Apartment Therapy is, in part, a community of design-savvy do-it-yourselfers. But for those of you who crave a little extra support when it comes to sprucing up your space, you can call on one of our own: Boston blogger Kyle Freeman! Kyle's business, Cloud 9 Organize & Redesign, provides affordable design support for real people and real spaces, with an emphasis on using what people already own to transform their spaces.
Whether she's helping you rearrange your living room or organize your craft space, Kyle always starts with what you already have, scouring drawers, cabinets, closets, basements and attics for objects that she can repurpose in a novel way. After working with what you have, it might be clear that you do need additional pieces (e.g. new couch, curtains, storage etc.). Cloud 9 then helps you make smart design decisions for your purchases. In addition to hands-on redesign — also known as one-day decorating — and organizing support, Kyle rounds out her menu of services with color consulting, space planning, artwork arrangements, and general consulting.
Some of you have seen Kyle's colorful home and her Boston-based business has been featured twice in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, in Lola Magazine and soon to be featured in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of Better Homes and Garden's Decorating Magazine! Check out Kyle's Apartment Therapy house tour here.
In addition to blogging daily for Apartment Therapy, you can also follow Kyle's favored tips, resources, and inspiration on her own blog here. For additional before and after photos click here and for more information, including cost of services, check out Kyle's Cloud 9 website!
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Emi & Nathan's Natural History
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
Does anyone know of a similar service in Seattle? Thanks
Kyle helped us when we decided stay in our small (720 sq foot) condo, with one child and another on the way! She provided exactly the advice and support I needed to make our condo feel bigger and maximize space, whether it was designing a storage system, pointing us to resources or giving us the little nudge we needed to make certain changes - all with creativity and style. Now people continue to comment on how huge our place feels compared to before, and I LOVE our home. Thank you Kyle!
I'd been living in my tiny apartment for a year when Kyle came over to spend an afternoon helping me redesign my living room space. In a few hours, she reorganized my bookshelves, moved around the artwork on the walls, and suggested several local, affordable resources. She used what I had owned for years in ways I'd never considered... I now have a newfound love of my space! She's also totally fun to spend an afternoon with!
We'd lived in our house for quite a while, and I'd always felt like we weren't getting enough out of the rooms we had set up as our living room/family room. After our daughter was born, it became clear we needed a space for her toys. So with some trepidation, we brought Kyle in to help us do away with the living room altogether in favor of a family room. We turned the remaining room into a playroom. It was amazing. Kyle gave us the choice to either "be part of the experience" or "let her team do the work". We described our needs and then left Kyle to make the spaces what we needed. She rearranged the house using pre-existing furniture and it was amazing. We never would have thought to do what she did. She is creative and insightful and I've already been thinking about how to bring her in again for my next project....
Kyle worked wonders for us in many rooms of our home. In particular I was thrilled with how she was able to quickly transform our dining room and living room into places I actually wanted to spend time. Her ability to place artwork on the walls and find unexpected ways to place furniture is something I simply don't have within me. Hence the need for Kyle! We also utilized her help to pick out new furniture for our rooms. Kyle will help you surf the net or shop the stores. She was even sitting next to me as I bought a new chair for our bedroom online! Thanks Kyle!
Kyle is a miracle! In a few hours, my rooms were transformed into spaces that were, not only more inviting, but more spacious. I consider myself a woman who likes change and pride myself on being the one friends ask over to redecorate their pads. And, yet, when it came to my own apartment makeover, I was stumped. Kyle was able to envision reorganizing what I had so that it looked as if I had spent a million on brand new furniture. Weeding out collections ( in my case vases) so that they showcase as well ordered "groupings" is another of her many talents. Having Kyle over is the gift that keeps giving. I hear her advice in my head whenever I set up a shelf or corner of my space! Marjie
Another endorsement for Kyle who helped both me (with a disorganized office) and my boyfriend (with multiple messiness issues). With short consults and helpful tips she had a very high impact on my living situation without me needing to buy or reorganize drastically. (And I think she'd be great for the more intensive redesign too!)
