When considering a move from a family home of many years to an independent living community, seniors most frequently ask, “Which of my belongings can I take with me to my new residence?”

Courtney Gawthrop, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Manor at York Town, an independent living community in central Bucks County, PA, has the answer.

One Hour Free In-Home Design Consultation

“The Manor offers a complimentary in-home design consultation with Josephine Timms, founder and owner of Timms Interiors.

Josephine has worked with us for many years, helping new residents prepare to move to The Manor,” says Courtney.

Josephine says,

Preparing to move and planning how to downsize is an emotional experience for people. Many have acquired furnishings and belongings for forty years or more; often people have antiques that have been passed down through families. Others have possessions that were acquired as mementos while traveling throughout the world. They all have special meaning and I am very respectful of their attachment to their furnishings and belongings.

New residents don’t always know how to decide what will fit into their new space. We use a floor plan of their chose apartment home to help map out where they can put there treasured furnishings and décor. Using this diagram helps them to maximize what they can bring, arrange it to meet their lifestyle needs and visualize how the furniture is going to look in their new apartment home.

Some people decide to completely redecorate. In that case, I can help them to design the space and purchase new furniture. In other cases, the new residents may want to refresh their living space by adding one or two new pieces to to their existing décor. In that case, I can help advise them on size and style before they begin shopping. Whatever their preferences, I enjoy being able to help them make this transition to a new, freer lifestyle.

Clients can downsize excess furniture by sharing pieces with their children, by selling it through Estate Liquidators or Auctions, or by giving it to charitable organizations, some of which will come and pick up unwanted, donated items.”

Testimonials by Manor Residents Who Josephine Has Helped

Carol Ann, a resident of The Manor, who has lived at The Manor since March, 2024 says, “It was fun to have Josephine to talk to about designing the layout of my new apartment home at The Manor. She helped me to understand ahead of time which pieces of furniture would fit comfortably and how to arrange everything so it would look beautiful.

It was helpful to have the diagram mapping out my furniture placement ahead of time. It made everything smoother and easier on moving day. We did not waste time and money moving furniture around a room repeatedly trying to make it fit.

Everything has stayed in place as I have not moved anything since the move. I wanted to get a new sofa so Josephine helped to advise me about what size and style would work best for my new home.”

According to Suzanne, who has lived at The Manor with her husband for the last two years says,

“Josephine was particularly helpful because she created a diagram of the apartment with our furniture in place so it made it so easy for us, and for the movers, to know just where everything would go when we moved in.”

Grace Marie, who moved to The Manor nine months ago, was similarly impressed by Josephine’s helpful professionalism. She adds,

“Josephine was lovely to work with, and she made it so easy to see on the floor plan diagram what existing furniture would fit into the new apartment and what we had to downsize. We figured out that we could use our large dining room set in the new den area and put a smaller table in the new kitchen.”

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