client testimonials

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS FOR HELENA TIAINEN INTERIOR REDESIGN AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZING

I highly recommend Helena Tiainen who recently helped my husband and I declutter and reorganize our living room. In just 3 hours she completely rearranged the furniture, found "away spots" for our stuff, and rearranged artwork so that the area has a "finished" uncluttered look. She also helped us in the kitchen and dining room. We are very pleased. Helena is a gentle spirit, patient and yet very efficient.

Megan and Stephen M. in Berkeley

WOW!  My fiancé and I recently combined households, so I called Helena to see whether our existing furnishings could be rearranged to make the house look better.  Without spending a cent, she rearranged the living/dining room and the office/guest room to look less cluttered and more attractive, and with better flow.   His and my furniture now looks a lot better together, and the way the space is used makes more sense.  I’m really enjoying the new look!  (By the way, Helena is a really hard worker and she got a LOT done in our four-hour time block.)

Julie C. in Oakland

We have really enjoyed working with Helena Tiainen. She has mainly helped us hang and figure out picture arrangements in our home. She listened to what we wanted and used what we had to be creative with these wall displays. Our house now feels like a home. Helena is reliable and organized. Her fees are very reasonable and when working she uses her time wisely so as to get as much done as possible before the sessions are over. We are grateful we found Helena! Tami and Paul E. in Berkeley


I was injured in an accident, which resulted in me being slower and with more limitations than before and my space felt cluttered and lacked creativity, leaving me feeling overwhelmed. Helena Tiainen assisted me patiently. She had many good ideas that helped create a breath of fresh air in my space. I am very grateful for her assistance. Suzann H. in Berkeley

My husband and I hired Helena to help us with organization, thinking we would get a little interior design thrown in. The first day she transformed our living room in ways that seem miraculous by rearranging our furniture using only what we already had. Among other things she also helped me reorganize all my files. Helena is a non-stop worker, who gets things done efficiently, while being completely supportive. Her interior design skills extended throughout our condo, and we now feel we are living in a place that nourishes us with its beauty. Helena constantly surprised us with her practical and ingenious creativity. For example, she can make a pillow cover out of fabric with no sewing and can make fast and accurate decisions in regard to placement of art and photos on the wall. Helena has a gentle spirit, and she is extremely caring. We give her rave reviews and look forward to her next visit later this year, knowing that she will bring our living space to yet a new level. Susie K. 

Helena Tiainen's work is top notch, reasonably priced, and she is a delight to work with. I have been working with Helena on organizing and redesigning my home office and my daughter's room. We tend to work on this project once a week in person and Helena also does work from her home office online to locate items like furniture, accessories, interior paints etc., for me and my daughter. Her help has been a great asset for me. She has helped me create very functional filing systems, and after creating a floorplan for furniture layout she helped me refurnish my home office with attractive pieces of furniture that work well and maximize this small space. Helena has the ability to envision what will work in a given space and can often tell whether something might work in the space just by looking at it. She has also helped me pick the paint colors for my home office as well as my daughter's room. Helena has helped organize and categorize extensive amounts of tapes, CDs, DVDs and books and she has also helped me choose the containers that now contain these items. She has worked on finding the most attractive and economical high quality furniture and storage systems for me and is truly helping transform my environment to something that I treasure. My daughter is also loving the changes taking place in her room. On top of all of this, Helena has also encouraged me to reuse those items that can be re-used and she has given me many ideas in regard to this that I would not have thought of without her input. Her approach is innovative and she is very creative with repurposing and the results are amazing. Helena has also helped me photograph and digitally document and archive family photographs and we are creating great order with my family and career memorabilia. My files and papers and memorabilia have never been this organized before. I have cleared years of clutter in the process and I now love my home office, which is also my sanctuary. I totally recommend Helena Tiainen for your interior design, redesign and professional organizing needs. She is also a talented artist and has many skills and abilities that more than likely will be very beneficial with your project like they have been with mine. Dianne A.

Helena was responsive and listened to what I wanted to have happen with my space (living room and dining room). She has a very creative eye and was able to use what I already had to really make my space really come alive. I was amazed at what she was able to do in 3 hours with what I already had on hand. I love my space and love to be in it. Marguerita L.