I cannot begin to tell you how much Kyle has helped me! I've always been cluttered, disorganized and overwhelmed. Once my wonderful husband moved over from England, it was totally out of control. I finally decided I *had* to make my 525 sq ft condo into a comfortable living space. We're in the middle of the process now, and I can see *huge* improvements!! She is *completely* non-judgmental and gentle. I cannot recommend her enough. She transformed my sister's house and my Mother's Assisted Living apartment. No words can express my gratitude to her. Thank you, Kyle!!!
Kyle helped my husband and me to set up our new condo. We brought her in before and after the move and she helped us tremendously. She recommended paint brand that was beautiful and envionmentally friendly and helped us pick colors (I love them). She also helped us visualize how to place furniture in two somewhat challenging rooms, and they look great! Best part, she came in to help us brainstorm how to set up the kitchen. We are almost done putting her ideas into practice and it is now my favorite room. She has great style and amazing sense of visual space that really breaks through the clutter.
does kyle do western mass?
Kyle really saved my family room and alcove, turning them into rooms that I now love going in to. I especially appreciate her ability to group art on the wall in a really great way. I love that I am now able to showcase the things that I love in a way that actually works. Thanks Kyle!
Is there anyone like this in DC? Great idea. I want.
Kyle is a genius and an absolute pleasure to work with. She has come up with ways to redesign and organize small complicated spaces to make them feel spacious and clear. I have hired her for many projects and have always been thrilled with the outcome. I highly recommend her!
My apartment needed some real therapy, and Kyle was a great counselor. In about three hours, I had a cheerful, welcoming living and dining room re-decorated using items she found around in my house. I appreciated that she thoughtfully reflected my own style and sought my OK before making big changes. I'd gladly use her services again.
For someone who is a rising recognized star in her field, Kyle brings humility and warmth to the process. She is a great listener and when she says "this may sound a little crazy," pay attention. She is about to make a suggestion that will transform your living space.
Kyle helped me transform my craft room into a wonderful, creative space for my daughters and me! My space is pictured above, the one with the fireplace. We had lived in our house for over 2 years and almost never used that room. Now we use it everyday for art projects, violin practice, sewing, board games, etc.!!! I love the colors we chose together and how there's a place to store all of the art supplies for both big and little people.
Kyle is a joy to work with. She is a great listener and truly pays attention to how you need to use a space. Her suggestions are both beautiful and practical.
Don't miss the link on this page to Kyle's house tour, her house is amazing!
After we renovated our downstairs, Kyle helped us pick out the paint colors for our dining room, living room and kitchen and gave us some advice about curtains and counter-tops. The colors look amazing; they are perfect for the space and just the kind of deep, warm, informal but sophisticated colors we wanted but would never have been able to zero in on. Kyle's advice about the laminate and the blinds has saved us money and hours of shopping. As great as our rooms look, however, Kyle's way of working with us was especially nice. She doesn't come in with any set ideas or palate. She listened to us, figured out what we were looking for, basically helped us narrow down the choices and guided us toward alternatives that worked together. And she's funny on top of it all!
Anyone would be interested in Chicago area?
I can offer the same service.I am an architect and organizing is my favorite thing.
I've been helping my couple of friends reorganize their closets,kitchens, and offices.They loved the cheap and significant improvement!
What seemed like a difficult and exhausting task was made fun with Kyle. Organizing my things, decluttering and finally redesign were my goals that I just could not do on my own. With Kyle's help I was able to toss out quite a bit of stuff. She came up with fresh ideas about storage and how to best utilize my closets (luckily, I have a lot of them). And most fun of all was rearranging my living room so that it finally works. I also have a lot of artwork that I had stacked against various walls. Kyle has an excellent eye for placement. We decided together where each photo or painting went.Again, I could never have come up with amazing end result on my own!
Kyle is brilliant, with both her design/organizing sense and her understanding of human nature -- the way we live, the way we aspire to live, our strengths, our foibles, all of it. Working with her -- mostly on organizing office space and paperwork, my nemesis -- has been a delight. We always laugh a lot, I always learn a lot, and the results are amazing.
kyle rocks! she helped us rescue two rooms that were filled with baby gear, paperwork, etc and transform them into two great spaces. Not only is she super talented but she is also a delight to work with .. who knew organizing could be fun?!
