Healing Spaces: Grace’s House Meditation Room, Revealed

New York Interior designer Marina V. Umali designed a room in a Showhouse benefiting a children’s charity. The end result is a beautiful design that is both minimalist and meaningful.

PROJECT SCOPE: Turning a former dressing space to a meditation space for a Showhouse.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE: A soothing, healing and inspiring space

I believe in fortuitous moments, and there were plenty of them when I applied to take part in Grace’s House. Grace’s House is a showhouse that was set up last year to benefit the Valerie Fund, an organization that supports kids with cancer and blood disorders in New Jersey.

Hi. I'm Marina. I'm a NY State certified interior designer and certified Feng Shui practitioner.

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**It comes together. Vision to reality for Grace’s House Meditation Room.**

I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I applied to be selected to design one of the showhouse rooms: a meditation space. And when my name was announced earlier this year as one of the winners, I got right to work. I teased some ideas about my motivations and inspiration for the project in the last blog and, as promised, here is the full story (with after-photos) behind this space.

WE BEGAN, HERE.

The late 19th century home used for the Show House had wonderful bones but was in need of an update.

The house is a late 19th home, located in Plainfield, New Jersey. It was a beautiful house that needed TLC. Dan Reichard, a contractor, had bought the house with the intention of restoring it. When his granddaughter, Grace, fell ill and he found out about The Valerie Fund, he knew he wanted to help The Valerie’s Fund and that’s how the idea for the showhouse was born. I was touched by Grace’s story and knew I wanted to help.

For my Meditation Room, I thought it important to design a space that was calming, energizing, and made people feel good. I wanted to do something different, unique and to inspire people in the same way that Grace’s story inspires people. It was also important to get the message across that meditation is very good for everyone’s wellbeing, no matter what our circumstances.

This motivation was especially fortuitous as I learned later on that The Valerie Fund programs encompass mediation and yoga as part of their wellness mission.

CREATING SERENITY IN A CHALLENGING SPACE

Even though I selected a specific room in the house that I thought would work best for the meditation space, ultimately I was assigned a different room, one with challenges. It was a ladies’ dressing area with a semi-enclosed patio attached to it. There was an entrance, and steps leading to a powder room. It was a small, awkward room, definitely challenging -- but the more I considered the space the more possibilities I saw. And I love a design challenge!

I wanted to create a very serene space, one that made it easy for a person to be at ease and soothe their worries away. At the same time, I didn't want it to be a typical meditation space.

I’m a Feng Shui designer and that philosophy guided my design choices for the space. For instance, I wanted to minimize clutter, but I still wanted a space where all the senses were at play. I began by filling the room with meditation cushions, in specially chosen fabric that provided texture and visual interest.

**Fabric cushions and bolsters introduce color and softness.**

As the room was a small space without much light, I chose a wall color that would make it happy, lively and add a bit of sunshine. The paint color for the wall is a soft yellow from Benjamin Moore and a bolder yellow for the outdoor patio space from the Historical collection. I thought it would be a perfect way to honor the history of this home.

As I’m a vegan designer, so as much as possible I wanted to use non-toxic, but mostly importantly cruelty free materials. I made a special request of the paint manufacturer to have them supply a no VOC Natura paint. I was so pleased that they agreed. We also used a lovely, sophisticated shade of white for the ceiling and window & door trim.

The Vision Grew

As the project moved from vision to reality, I asked Inga Belozerova of Michelangelo Decorative Painting to create a custom hand painted wall mural. It’s a beautiful piece that brought the symbolism of spring, peace and renewal into the space. Working with inspired artisans like Inga is definitely one of my favorite experiences during the project.

Another phenomenal wall feature is, Wall Stories. I thought of calligraphy, which is so beautiful, but it’s what everybody expects but when I found work Kathleen Palmeri of K Palm Fine Art and her wall stories I knew it was perfect for the space. Wall Stories is a custom series of twelve, 18x18 original ink paintings. At first they seem as if they are random abstract numbers, shapes and symbols. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes apparent that Kathleen created a living space. Truly it is a unique and personalized story about Grace, with each painting telling a particular story about her strengths, her interests, her shining spirit, and her trailblazing legacy. It ties in wonderfully with the concept of Grace’s House and what inspired this journey to begin with.

