Space Transform

Just a few hours with Gwen has completely changed the feel of our home. My husband and I live in a rental in San Francisco and felt limited by the apartment’s floor layout, our pet’s needs, and our reluctance to invest a lot of money in a rental. I hired Gwen for a consultation, created our wish list, and had her over for an at-​home consultation. The consultation was fast-​paced and thorough. She left me with great ideas for rearranging and repurposing our furniture, examples of what new pieces would work well, and some helpful feng shui principles. A few changes to curtains, furniture arrangement, lighting, and décor have completely transformed our space. Our friends and family comment on how warm and open our home feels — two of our main goals when we hired Gwen. I highly recommend her services and look forward to hiring her again in the future.

I highly recommend Gwen’s services. I was feeling overwhelmed about decorating and choosing colors for my new condo. The challenges were to pick harmonious colors and furniture for a modest living room within a certain budget. In the 2 hours she worked with me, she focused on my vision for a fun, relaxing and nature inspired theme. She gave me great suggestions on where to buy furniture and what to look for. She has a low-​key but thorough approach. I can’t wait to have her come back to build on what we started!

Gwen was a huge help for us in redesigning our noe valley home — it started us on a great process and we are still reaping the benefits. I really appreciated how she helped us to work with the possessions that we have rather than making us feel compelled to buy a lot of new things. She also used our time very efficiently; we made a lot of progress in our sessions with her. I have recommended her to many people since she worked with us a couple of months ago. She was very creative and enjoyable to work with. Thanks!

Gwen is amazing. If you need a change in your apartment/​house and don’t have any right brained tendencies towards design, I highly recommend hiring Gwen!
I am terrible at interior design and was looking for someone to help out. I moved to SF from NYC and my furniture was completely mixed and not very comfortable for having guests over. Most options out there for interior design are very expensive. Since I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, I didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on interior design. Gwen arrived at my apartment and immediately began to have suggestions. She has a methodical way of going through each design aspect of the room you would like to update. It was WELL worth spending $ 300 and 2 hours of my time with her.
After discussing with Gwen what I like in design and which room I wanted to focus on, Gwen began sketching everything out, giving suggestions and going to websites with me to show me options for new furniture. Gwen sketched out an entire floor plan, discussed colors, art and even where to focus furniture/​lamps/​plants, etc.
If I ever move and need assistance redesigning another room, I will absolutely re-​hire Gwen in a second! Thanks Gwen!

As good as it gets! Our home became comfortable and beautiful almost instantly. We could never have done it alone. She took the load off getting new furniture, making everything look great. It’s a pleasure now to come in here and stay. Thank you Gwen!

Interior design: There is life before Gwen (misery); life with Gwen (a pleasure); and life after Gwen (a relief). We moved from a very large house in DC to our retirement not-​villa in San Francisco — so much smaller, comparatively, that I have been calling it our assisted living space without the assistance. Gwen took a quick look at our favorite things, brought in some furniture moving pads, took charge and in a couple of hours completely redesigned our warehouse full of furniture, paintings and nearly 50 years of accumulated stuff. She created the fundamental design for rooms that we could not imagine before she arrived. We have been working with her for a couple of months and have watched our home transform from clutter to lovely — and our faces from frowns to glee. We finished — pretty much — last night. She left us with a couple of drawings that are pretty good blueprints to get us through remaining tasks. We’ll miss her, but I guess it’s time to turn her skills over to the rest of you.

If your need some change in your house, just contact Gwen. It is definitely worth your investment.
Being a interior designer, Gwen is insightful, professional and creative. Additionally, she is quite sweet, friendly and understandable. We had three happy hours working together. It was amazing. Small change, big diffidence. My house becomes more cozy, homey and invigorated immediately.
I especially appreciate that Gwen had so many new ideas to utilize, re-​arrange my old stuff and didn’t mention other high-​dollar products. She also patiently replied my further enquirers through email after our first meeting. I am looking forward to the next meeting for the kitchen, master room and office room.
BTW, I just think that interior designer or re-​designer is such a fantastic job. Nothing in the world can be happier than helping others, changing people’s life and at the mean time, making new friends through their professional suggestions.

We had a two hour consult with Gwen to get some ideas about space utilization, colors, and feng-​shui of our new home. We found her to be informative and easy to work with in terms of getting on our wavelength. She had a number of ideas we hadn’t thought of regarding furniture placement and space utilization to bring out the best feeling in harmony with the features of the house. We haven’t implemented all of her ideas yet, but we are certainly taking them into consideration as we work through our house. Overall, this was an extremely worthwhile consult!

