Project Redesign

Redesign in Cayce

2012-04-05T16:35:00.003-07:00

Project Redesign furnished 3 empty bedrooms for a single mother of three in the Cayce homes. Thanks to Craig at Mattress Firm (on Nolensville Rd.) for the deep discounts on the four mattress sets used today. The bedding in the master bedroom was donated by Lulu (Main Street in downtown Franklin)---GORGEOUS!

Thank you Kirsten Whitsett, and David Green & Aaron for lending a hand.

YWCA's DVC gets Redesigned Playroom

2012-02-27T20:13:00.007-08:00

After days of collaborative effort, the new family playroom at the Domestic Violence Center was unveiled and it is beautiful! Credit to Interior Design Associates, Inc., Steve Ward & Associates, Hoar Construction, Kay Kimbro, and Tony Catnagni for helping with this very large project. And thanks to KP Frazier of MBA for collecting toys for the new room. It really does take a village!

Mothers and Daughters' Serving Circle at the Salvation Army

2012-02-25T09:46:00.004-08:00

The Mothers and Daughters' Serving Circle (girls ages 11-17) met today at the Salvation Army Command Post to makeover the bedrooms of women (one with a child) living in transitional housing. All week, they worked hard to collect the items necessary to transform these dorm-like rooms with fun, colorful bedding, rugs, lamps, wall decor, side tables, and towels/toiletries. The residents loved the results!! Project Redesign thanks this wonderful group for their efforts---you are all awesome!

Mending Hearts Letter....

2012-02-24T15:00:00.001-08:00

Suzanne - Several of the staff just went down to the HWH apartments. To say we were blown away is an understatement. I cannot believe how beautiful and homey the rooms look. Heck, the staff said they would move in.

Please know and tell your folks that helped with the apartment how much we all thank them and appreciate everything they do for us. They are going to make many women very happy, proud, and grateful. Most have never had a place to live this nice. It will do more for their self-esteem and road to recovery than you all can ever imagine.

Again, thank you so very much.

Vicki H. Neal, MA, LSPE, LPC(MHSP)
Clinical Director
Mending Hearts, Inc.
P.O. 280236
Nashville TN. 37228
vicki@mendingheartsinc.org
www.mendingheartsinc.org

Project Redesign and Mending Hearts

2012-02-23T11:55:00.002-08:00

Project Redesign furnished and decorated the second apartment for Mending Hearts today. This included a living room, office, and 3 bedrooms. These apartments will serve as temporary housing for the women who have completed the drug/alcohol rehabilitation part of the Mending Hearts program. The women can live in them for up to two years.

Thank you to Lisa Mackey for lending a hand today!!

Mending Hearts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

2012-02-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

Mending Hearts opened the first of many apartments (furnished by Project Redesign) in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Congressman Jim Cooper as guest of honor. The apartments will serve as temporary living quarters for the women who have completed the drug/alcohol rehabilitation program at Mending Hearts. Project Redesign will furnish the second apartment later this month. Interior pictures are posted below.

Project Redesign, Ensworth High School, and Mending Hearts

2012-02-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 3rd, Ensworth High School students helped Project Redesign furnish a 3 bedroom apartment for Mending Hearts, a drug rehabilitation program for women who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless due to addiction. Led by Kyara Byner, Maya White, ReJean Rouse, and Nikki Gittens (all seniors), the students worked all day to furnish and decorate what will be used as temporary living quarters for women who have completed the rehabilitation part of the program. To learn more about Mending Hearts, visit www.mendingheartsinc.org.

Ms. Cheap's Contest Brings Reader and Project Redesign Together

2012-01-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Today Project Redesign did a room makeover for a wonderful 16 year old young man who attends MLK. His mother wrote a heartfelt letter to Ms. Cheap in November (see January 5th blog entry) saying she would redo his bedroom if someone gave her $500.00. Her letter says it all.

Thanks to all who helped bring this redesign together:

Vester Bradshaw and Yank James for painting, Kaye Kimbro for donating the lamps and framing the poster and artwork, Consumer Depot for donating a flat screen TV, IPod, & X-Box, Mattress Unlimited for a brand new full size mattress, Amy Grant, Jerry Regan, & Phyllis Mayfield who helped with the installation, Avenue Bank for their donation, and Mary Hance (Ms. Cheap) who brought us all together.

Ms. Cheap Contest

2012-01-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Last November, Ms. Cheap asked readers to tell her what they would do if someone gave them $500.00. She received over 800 compelling essays and passed the following one to Project Redesign...

