Our Evanston-based senior move management team provides design, downsizing and moving services for Chicago and Chicago’s North Shore boomer-and-beyond set.
Previously director of interior design for a national developer of upscale continuing care retirement communities, Drina Nikola understands the demand for aging in place and the benefits. With more than three decades in commercial interior design and project management with major Chicago-based architectural firms, her skills have transitioned seamlessly to this emerging market.
An active member of her community, Drina served on the housing committee for the Age Friendly Evanston! task force. She has helped develop sustainable environmental practices for both her church and hometown, including co-writing Evanston’s LEED Ordinance for Construction. She is a NASMM Certified Senior Move Manager and earned her NASMM Circle of Service distinction, as well as the coveted A+ Accreditation. Read the press release.
A licensed interior designer and LEED AP, she has already left her distinctive design mark on top-level projects for Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the University of Chicago Medical Center and Advocate Health Care. She has consulted, and will continue to consult, on the planning, design and architecture of senior living facilities with owners, operators and developers. Additionally, DWELLING Spaces + Places is fully insured and bonded.
WHO WE ARE
- Licensed and insured movers for relocations
- Licensed and insured handyman and contractors for home upgrades and repairs
At the client’s request, we can collaborate with:
- Architects specializing in aging-in-place and barrier-free design
- Estate, elder and special needs law attorneys for probate & estate administration
- Local realtors experienced in selling family estates
- Consignment shops, estate sale companies and auction houses
WHAT WE DO
We leverage, orchestrate, choreograph, and optimize key resources and experience in senior move management. Drina’s career in healthcare design and project management informs the work of DWELLING Spaces + Places. We deliver extensive services, including:
Designing interiors for accessibility and aesthetics
- Evaluating quality-of-life needs and choices
- Remodeling, reconfiguring, and modifying rooms
- Staging and decorating family home for sale
Opti-sizing for quality of life
- Space planning for current or future dwelling
- Identifying valuables and preserving treasures
- Assessing what to keep, replace, discard, recycle, donate or pass along
Organizing moves to make it easier on everyone
- Sorting, professional packing, and setting up
- Hanging art
- Decorating and accessorizing a new dwelling
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Our team is committed to helping clients make informed decisions about how and where to best live. We call the pleasure of envisioning the optimal home for our clients “opti-sizing.” It isn’t so much downsizing or simplifying as reconfiguring belongings and spaces without sacrificing design. Creating a dwelling place is a very personal combination of fit and feel.
Willing and ready, or not, disruption of residence is as much a heartache as it is a headache for those involved. You can trust us to guide you through the transition – whether modifying for accessibility, opti-sizing or relocating – with sensitivity, care and expertise.
