JO REMILLARD
‘Simplifying’ life

Moving can be stressful for anyone, but for seniors who have spent a lifetime in one home accumulating decades worth of furniture and other belongings, it can be even more daunting.

That’s where Jo Remillard comes in. An interior-design consultant, Remillard helps empty nesters who are downsizing to smaller homes, retirement communities or assisted-living communities sort through their furnishings and figure out what to take with them.

With 15 years of experience in interior design, Remillard has created a special niche for herself, mostly catering to people 55 and older who are relocating to homes that are sometimes thousands of square feet smaller than their current primary residences.

“When I started my design business two years ago, I really wanted to do something that was different, and make the service more accessible,” said the Canton-based designer.

As the large baby-boomer generation continues to grow older, more interior designers could be following Remillard’s lead.

Diane Alexander, a Houston designer of medical facilities and health care and rehabilitation centers, said designers have overlooked older people who want to downsize or need their homes retrofitted with special accommodations. Most designers are accustomed to assisting first-time homebuyers or clients who are purchasing second homes or vacation homes, she said, and are not always aware of the needs of aging seniors who are relocating.

In a presentation last year, Alexander talked to Houston members of the American Society of Interior Designers about the various stages of life and pointed out that there is a shortage of designers who cater to the aging population.

“I said that I felt this was a niche that was not being addressed,” said Alexander. “I assume that there would be a lot of people that would need a designer’s help in deciding what pieces to keep.”

ASID, a national nonprofit professional association based in Washington, D.C., could not provide information on how many interior designers across the country offer specialty design services to seniors. The group does not track its members’ specialties, according to an ASID employee who was contacted last week.

‘Comfort Pieces’

Interior designer Susan Dearborn, who has written newspaper articles on downsizing and assisted several clients who’ve moved into retirement and assisted-living communities and smaller apartments in Boston, feels the role of interior designers in helping empty nesters will grow in the future.

“I don’t know if more people will become ’boutique’ designers and do this downsizing,” said Dearborn, the principal of Susan Dearborn Interiors in Wellesley. “I feel we are truly design consultants and as Americans age, our role in downsizing and relocating will increase.”

Dearborn has helped retirees move into Fox Hill, a luxury-condominium complex in Westwood, and North Hill, a community in Needham that offers assisted living and nursing care services. In one case, Dearborn and her staff handled all the details for an elderly widower who was moving into an assisted living community.

Dearborn scheduled the movers and set up a date for an estate sale and pickup of disposable items. While the client was away on vacation, Dearborn met with painters, the carpenter and others to make sure the new home was ready before he returned.

“The real key is to make people comfortable and make them feel like they still have a sense of home within this new environment,” said Dearborn.

There is definitely an “emotional” aspect when it comes to people removing themselves from the homes they’ve known for so long, said Remillard. Some seniors really need the support to make the transition into their new homes, she said.

“It is a service that is so needed and is a value,” added Remillard.

Remillard started her business after volunteering with the Council of Aging in Franklin. Unlike most traditional designers, Remillard focuses on the placement of furniture and accessories that her clients already own – instead of purchasing new furnishings – making the service more affordable.

For $100 an hour, Remillard helps her clients determine which furnishings to bring to their new homes – the “comfort pieces” that are important to them – and how to let go of items they can live without. She has crafted a service called “Design in a Day,” spending a few hours, instead of months and thousands of dollars, to assist clients with placing artwork, furniture and other items on smaller floor plans.

Recently, the Highlands at Faxon Woods, a luxury apartment community for people 55 and older in Quincy, contracted with Remillard to offer her services as a gift to each new resident.

“This can be a very positive time in their lives,” Remillard said of people who are downsizing. In fact, she prefers to call it “rightsizing” instead of downsizing.

“It’s about living and simplifying their lives. It’s not about living for their houses,” she said.