Expert shows how organization is a selling point in new Charleston area houses

Home organizing can be as extensive, creative and involved as constructing a "dog bath." Yet it can be as simple as switching the storage space on a window seat from the conventional place, under the seat, to the more user-friendly front.

What these two innovations have in common is that Monica Ricci employed both in a new Beazer home at Bolton's Landing in Charleston.

Ricci is a professional organizer with her own company, Atlanta-based Catalyst Organizing Solutions. One of her clients is Beazer, and she visited the Charleston area June 19 to meet with Realtors and the public at the builder's SmartDesign model home at its new neighborhood between Bees Ferry Road and Savannah Highway.

Charleston is the 21st market where Beazer has introduced SmartDesign, which includes home organizing perks as well as eco-friendly construction methods. The 2,500-square-foot Legare model at Bolton's Landing sells for about $240,000.

Ricci, who has written books on home and office organizing and appeared on HGTV's Mission: Organization, says maximizing storage space and providing an uncluttered look is important in the fast-paced lives of today's families.