You'll get the best value for your money using Helena Tiainen's services. Besides being a fabulous organizer,Helena also has over 12 years of training as an expert interior designer and artist (she has a BFA degree from the San Francisco Art Institute). You DON'T get charged extra for her additional phenomenal skills as she helps you organize and design, but you do get the benefit of her great ideas as she helps you make sense and order out of your clutter. I researched all the recommendations for organizers from the Berkeley Parent's Network that I could find, conducted additional Internet searches, and talked to many organizers before I settled on Helena- and I'm so glad I did. Helena prices her services very reasonably. She gave me a FREE introductory half-hour telephone consultation (which I found extremely valuable), and she offers a sliding scale regarding fees depending on how much and how often you use her services (the more hours, the better the price per hour). She is kind, nonjudgmental, extremely dependable and well - she's organized! Now I don't dread coming home to a chaotic and dysfunctional space. Instead, I often sit in my home office after a long day at work and marvel at how serene I feel knowing that things are in order and I can find what I want when I need to. I now really feel in control of a good part of my life. I love the feeling! Diane M.

I had the pleasure to sort out the physical manifestations of my life with the help of Helena Tiainen in 2012. Going through rooms is an emotional process and Helena was a tremendous asset in this process. I had recently lost a loved one and she was able to authentically honor the gravitas that I experienced without going overboard, while moving me along through a de-cluttering, organizing, and re-imagining process. Her aesthetic resonates with mine and she generates novel and effective solutions for better managing stuff. Together we developed innovative solutions to problems that had been festering in my home for years. We turned a rarely used shower door into a backdrop for a dramatic sculptural piece that she helped design. She provided innovative ideas for displaying objects, figured out a creative hanging system for my outfits, helped to reconfigure my bedroom and study, independently organized key areas of the kitchen, and got me going on a filing system that I continue to use to this day. She was very attentive to where I was at emotionally, listened without judgment to what I had to say, and left me feeling at ease while at the same time making headway in sorting through stuff. One of the qualities that Helena brings to the table is a penchant for re-purposing. She also has a playful bent to her thinking. I have been fortunate to have benefited from her artistic eye, innovative problem solving approach, practical skills and experience. My needs were multifaceted: sorting, organizing, designing, and creative installations. She was able to assist me with them all. Lola V.

As a solo mom of a young child, I need efficient and creative help to get and keep my house under control. In one part of an afternoon, Helena helped me transform the dining nook into a special playroom, using only what I had in the house to create an inviting and functional space. She brings to her household organizing a wonderful combination of practical organizing skill, encouraging and non-judgemental approach and a beautiful aesthetic sense. Kamala A.

Helena's assistance has made a huge difference in our house. I am sure, that without her help, I would still have unpacked boxes stacked in my office left over from our move almost three years ago. She brings a calm demeanor and quiet persistence to every project we tackle together, as well as great organizational skills and aesthetic sensibility. This means that not only do I FINALLY get through some house tasks which initially felt overwhelming to me, but I come out on the other side with something which is really functional, attractive, and personal. As an added bonus, I really enjoy working with Helena and feel like I have learned a lot from her experience and expertise. Paula B.

I highly recommend Helena Tiainen for help with household organizing and decorating. I used her consulting services in my home and found she has an excellent sense of aesthetics and also has a practical approach. She often worked with things I had and I ended up saving money by not buying unnecessary items. I have already received compliments from friends. I found Helena very pleasant and professional to work with and give her high marks. Rose N.

Helena is a jewel. She has been helping organize the lovely yet aggravating chaos in our home with efficiency, creativity and artistry, the results are truly remarkable. Before Helena came, I found each day frustrating given the papers I couldn't find, miscellaneous items without a permanent home as well as bigger collections, i.e. toys, books, artwork and so on that we could not figure a good system for. Each time Helena came we tackled a different task or room, and at the end of the session we would have a system that is simple, usable and compact or a room with a great design. Helena has many great qualities: she is a very good listener who can figure out what results the client seeks, she is gentle yet she rolls up her sleeves and works in a very focused and efficient manner. She is sensitive as well to a family's sentimentalities and gives suggestions for paring down possessions when appropriate. Helena is a real team player and I can recommend her without any reservation. Gail M.

Helena Tiainen has helped me to organize my kitchen, closets, children's rooms, garage and overall household flow issues. She has a designer's eye and a constructive, informed organizer's mind. She made an enormous difference in how we live our lives in our home. With three children to manage and all the stuff that comes with them, Helena is essential to our happiness as a family. She has consulted with us several times and continues to be a resource as we grow and change. I recommend her highly and wonder how anyone manages without her input! Megan H.

