At Home Or Office, Newtowner Creates Spaces Of Beauty

By John Voket

The employees at Brookfield-based Channel Sources began noticing the difference in their boss, Jim Daly, right away.

“They said he stopped using a particular expletive all the time,” said Newtown resident Gail Harrison, who worked with the executive to transform his busy office into a space where Mr Daly could find some tranquility while he was taking care of business.

Ms Harrison, a former executive at British Petroleum, launched her unique design firm, Spaces of Beauty, for business people and homeowners just like Mr Daly. She serves individuals who spend a lot of time in particular environments where everything from the paint on the walls to the clutter of bric-a-brac on shelves and surfaces create mental anxiety, unease, and loss of productivity.

And she does it in a very personal way, applying something of a sixth sense for color and layout to the particular vibes and attitudes she reads from her clients.

“Offices spaces are very often cold and lifeless spaces,” she said during a recent chat with The Bee. “How can anyone be comfortable in that kind of environment? How can employers expect to get maximum productivity from their employees, or themselves, when everyone is uncomfortable where they work?”

It is Ms Harrison’s conviction that most people who think they hate their jobs simply need to enhance the space around them providing a degree of personal comfort while naturally enhancing their abilities and enjoyment of their work.

The journey to creating Spaces of Beauty started in her native England when Ms Harrison left the corporate world to raise her children.

“I discovered a love and flair for working with colors, and my home and garden became an open canvas to color at will,” she said.

After relocating with her young family to the United States, she worked for several years at a fabric store, and was introduced to the fascinating world of fabric and was immediately captivated by the beauty, color, and abundance of it.

“After discovering that retail was not my preferred profession, however, I formed my own custom design painting company, which has been in operation for several years,” Ms Harrison said.

During that period, she worked with a master gardener and developed a small serene place in her own backyard that included a rockery, pond, and sitting area.

“Thanks to a wonderful husband and wife life coaching team, I was encouraged to bring that sense of tranquility in from my garden, to my home,” she recalled. “I did and, voila! Spaces of Beauty was born.”

Ms Harrison knew that what she had created for herself could be offered to her clients, often using their existing furniture pieces and décor items, and adding a few final touches with new items. Occasionally, when she is so wrapped up in handling furnishings and other aspects of a project, she calls on fellow Newtown resident and artist Bek Meyers, whose murals decorate the children’s room at The Fitness Loft health club, as well as the homes of numerous local private clients.

Ultimately, it is this combined alignment of colors and furnishings that make all the difference.

“Colors can literally transform a home, but cutting clutter is also important,” Ms Harrison said. “When we clear clutter in our homes, offices, and gardens, we are literally cutting the clutter in our minds. It is an extremely empowering action to clear our spaces because it allows many different opportunities and avenues to naturally appear.”

Her mission is to provide clients with spaces of beauty; places that will reflect them in every way possible.

“I believe we have to feel comfortable from the inside out, and a way to achieve this is to have surroundings that make us feel that warm glow inside, creating a total connection of mind, body, and soul,” she said. “Once we achieve this in our spaces, we have a place where we can get in touch with ourselves, a place away from the outside world with stresses that try to turn that upside down.”

Going back to the early days of her business, she has been working with Cindy Ritchie who describes her modest condo in the Danbury area as “a work in progress.”

Ms Ritchie has not only watched her friend mature as a designer, but has watched as Ms Harrison has progressed from painting a cloud formation on her daughter’s bedroom ceiling, to transforming a “closet-sized” bathroom into an amazing space.

“Our next project will be doing my kitchen,” Ms Ritchie said. “It’s amazing to watch her do it, because she sees the finished product in her mind and a few hours later, the work is done exactly as she described it would look.”

The success Ms Harrison enjoyed at Channel Sources, redecorating the president’s office and a conference room, has led to an invitation back to redesign bathrooms and other offices in the commercial space off Federal Road.

“My business is truly one of transformation,” she concluded. “I trust that my creations will bring my clients closer to their own evolution. As I work with a client, I reveal the depth of beauty in what I see, and create a space of tranquility — a place where time stands still and all things are possible.”

Learn more about Ms Harrison’s company at her website, www.spacesofbeauty.com.