Sharon it does all look so perfect for her home!Food can look great on black! I only have one..and it makes food stand out.Very striking!Shrimps especially... Again.. themed in a way.. They must have nice stores in Oakville:) But the shopper is the key. I am thrilled at seeing the little mascarpone cake..maybe my mini cheesecakes will look that cute:) maybe...

I think this is a really fabulous idea. My former acupuncturist's waiting and treatment rooms were just dreadful. I was only a patient for about a year but every time I went in, I was aching to suggest a few changes. I would have even painted the place myself...it was that bad! He moved away, ostensibly because there was not enough business here. I can't help but think the grotesque rooms made a difference in how people felt being there. Do you have any way to present a Gift Certificate of sorts for your professional services? Handing them something with a note attached about how grateful you are and how you want to give back... They would likely interpret that as a generous offer, rather than a friendly critique. I'd hand them the note and then disappear so they don't have to react in front of you...that can be difficult for some people. Or, you could start small with the plant "shares" and see what kind of response you get. If they later say how much they enjoy the plants, perhaps you can go on to suggest the benefit of some additional changes. I'll be eager to hear how it goes. There are so many places where I feel the colors need to be tweaked (like my dentist's office, decorated in a lovely shade of puss green!) and I'd love to just offer a bit of advice without being offensive. Oh, and I'm curious to know where you studied Feng Shui. Thanks! - Amy

When I moved to a new office my husband pointed out that the computer hutch and the U shaped office especially with light colored furniture is a secretarial layout, and not a current one either. He redesigned my layout so I have a large desk and a side table for my computer, & printer. His simple change of my not being surrounded by hutch, desk, etc. gives a real professional look to my office. In back of my desk is a series of 2 drawer wood lateral files which are counter height so I can put a plant there but also current files. I see a lot of clients so I needed space for their chairs. My clients can look out the window in back of me. I promise to take photos, but we moved into our house today, and I couldn't find anything until morning. So we started with: whats in your office that could go elsewhere>? Are you storing closed files? supplies, a printer (if a network is available) What do you have that your assistant could have besides paperwork. He helped me utilize my assistant of 23 years better and redesigned her workspace. Ladynimue's suggestions about really paying attention to how you work best (and put the times down as well) are great. My observation of accts offices is they have every file in the building on their floor. I once saw a cartoon that said "the acctg dept is limited to having 100 files on the floor next to each desk" You are an executive--they don't expect you to use the same furniture--ask very matter of factly what your budget is for new furniture, or better yet maybe they have some furniture stored someplace. Never hurts to ask. The other thing I would do is take a look at every acctg persons office, or read the furniture mags until you see a layout that you might like. Maybe a friend can point you in a new direction also. I was really stubborn about wanting everything the way I had it before--because everyting was in reach & I complained that when I was on the phone that was a problem. We got wireless headsets. problem solved. My husband is not an office designer--he runs his own company. His layout is very different. He has a rolltop desk that faces out so all you see is the back of the desk, and not the papers, inside. He has a work area to the left and to the right. They aren't connected. He has a couch and coffee table in his office.

Valinsv, yes, it is a healing type of business, and whether or not an environment has an Asian or Zen style to it, Feng Shui is really about the ''art of placement''. Currently, they have double doors opening to their business, but they only unlock and use one of the doors. I believe they need to use both doors so they can allow new business in while old business is leaving. There are unused chairs in front of the pathway of one door, with a large window behind them. No one ever sits there because it isn't comfortable to sit in front of a large window. There are two different styles of chairs, 5 of one and 2 of another. Two of the chairs are regularly chosen to be sat in, because of where they are. I believe equality of seating and arrangement of the chairs is important to their business, especially in the waiting room. (I doubt they actually need 7 chairs in their waiting room, since they really don't keep people waiting long. They make appointments and keep them on time.) There is already a certain type of eclectic style going on which could work well for them with some editing, yet relates well to their business. They've actually put some Feng Shui principals into practice, without understanding fully what's really going on. I know they probably have a pretty tight budget, yet believe just rearranging the furniture would be a great start. Think about those shows that have a designer come in and rearrange the furniture without spending any money, yet the room feels instantly better!