To say that I'm beyond proud of what my team has been able to accomplish in the last eight weeks to support an amazing nonprofit, Ruby's Place, is beyond an understatement. There have been many long days, missed shipments, and frustrations but we have helped Ruby's Place, create a home-like environment for 7 teens needing emergency shelter. It's with immense pride and pleasure that I'm able to do this final reveal.
To recap, we had the pleasure of being invited to participate as a Featured Designer for this year's One Room Challenge. We decided to take this opportunity to work with our sister nonprofit, Joy Street Initiative, and our long time partner, Ruby's Place, to help them create their new emergency youth shelter. The great part about being a Featured Designer for the ORC is that you get to work with amazing sponsors and receive support and donated product. We couldn't think of a better way to use that opportunity than to create more awareness about the work that we're doing and help an organization doing thee real work on the ground. It's been an honor.
But before we get into the good stuff, don't forget to go back and follow along (if you've missed anything!) as we've catalogued the process over the last few weeks:
- Week 1 - Introducing the One Room Challenge, Joy Street Intiative, and Ruby's Place House of Hope.
- Week 2 - Detailing the color story and plan for the renovation.
- Week 3 - Identifying building blocks of the overall plan and living room plans.
- Week 4 - Bedroom plans.
- Week 5 - Surprise bathroom renovation.
- Week 6 - Construction updates.
- Week 7 - Plugging along and finishing strongly.
Living Room
Let's start with the living room. This is the first room when you walk into the space. We wanted it to feel welcoming and inviting. We think we achieved that!
As you recall, the new House of Hope was scheduled to be housed in a previously used environment for families. The overall condition of the space needed to be updated and we were lucky enough to partner with fantastic group of vendors to update the shell of the space. We replaced the flooring with a luxury vinyl plank from the Tile Shop and added a modern baseboard from Novo Building Products. This simple change created an entirely new feeling in the space. After updating the lighting to recessed lights and performing drywall refreshes along with freshly painted walls in a great greige color from Kelly Moore, plus great black octagon knobs from Emtek, the bones of the room were ready.
With a great foundation, we were able to bring in some amazing furniture. The star of the room is a custom sectional donated generously from our long time custom furniture maker (they are the best!). We covered this in a great durable fabric from Fabricut that really stands out against all of the other black and white elements in the room. It's a modular sectional that can be moved around the room as needed. It's one of my favorite silhouettes. Black and white artwork from Minted for West Elm and a black and white rug from Loloi round out the design. I think this is going to provide a great backdrop for the fun and colorful bedrooms.Black and white artwork from Minted for West Elm and a black and white rug from Loloi round out the design. I think this is going to provide a great backdrop for the fun and colorful bedrooms.
The final elements of the room came together with the a fun black-and-white throw from Annie Selke, pillows created from fabrics from one of our long-time vendors, S. Harris, and sconces from consistent JSI supporter, Currey and Company. We love how this space feels and welcomes the inhabitants to their new home!
Bedrooms
In designing these bedrooms, we needed to keep in mind that while the beauty of the room is important, it’s more important that the space is functional and cozy. We think we achieved this!
You know we like to start with the foundation and in this case that means focusing on the most important element in the room - the mattresses. Saatva graciously donated 7 (!!!!) amazing Classic Innerspring Twin Mattresses, Foundational Supports, and amazingly soft Organic Sateen Sheet Sets. This generous donation alone ensured that we achieved a comfortable room because these mattresses are literally a dream :).
In each bedroom, we then topped all that great foundation with the warm and fuzzies. Annie Selke provided a wonderful assortment of throws, comforters, and pillows. We kept all of the options relatively uniform to ensure that Ruby's Place would be able to mix and match as teens moved in and out. The Washed Linen Quilt and Sham in grey really provides a solid foundation for each bed. The fuzzy and warm bauble throws in spice, gold, and ocean. Each bed is then adorned with a cozy sheepskin lumbar pillow. The last touches in the room are great colorful rugs from the Justina Blakeney line of rugs for Loloi, artwork from Minted, and curtains from Annie Selke. Overall, the rooms just feel really welcoming and exciting.
Bathroom
Last but definitely not least is the bathroom renovation. This was a surprise to Ruby's Place and we are so excited that we were able to do this for them. I'm mildly obsessed with this space. The terrazzo tile on the floor and the multi colored tile in a fun pattern on the wall, all donated by the Tile Shop, really sets the tone for the room. Adding in the polished chrome fixtures from Speakman, the cool kelly green vanity from our favorite cabinetmaker, the perfect sconce from Currey and Company with the finishing touches of accessories from Annie Selke makes the space cool, refreshing and totally teen appropriate.
There is no way we could have done all of this without the wonderful team at Joy Street Design, the contractors who worked within our nonprofit budget, and the wonderful vendors from the ORC. I've listed everything above and will follow up with a before and after and all links next week once we have the video. I'm immensely grateful to everyone.
Don't forget to chceck out all the other wonderful participants for the ORC. They are doing some truly magical things!
Albie Knows| At Home with Savvy | Beth Diana Smith | Eclectic Twist| Erika Ward Interiors| From House to Home| G. Lebron Interiors | Goldalamode | Home Made by Carmona| Impeccable Nest | Jeweled Interiors| Joyful Designs Studio| Joy Street Design | Our Fifth House| Peony & Honey|Pinch Plate Party | Rebecca Propes | Reem’s Design | Saudah Saleem Interiors | Whitney J Decor