After working with Helena to declutter and create organized systems in several rooms of my house as well as my university office, I received many compliments from friends and collegues about the beauty, comfort and streamlined functionality of these spaces. Even more importantly, the process has made the time I spend in my home as well as office more peaceful and enjoyable as well as productive. Helena and I worked on decluttering and reorganizing small spaces such as linen closet as well as highly trafficked areas like the kitchen. She helped me create a filing system at home and at the office that reflected my thinking and lifestyle. She also gave me redecorating advice and helped me implement these changes. Decluttering, organizing and redesigning are for me tedious and seemingly overwhelming processes, but Helena was consistently supportive, constructive and creative. I appreciated how she attempted to use and re-use furniture and storage containers I already had, which kept additional expenditures to a minimum. I enthusiastically recommend Helena's professional organizing and interior redesign services. Catherine C.

I hired Helena to help me organize my papers. My goal was to keep my dining room table cleared of stacks of paper, which had plagued me constantly. She spent two half days with me helping me to organize and file my papers and figuring out systems to keep the papers flowing easily into their rightful place. She got right to work and no time was wasted tackling my many papers. She listened well to my needs and was generous with giving me many ideas for staying organized. She has a vast knowledge about organizing. Her ideas are practical and easy to follow. I appreciated that she prepared me beforehand, letting me know what kinds of containers and supplies I should buy before she came. We ended up using almost all of them. I now have a much more user friendly filing system, and stacks of papers don't clutter my dining room table anymore. I was very pleased with her service and recommend Helena highly. Margaret C.

I highly recommend Helena Tiainen. She is a wonderful interior designer. Helena is an accomplished artist with an intuitive sense of space, color and design. She worked with me to furnish a condo that is stylish and inviting for adults and kids alike.  Helena stayed within my limited budget and time constraints while keeping a positive attitude. Her attention to detail and a client's likes/dislikes is impeccable and I could not recommend her highly enough. Rachael K.

In preparation for remodeling our home starting June 2009, we needed to empty all but two rooms of our house and move in temporarily with my father. Daunted by this prospect, and remembering how helpful Helena Tiainen was in taming my clutter last year, my mother suggested (and underwrote, bless her) Helena's assistance for the move. Helena came to our home once a week for four hours for the month leading up to the move. First she met with my husband and me to develop a game plan that we would follow to tackle the various components of the move in the month leading up to our construction start date. Helena took us from our overwhelmed state, distilled with us what needed to happen, offered suggestions about ordering the tasks and resources we could tap, and left us with a limited number of homework assignments for our session a week later. For the next sessions Helena worked side-by-side with me boxing, sorting, labeling, and stacking. When my decision-making abilities conked out she directed me so I could just be a worker bee, not project manager for a spell. Our last session was an all-hands-on-deck work party with Helena guiding work by my husband, mother, aunt and myself. Helena was a calming presence throughout, and reiterated in word and in deed her willingness to help us do what needed to be done. When my dad heard and observed the progress we were making with Helena, he hired her, too, to prepare his house for an invasion of two small children and their parents. Thanks to Helena, we made our construction start deadline with the house prepared, sanity intact, and moved into a home ready to receive us. Alicia K.

Helena Tiainen gets a glowing recommendation from my husband and I. In addition to interior decoration, she is an artist AND an organizer, so she brings a lovely bundle of skills to the table. We hired Helena out of our need for an organizer. We have bad habits, extensive and archeologically layered clutter, all exacerbated by having two small kids and full-time jobs. Key strengths of Helena are: 1. Great eye: she is creative and inventive, can see lovely combinations of color, texture and arrangements that really work in terms of practical purpose and aesthetics. She will look at what you have and help you maximize the effect of existing pieces, and if need be help you envision what might complement them. 2. Great ear: she is a fabulous listener, gets to know your priorities, and helps you establish not just surface order but also the living habits or patterns that help you maintain that order. Maybe that’s the key: the beauty, order and calm have to withstand the test of kids whirling through and busy tired people keeping it in place. 3. Flexible, non-judgmental, easy to work with: Having just had a baby, we did not want to spend an arm and a leg and so we told her that we had a fairly modest budget. She gave us a free initial phone consultation and suggested the options for proceeding in the most optimal and cost effective ways for us. She never shamed us for being slobs or too busy or etc., so we could instead focus on doing the best we could to get our home in order. We both agree that our time with Helena has been well worth every penny, with immediate returns on sanity and satisfaction. Best of all is the feeling of finally truly enjoying our home. BONUS: since my husband and I wound up working with Helena in turns, our sessions with her had almost a couples therapy benefit to them! Her non-judgmental style helped us negotiate sticking points (closets of memorabilia and piles of paper that previously felt non-negotiable were calmly and steadily dealt with). Its been a lovely process of bringing harmony to our home. Good luck with your search for an organizer and interior decorator; we definitely suggest contacting Helena. Linda L. & Michael D.