AWKWARD STEPS, TURNED OPPORTUNITY

**An inspiring solution to awkward, in-room stairs includes preserved moss and a negative energy disposal vessel.**

Working with Lindsey Neff of Larkspur Botanicals I found a solution to hide the bathroom door and create a shrine like space where visitors stepped up to participate. Lindsey created a custom piece of preserved moss on the door to create another feature wall, introducing whimsy and nature into the space. For the stairs space, I created a kind of anti-wishing well, or an opportunity for visitors to let painful thoughts and feelings go. Visitors wrote down negative thoughts and placed the paper in a bowl of water where the paper would just dissolve and melt in the vessel, helping them release negative thoughts that no longer served them.

PROBLEMATIC PATIO TRANSFORMS INTO A MAGIC FOREST

I also wanted to take advantage of the patio space. You can see for yourself that a challenge often inspires us to reveal our best.

**A living ceiling and a floor mural are delightful features of the patio space.**

To continue breathing life into this space I created a living ceiling with the help of Lindsey Neff of Larkspur Botanicals. She did a fantastic job selecting the right plants for a living ceiling. It was gorgeous, and Lindsay gave her whole heart. No fake plants or fake flowers allowed in this space! For almost a month before the showhouse opened, we took care of the living ceiling by watering it regularly and to my amazing surprise I had the support of Dan Reichard helping me water the ceiling on those days that I wasn’t there. He truly enjoyed getting some peace and quiet in the space and it truly became a peaceful meditation space for him and many others.

For the patio, we got people to look up and down, as we created a floor mural. Working with Heather of Studio Eighteen, we created something that would look like a path in the forest. It became such a special feature and certainly engaged people while they were in the space.

As I look back, I must say that the path in the patio exceeded my expectations. Of course, I wanted both the indoor and the outdoor space to feel like a cohesive gallery, but the floor certainly became the main art attraction, creating the opportunity for visitors to walk on “water”. Everyone thought there was water running through the space. Over and over, people said to me, “It feels amazing here, and the entire space is so magical.”

SO MUCH THANKS TO SO MANY

Gloster of NYC graciously provided the outdoor furniture and lights. West Essex Lighting Studio was kind enough to provide the beautiful ceiling fixture and accessories. Forbes & Lomax gifted a gorgeous light switch. These donations of product, combined with the artist partnerships shared above, were essential components in the success of the Meditation Room at Grace’s House.

Grace & her mom Aubrey loved the meditation space as much as I loved designing for Grace’s House. During the interview between the artist Kathleen Palmeri and Grace’s Grandfather, he mentioned that Grace gets her strength from her Great Grandmother, Grandmother and Mother and that she comes from a lineage of four strong and determined women. Kathleen painted a beautiful portrait of all 4 of them that was in the room with me at first and later on at the entrance to the room making the space a truly special place for Grace and her family.

On the day of the ‘big reveal’ walk-through, Zen music played, and aromatherapy (courtesy of Denise of dōTERRA ) scented the room. Soothing colors, fresh flowers & plants, serene music, aromatherapy and crystals (courtesy of Corissa of Three Charmed Gems) -- all were incorporated into the space, and were working in harmony to engage every sense, inspiring relaxation and a sense of wellbeing.

As it turned out, Soshisma Zen Center was located a short five minutes away, and I was lucky to have Myong-Ahn Sunim come to do the blessing on the house and meditation sessions in my space. Another fortuitous moment in the life of this project!

Everyone on my team did such an amazing job. They believed in my space and my idea and I couldn’t have done it without them. There was such a great energy in the space and the visitors truly felt it. What made this project special is that I was personally there to witness visitors experiencing the space in the moment and that made it so much more special for me. From the smallest details to the largest decisions, I design with intention. My goal of creating a serene space exceeded my expectations and on multiple occasions visitors thanked me for helping them feel good. Many mentioned how grounding it felt, how they could feel the shift in energy in the room, how they felt like they were in nature but protected, how magical it was and amazing comments that I will forever treasure like wow! Are you kidding? Oh my! Magical, Whoah, Wow, Very calming! That’s so cool! Phenomenal, Gorgeous, Unusual, Amazing, Magical and many more. Amazing memories were created at Grace’s house for all of us to treasure for a long time.

Photography by Wing Wong of Memories TTL and Erica Moffitt of Naki Studios.