Get Organized? Find More Space? Joanna Delson Can Help

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Woman Around Town in Woman Around Town

pringtime brings the impetus for a fresh start—cleaning out closets, arranging furniture, finding a new space or reconfiguring an old one. Most people, however, have troublegetting organized to get organized. That’s where Joanna Delson can help. Her seven year-old company, Space Management, works miracles. And now, as a contributor to Woman Around Town, Delson will be offering her expert advice in regular articles on the website.

Delson practices what she preaches. When she moved with her husband, David Venderbush, an attorney, and their two sons from a 3,000 sq. ft. apartment in Los Angeles, to a 933 sq. ft. apartment in Morningside Heights, she utilized every inch of the space to her advantage. “Space is overrated,” she says. “It depends on what you do with it.”

What Delson did with the space was amaze her husband and friends. They urged her to start a business, so she launched Space Management. Two years ago, the family moved to a narrow brownstone in East Harlem to be near the children’s schools. (Besides their two sons, they now also have a daughter). The building needed a gut renovation, and Delson
called upon her sister, architect Perla Delson of Delson or Sherman Architects pc, to rethink the place with her. The sisters pooled their talents to get the most out of the 2,500 sq. ft. house. While the squarefootage was generous, dividing that area into four floors in a building only 16 feet wide, presented special challenges.The design was soingenious that it attracted the attention of the New York Times and was the subject of a feature in the newspaper’s Home section.

Delson didn’t aspire to be a space wizard. She graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and received a master’s degree in literature from New York University. For nearly a dozen years, she taught English, first at The Dwight School in NewYork City and then at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles where she was also the Academic Dean.

Although she didn’t train for her present career, a faculty for understanding building and space runs in her family. Her father, the late Morton H. Delson, studied with Frank Lloyd Wright and was involved in several Wright projects, including the Guggenheim Museum and Annex and the Mercedes-Benz showroom in New York. Her sister, Perla, who has a master’s degree in architecture from Yale University, is a partner at Delson or Sherman Architects pc in Brooklyn, and has received rave reviews for her work. The two sisters share an aesthetic and a sensitivity for making even the tightest of spaces work.

Delson’s expertise can be put to good use no matter how small or large the project. Almost like a sociologist, she talks with her clients to understand their lifestyle and what they expect from the redesign.“Sometimes, the client and I decide that a bigger renovation is in order,” she said. “The client hires an architect and I support the project. Other times, a client will hire me for a `second opinion’ after employing an architect. But, most often, I work with the client to maximize the space the family is in and, together, we devise a plan that is flexible enough to work for a few years down the line, especially as the family grows and its needs change.”

Although visual aspects are important, Delson also ensures thatthe inhabitants will be comfortable in their new surroundings. “One of my goals, is to help clients realize their own vision and their own style. I want the space to be efficient, flexible and feel like the client,” she says.  For smaller jobs without an architect, Delson brings in artisans she trusts and works with time and time again.

Up until now, Delson has found her clients through word of mouth. Her reputation is growing, however, and perhaps the only space problem she will battle in the coming months is how to fit all her work into her available time.