Gwen works interior design magic! She came over and took a long look at the things I already had. We talked and before I knew it a plan for a more modern, cozy, yet minimal space was in place. Now I have a wall of art that looks so well designed and gallery like in my living room. My stuff (which was always in good taste but lacking) now looks as if it belongs together. I feel inspired to have dinner parties and much happier about my home. Gwen uses feng shui as well and although I was skeptical it just makes the space of my apartment feel less harshly cluttered. Can’t wait until the next time she comes and we do my windows! new blinds that will filter light in a beautiful way and an art studio that I have been inspired to build in a corner of my living room that was never utilized before.
thanks Gwen!

Gwen spent 3 hours at my house and transformed my living room with furniture I already had. And we picked out paint colors. A great experience!

I learned about Gwen and Space Transform via a Living Social special. I have been wanting some design input in our condo and intuitively knew that the space could be improved to create a more calm, cozy living space. The deal was too good to pass up at 50% off, and for 2 hours I figured it was worth a try. It was absolutely worth it!
I found Gwen to be very professional, insightful, knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with in my home. In 2 hours, we were able to make some immediate changes, that really made a difference in our condo. It is great to reuse items and see them in a new way, more highlighted in its space. She gave me sketches and a list of things «to do» as time and money allow.
I will call on Gwen again to help me when I get into larger design projects, like redoing the master bed and bath. I will happily pay her standard rate and minimal travel fee. I live in Foster City.

The feeling of a space is something I am very particular about. After Gwen transformed my office, I was thrilled to notice a very tangible difference on the quality and creativity of my work. The space looked beautiful and felt significantly better, and became a container for creating more of what I wanted in my work. Gwen is lovely– a total pleasure to work with. Thank you so much!

Do you ever feel like you just need a change in your environment, but you don’t know how to do it? That’s how I was feeling, just tired of looking at the same old furniture arranged the same way since I got it 10 years ago.
I had no idea how to find a designer, nor did I want to buy all new furniture. I just wnted to get advice on the possibilities. Luckily, I looked on trusty Unilocal,and found Gwen and Spacetransform.
Gwen was just what I wanted. For a flat fee, she came over to my house (I live in San Jose) equipped with furniture sliders and picture hanging hooks. We talked awhile about what I didn’t like, but basically, I just let her do her thing.
Gwen is sweet and talented, and is a very efficient and diligent worker. For a solid three hours she moved around furniture to align with feng shui concepts, and it really opened up the rooms. She moved art and other decorative objects from one room to another to create new looks.
Also, she made a diagram designating where lighting should be, so that when I got around to buying lights (which I needed) I’d know where to put them. Just having that plan is so great, I refer to it all the time.
I was so happy with Gwen’s work, that when my mother had an in-​law apartment to rent, Gwen came over and helped stage it.
She is a wonderful resource — she will help choose furniture styles if you want her to.
Gwen has moved from Seattle to the Bay Area, and we are lucky to have her. She is talented, artistic, honest and hardworking. I recommend her highly!

My apartment feels like a breath of fresh air has entered, since Gwen came to transform our space. When we discussed the dynamics of my family’s life and the changes we were experiencing in our lives, she seemed to understand deeply what my family needed. She transformed the space with family in mind, and created a flow that opened it up, so that it just felt «right.» Like, it was supposed to be that way all along, and the room was just waiting for us to place things that way so that we could enjoy it to its fullest. A few months later, and our family has actually been through some wonderful transformations. It feels like the now-​calming energy in our apartment has positively affected our lives. And I really appreciate that she did this without requiring us to buy new furniture! She used what we had and made it feel good and look good. I am extremely grateful.

My apartment has a small and awkward living room shape with a couch that just wouldn’t quite fit. I struggled with trying different angles, configurations and combinations and I was just going to let it be. Gwen, however, changed everything for the better with a few simple re-​arrangements.
In addition, she organized and hung my art so that it totally lit up the space and called attention to previously ignored corners. She created little vignettes using armchairs, art, plants and my found objects. She moved some lamps and voila! the space seemed to open up in magical ways.
Its amazing that by simply placing things in the right place, with a few touches here and there, the space felt completely different and better. It immediately felt lighter, brighter and generally more comfortable and homey.
Also, Gwen is pleasant and warm to work with. She listened to my goals and my complaints and came back with do-​able and easy changes that made all the difference.
I also love the fact that she emphasizes interior re-​design using what I already own versus suggesting I go buy anything new. I’m super frugal and eco-​conscious and her services and philosophy fit my goals to a T.
If you can’t quite figure out how to make your space work, or you need a little change without moving, call Gwen.

