Four hours before a very important event at Serenbe Stables, I was doing some last-minute décor tweaks with Kristin Genet, Serenbe resident and former set designer. The whole place was beautiful. Breathtaking, really. And then we walked into the bathroom.

We hadn’t even thought about the bathroom. Our minds were filled with flowers and fabric. It was, after all, a bathroom in the stables and didn’t match the ambience we’d created for the guests. I immediately started a plan to beautify on the fly.

I walked over to the Blue Eyed Daisy and there was Grace, the operator of the stables, and said, “Do you mind if I bring a few things to the bathroom at the stables to make it pretty?” And she said, “I would love it.”

I reported the go-ahead to Kristin, who met me at the garage where I keep the good stuff: bolts of fabric, rugs, mirrors, lamps and various odds and ends I’ve used to stage spaces at Serenbe.

Then we ran into my friend, Karen, who reminded me about the yellow wicker table I’d lent her for her front porch.

I called my curtain maker at noon and said, “Anne, I need a favor. Can you make me a skirt for a bathroom sink in a couple hours?” And she said, “Marie, get me the fabric and I’ll get it done.”

Such is the beauty of life in a small town.

We whipped that bathroom into shape in a matter of minutes. When it was done, I had just enough time to go home and transform myself into a party guest — an act that required a lot less hauling and sweating.