Kyle is fantastic and I can't recommend her enough. She helped transform our 4 year old's room from a cluttered mess to a cute AND functional bedroom/playroom. And most impressively - she did it without suggesting that we buy anything new!!! Hire her - you will be so glad that you did.
Kyle rocks! I have used a variety of services - organizing, redesign and color consulting. Every few months, I give myself a gift by booking an afternoon with Kyle. The process is as magical as the final outcome!
I don't have much design sensibility, but I had enough to know that our living room/dining room looked pretty shabby. We decided to graduate from our old futon to a couch. After a bit of shopping, I noticed that couches are expensive (ouch!) and there are lots of them. If we were going to invest in a couch, I figured it would save us money in the end to get some advice before making the purchase. But what we got was so much more. In one afternoon, Kyle redesigned the space. The way she rearranged the artwork on the walls was particularly great. The room looks so much better, and I've been really surprised by what a difference that makes. I just like being in there now -- we use it much more. All our friends noticed and some have become new Cloud 9 clients. It was also a treat to work with someone who is such a funny, great human being. Thanks Kyle!
kyle's a genius, no doubt about it. with her help, we transformed a tiny new york apartment into a (seemingly) spacious, yet cozy, functional home and studio via a creative highway that i would never have navigated without her incredible insight, knowledge, and ideas. and she's funny as all h***. thanks again, kyle!
Kyle transformed our extra bedroom (featured in this post) into a playroom for our son. It came out better than I could have dreamed. I’m a fan of tapping into resources for the help I need and Kyle is now on my short list. While I’m naturally organized, I find I don’t make time for my projects and working with Kyle provided the focus I needed. Also, Kyle is not only more efficient than I, she has many tricks in her “tool kit” I’d never thought of. I’ve worked with Kyle for organization and redesign and am impressed with both types of services. After working with Kyle just a few times, I’m enjoying my home much more. On top of her expertise, Kyle is also a pleasure to work with.
It was great working with Kyle. What I kept putting off for 6 months, she helped me organize in 4 hours. It was well worth every penny and having my bedroom re-arranged and de-cluttered really helped lift my spirits. Kyle helps give you the permission, to give up your "stuff" and is very approachable and easy to work with. I can't wait to tackle the next room.
Spending an afternoon with Kyle working on my home is relaxing, rewarding, fun. Her eye and color sense is super and I know what others mean about her “you may think this crazy but…” For example, she told me my guest room was just perfect and relaxing as it was! (Would a “decorator” ever tell you to do nothing?). She got my color vibe immediately. I am not an artist so do not have her color distinctions. She takes my color sense from Ok to exciting – it is great to watch her sit on the floor of my tiny hall with her paint swatches and come up with two perfect colors to try. And then to casually take all the photos and prints I have sitting on the floor (for months) and hang them in the perfect spot in short order. And she leaves me with enough homework to do for the next three months!
I see there are many devotees of Kyle! She has a well deserved following which I'm happy to be part of. Kyle helped us organize, remove cutter and make sense of a second bedroom which had no rhyme or reason. She had fresh ideas which we just didn't see, and helped us break through some mental barriers to get the space we wanted. We also had her come back to help us pick a living room paint color and brainstormed on potential changes to get us on the right track in our formerly bland living space.
I agree with the commenter above that Kyle is a genius. We have 40 years of detritus (ours and stuff others have dumped in our house) and felt overwhelmed about how to start reducing and recycling and decluttering. I chose Kyle because her website was the most clean, uncluttered and organized of all the organizers I researched, and her prices were the most reasonable, to boot. We even coined the verb, "to Kyle-ize something" in her honor.
She has helped us think about culling and organizing differently, and has helped us make our space *much* more effective and enjoyable. If you feel stuck and can't imagine where to start, or you need a new, fresh perspective, I could not recommend Kyle more highly. It costs (a reasonable amount of) money, yes, but it saves money, time and energy in the longer term.
Kyle came over more than a year ago, and today I was sitting here marveling again at her touch. Have I kept everything in exactly the same place? No. Have I gotten to everything we talked about? No. But I love her eye, her style, her spirit, and I love how she is willing to validate my choices, too. Kyle, can you come over again?