.

Lanna came on a Friday afternoon, in a whirl she told me exactly what to do, how to do it, showed me solutions and spirited me on my task. Generally she continues to work hand in hand with a client, but she just helped me for that day and I worked the rest of the week end. I was all done by Sunday night, on what I had been putting off for years. I needed Lanna to get me started, I needed her to point the direction and I needed her coaching and expertise. Now it is a pleasure working in my home office and getting much more done.

Lanna Cairns of Organized World. com has moved away to Salt Lake City. I work now with other N.A.P.O. members in the San Francisco Bay Area. Be sure to contact a N.A.P.O. Organizer, they will save you time and money and get you excited about being organized.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER
SPACE ORGANIZER

See the before and after photos above.

WATTS TOWERS - RECYCLING WONDER

"Nuestro Pueblo" (meaning "our town")- known as the Watt's Towers.

When Sam Rodia, single creator of the Watt's Towers was asked why he made the towers, he answered "I wanted to do something big and I did it."

Sam (Simon) Rodia was born on February 12th, 1879 in Ribottoli Italy. Rodi's older brother immigrated to the United States in 1895 and settled in Pennsylvania. Rodia followed his brother a few years later. He moved to the west coast and found work in rock quarries and logging and railroad camps as a construction worker.

In 1921, after having lived in Long Beach since 1917, Rodia purchased the triangular shaped lot at 1761 - 1765 107th Street in Los Angeles and began to construct his masterpiece Nuestro Pueblo at night. When Rodia was approaching 75, he deeded his property to a neighbor and retired to Martinez, California to be near his family. On June 17th, 1965 Sam died.

The Watts Towers, consisting of seventeen major sculptures constructed of structural steel and covered with mortar. Then Rodia adorned his towers with numerous pieces of found mosaic, broken glass, sea shells, pottery and tile. Even a rare piece of 19th-century hand painted Canton ware and many pieces of 20th-century American ceramics are found upon his structures.

Now the towers are one of nine folk art sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and were designated a National Historic Landmark.

"The art of recycling at it's grandest. One of my favorite places on earth." - Malka

CREATING PROSPERITY - LESSON FROM THE CLOSET

Labor Day has passed and we have now entered Fall. It is time to clean and sort your closets to prepare for the colder Autumn and Winter Seasons.

This small and important chore will entail that you go through all your closets of clothing, to clear away your summer linens and cottons. First check for stains, mending needs and aging. If you have not worn any of these summer or spring clothes in these last seasons, then they need to go away; pass them on to the rag bucket or a thrift store. Mend and clean all your good summer and spring clothes before storing them away in another closet or in the back of your main closet.

You will also want the clothes you wear in the next several months to be in the forefront, to be close at hand, easy to access, cleaned and fresh.

In the Chinese Art of Feng Shui, this clearing out and shifting, will do the same to your lives. It shuffles up the stagnancy and therefore will create a positive energy flow through out your body and your life.


This week has been depressing for many of us in the U.S. When one is down and out it is a good thing to change something we have power over.

CLEAN CLOSETS - ORGANIZED CLOSETS
Go for it!

Be your own artist and create positive movement.

Painting by Father Arthur Poulin

SEX AND THE CITY CLOSET

Glamorous Hollywood Style Custom Designed, Custom Painted Walk In Closet to store and display over 300 pairs of shoes and a multitude of beautiful clothes. A woman's dream come true. It took three years to design and redesign this ever evolving closet due to the client's and architect's changes to this room of the house in the process of building it. The Wardrobe Closet project was collaborated with the client's creative interior designer; Trudy Negherbon of Trudy Negherbon Designs, Contra Costa County, California. Trudy Negherbon created a magnificent designed home and was a pleasure to work with.

Note the three mirrors in the second photo. It is a three way mirror which opens out so one may see themselves from all sides and behind these doors is a wardrobe lined with cedar. An excellent protection for woolen clothing of course. There are other closet cabinets for other storage. But on the most part the client wished to see her clothing in clear view in order to put together her wardrobe ensembles for the day or for a trip.
Hollywood Closet - Glamour Closet

CITY OF PLEASANTON - BUILDING EXPRESSION

I came upon this interesting building while driving through a part of Pleasanton, California near their airport. I was awestruck by it's uniqueness of bold colors and beautiful art work. Some one was wonderfully creative...

HOME OFFICE SUITE IN WALNUT CREEK

Nice and very functional home office in the finest of beautiful maple wood. We have made many elements of work hidden away in pull out cabinets. They are easy to access and use. Lovely to be working at home.
Custom Home Office
Designed Office
Walnut Creek

CELEBRITY CLOSET IN SONOMA

Beautiful Closet also known as a Wardrobe in pure and smooth walnut wood. Created for a charming southern bell, a celebrity but a secret as to who it is. She came from the big state of Texas and that is all I will note. Their luxurious home is nestled in the hills of Sonoma County Vineyards.
Custom Closet
Closet in Napa Sonoma Area
Wood Closet

WALL BED IN NAPA

A wall bed is behind this facade of drawers and doors. Our client wanted a guest bed in her very small office but a real bed would not allow any one to walk around the room and neither would allow any other furniture in the room. A wall bed was decided upon and I, the designer of the bed insisted that it should look attractive. The client had to do her paper work in this guest room and it would be a terrible idea to have her just stare at a piece of plain wood framing that is usually installed on the underside of these wall beds. I could not disappoint the client in appreciating the space of her home office. This here gorgeous bed if I do say so myself, has come to be known as "The Malka Bed," for it's creative and innovative way of disguise.

The colors and interiors of the room were artfully and beautifully designed by Napa Interior Designer; Lillian Keating of Mercedes Interiors.

The bed and room was featured in San Francisco Magazine and presented in the Napa Design House.

CUSTOM WALL BED
CUSTOM DESIGNED BED
CUSTOM MURPHY (LIKE) BED

NAPA VALLEY ON A PLEASANT DRIVE

Drove through the country side of Napa Valley to visit a client as we say "up valley." It was a beautiful day and the clients were lovely. We have created a well designed and organized wardrobe for them at their home in Geyserville which we will install in September for them.

CUSTOM PANTRY - A BEFORE AND AFTER!

Silverado Country Club - Custom Pantry...

Better space design creates easy access and a pleasure to view.

UNIQUE CLOSET DESIGN

This unusual shaped closet posed an issue at first for me to design this space to be efficient and maximized. But low and behold I think I did it! Client here has a built in ironing board and a secured safe that they wish to hide a bit. The closet now stores all their clothes nicely with no clutter. Not all their clothes are hanging in these photos. I just wanted to take a quick photo before all was put away.

NEW CLOSET

A well organized and uniquely planned closet.

NAPA SPRING

NAPA TURNING TO SPRING

The mustard flowers are a beautiful sight on our daily walks through the vineyards.