Nicosia, Cyprus. A new home organising business in Cyprus is offering decluttering, storage and decision-making support to clients seeking more orderly living spaces. The venture, Curated Space Co, was founded by Andrie Alexandrou, a former bookkeeper who says her passion for organisation led her to start the service.
A service built around home order
The business came to attention through a small brown envelope left in a mailbox, containing a glossy leaflet headed “CURATED SPACE CO. Luxury Home Transformation”. The leaflet listed services including “Space-saving folding & techniques”, “Storage solutions” and “Decision-making support/Guidance through emotional or difficult decisions”.
It described the experience as “A beautifully curated home where everything has its place” and promised “A refined, discreet, judgment-free process”.
A growing trend
The idea of hiring someone to reorganise wardrobes, kitchens or pantries has become more common in recent years. The trend has been driven by organising consultants, particularly Marie Kondo, the Japanese author behind four bestselling books and the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
Two of Kondo’s books, Kurashi at Home and Spark Joy, both in Greek translation, are visible in the home of Nicoletta, a client living on the outskirts of Nicosia.
A client’s kitchen problems
Nicoletta, who works at a software company, sought help with her kitchen. She said she could not reach some cupboards and that the available storage was so full she struggled to find what she needed.
Alexandrou started Curated Space Co a few months ago after 32 years as a bookkeeper. She said the business was not a lifelong ambition because she had not known such work was possible until discovering Kondo a few years earlier, but said it suited her personality.
Founder’s personal approach
“I’ve just always liked being organised – in my house, my office, my closets,” Alexandrou said. She described her passion for order as “to the point of being a little OCD”.
“Like, if I’ve picked up a pair of scissors, and used them, I absolutely have to put them back in their place. I can’t just leave them there,” she said. “Every object needs to have its home. Like we each have our own home.”
Health challenges shaped her story
Alexandrou, now 52, said that in her early 40s she began experiencing stiffness in her joints, especially in her fingers and particularly in the mornings. She said the stiffness spread and was followed by severe pain.
She was eventually diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder, though she said doctors took years to identify the condition. She said the period left her in pain physically and spiritually because she did not know what was happening.
Alexandrou said she began getting tattoos during those years, partly as a distraction from the pain and also as a creative response, turning her body into an artwork.