Gwen Williams at SpaceTransform is a true visionary with a balanced, nuanced, ethical, and sensitive approach to interior design. She helped me pick a new color scheme for my litte seaside cottage and to reimagine what was possible there. She even had me take out some of my favorite items (such as fossils, seashells) and used them as inspiration for the aesthetic direction. The process was quite magical actually.
Gwen’s demeanor is also very attuned to a client’s needs. It’s not easy to invite someone into your home and ask for advice on how to redesign it, and Gwen made this process comfortable and rewarding. I was self-​conscious about the disarray of my space, but she was completely non-​judgmental and supportive and helped me evolve my home to better manifest where I want to be. I honestly can’t imagine anyone being better at this.

It sounds incredibly corny to say someone has changed your life, but after my Space Transform yesterday, I believe in this type of power.
I moved into a new space a year ago, and I felt like I had done a decent job of arranging furniture, hanging art, etc. I bought new pieces and also had some old furniture. But when Groupon posted an offer from Space Transform recently, I thought it would be cool and fun to actually see what an expert thought of my space. I was looking for improvement and Gwen delivered beyond any basic expectations. I’m only slightly familiar with feng shui, and was also curious from that aspect.
Gwen spent three solid hours at my place (I was exhausted!) and her work has made such a huge difference … even just overnight. She re-​arranged all of my art, helped educate me about feng shui and the way furniture in a room, lamps and other items play into the energy. She showed me how to group photos and how height is important, instead of the art-​in-​a-​straight-​line formation I had going.
As I told her, I know that I have a lot of work to do still … things like getting rid of clutter and clearing out corners filled with bad juju (cremated pet remains that I forgot about — I know, creepy!). But I am really hopeful that I can maintain and expand on what she taught me.
Before leaving, she also provided me with a list of items that I should consider and/​or purchase to round out the work we’ve already done. She wasn’t trying to sell any high-​dollar products and we talked about items from Ikea and Crate and Barrel. I can’t wait to get home tonight and continue the transformation.

I was THIS close to running out and buying ANYTHING to get rid of the heaps and boxes in my new apartment. Luckily, I waited for Gwen and she made everything better. We mapped out the rooms, she listened to my needs and preferences, and we figured out a game plan that was not only insightful, it got me excited about decorating. And I HATE decorating!
Gwen is a real professional. Calm, informed, creative, patient. She uses the principles of Fung Shui in a very practical way (not gratuitous). She suggested I use the pieces I love, wait for more good items to come to me, and to use my intuition to put my living space together. I really appreciate the room maps, lighting ideas, and suggestions for «energy centers.» This process was FUN!
We’re going to meet again for Phase II in January to see how I’m doing.
I really encourage you to meet Gwen, work with her, and let her help you create a good space for you. Don’t worry about spending a bundle. She wants to use what you have and make it work. She has excellent ideas and advice.
If she could make me feel better about my piles and boxes, imagine how she can make YOU feel! Thanks, Gwen.

A former boyfriend of mine has this huge sprawling turn of the century house in Seattle’s Capitol Hill. It has a large main floor that includes an open kitchen/​living room adjacent to a front room that is sort of a den. When we first started dating I noticed that while the main floor had been re-​modeled to a more open modern standard, it still retained some awkward-​ness in terms of layout and function…
Well several weeks later, what a surprise! Gwen had come and worked her magic! She transformed the ‘den’ area into a comfy nook– kind of like a salon for enjoying the soapstone wood stove. The living room sectional and furniture were re-​arranged as well. Best of all, she redid much of the art, lamp, table and plant placings which really opened up the space and added interest to long forgotten corners. The whole place went from being awkward to inviting, with a flow between these two rooms that was hard to achieve. The overall feel of the place was definitely lifted with the new lamp placings, Gwen really has a knack for lighting. And best of all, she simply re-​used the furnishings and mementos that he already had, making the place feel homey and familiar.
I highly recommend a re-​design from Gwen before you go out and binge at IKEA. You’d be surprised what treasures you already own and how she will reveal them! SpaceTransform is a design business that works for real people with real homes and real lives — not those with giant budgets and aspirations towards sterile showcase living. An investment in the place you spend nearly all your time in will make an immeasurable difference in the quality of your life– something I’ve learned from many hours enjoying Space Transform’s ‘re-​creations”!

My new livingroom/​dining room got the SpaceTransform treatment last fall, and I was definitely pleased! Gwen managed to take a relatively small space and make relatively small changes that made a BIG difference in how we use the room.
I mean, anyone can come into your home, advise you to buy $ 10k in new furniture and décor, and then make your house look great. It takes a special kind of skill to take the furniture and home décor you’ve already got and make your space feel new and fresh and invigorated. That’s what Gwen does, and it’s awesome!
PS: The work Gwen did for our house was actually featured in the Seattle Times. Check it out!