Evanston Designers Help Empty Nesters, Downsizers Evolve to Smaller Space

Have trouble detaching with personal items when moving? Two Evanston designers are helping empty nesters and downsizers do just that, although Madeline Gelis of Evolving Lifestyles says she prefers to call it "evolving," Crain’s Chicago Business reported. 

Like Gelis, Karyn Musick of Divas N’ Design Inc. works with clients to scale down, connecting them with furniture suppliers to buy new pieces and consignment stores to sell old furnishings. While movers and stagers offer some of the same services as Gelis and Musick, the designers say their services even include unpacking, cleaning and putting away the dishes in a new home, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. 

Gelis has been designing interiors for more than 30 years, starting out in the corporate design arena and later expanding into residential properties, which is now the firm’s trademark, according to the company’s website. 

Musick founded her company in 2001 and the company has since worked in buildings such as Water Tower Place and the Trump Tower, according to the company’s website.