Dear Ms. Cheap,
I’d like to win the $500 to redo my 16 yr. old son’s room. I know that
doesn’t sound like much, but Kendall shared a room with his brother
Blake for 7 yrs until Blake’s passing in 2009. Blake was on a
ventilator at home and he needed around the clock care, so someone was
in the room all the time.

Honestly, Kendall never complained about the lack of privacy. Sometimes
in the middle of the night there’d be alarms going off, and we’d be
working on Blake and Kendall would just roll over to make sure
everything was O.K. before going back to sleep.

Since Blake has been gone, Kendall has been having a hard time
sleeping, and I wonder if it’s because of the remnants of Blake’s stuff
everywhere. Snoopy and Pooh are not really appropriate for a boy of
16. I’ve given a lot of stuff away, and packed away other stuff, but
some of it is still there because I don’t want to see the room half
empty.

I’d like to give Kendall a big boy’s room with a nice desk for
schoolwork, a small flatscreen TV, a bookcase, and a cool chair or
something for when he has friends over.

We have had to go on without Blake, but I want to encourage and
strengthen my remaining son by blessing him with a new room. It’s long
overdue.

Thanks for your consideration,

Leslie

Project Redesign and some very generous donors are doing a complete makeover on Kendall's bedroom. Thanks to Vester Bradshaw and Yank for taking time out of their busy schedules to paint the room. This involved removing a wallpaper border and covering a very dark color, out of our realm of expertise. Tomorrow we will furnish and accessorize so stay tuned!!

Disco Dance 2011 gives to Project Redesign

2011-12-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

Disco Dance 2011 donated $7300 to Project Redesign from the proceeds raised at their annual event held on November 25th. We would like to thank event organizers Jeff Snyder, Tyler Augusty, and Walker Mathews, and all of the young adults who attended. You are all so awesome and we are so grateful!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Project Redesign wants to thank our friends for donating a mountain of toilet paper for the families at the Martha O'Bryan Center!

Redesigns by Serendipity

2011-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Five generous women from West End Methodist redesigned a master and a little girl's bedroom just in time for the holidays. The group called Serendipity, led by Arden McElroy, braved the rainy weather to put these two beautiful rooms together. They also brought Christmas decorations, gifts, and a food basket. Merry Christmas!

Before and After

2011-12-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

Four Bedroom Makeover by Ensworth Seniors

2011-12-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Four Ensworth seniors chose Project Redesign as their senior project. Nikki Gittens, Kyara Byner, ReJean Rouse, and Maya White did 4 bedroom makeovers today for a single mother and her five children in the Cayce homes. New to Nashville, this large family had almost no furniture and the Ensworth gals interviewed the family, designed the rooms, collected and painted furniture, shopped for bedding and accessories, washed and ironed, cleaned the rooms and then decorated them. All four deserve an A++!! Thanks also to Ensworth gentlemen Ford Garrard, Daniel Everett, and Mitchell Moore for providing all the muscle, moving a truck-load of furniture and doing all of the heavy lifting. It was a real team effort!

Rainy Day Redesigns

2011-11-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

Four bedroom redesigns for four children, done in the pouring rain. Thanks to Kirsten Whitsett and Patsy Harvey for helping out inspite of the weather.

Top Floor Soars

2011-11-04T14:52:00.001-07:00

Top Floor, the after-school teen center at Stratford High School (furnished by Project Redesign), has been open for little more than a year and already boasts some impressive stats. The staff there lead by Kent Miller served 223 students last year, a little over 30% of the school; 100% of program participants raised their grade in a core academic class or maintained an A average; 84 students increased their ACT scores on average 2.8 points; 100% of seniors (66/66) graduated; 97% of seniors (64/66) were accepted into college; $2 million plus was secured in grants and scholarships. We are so proud of their accomplishments!

Family Room Redesign for Salvation Army

2011-10-19T11:50:00.001-07:00

The communal family room in the Salvation Army's Transitional Living Quarters is finished and ready to be enjoyed. Project Redesign would like to thank all who helped make this very warm and functional room possible:

Julie Smith for providing the entertainment center
Sarah Cannon Research Institute (headed up by Corrie Keating) for donating books and toys
The Ensworth High School Service Learning Group for cleaning and organizing the toys: Sarah Awad, Elam Mangum, Buggy Stallings, Blair Wilson, and Lauren Rupley (faculty)
Painters Danny Hopkins and Rick Anderson

Before and After Children's Room Makeovers by Ensworth High Students

2011-10-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ensworth High students helped with two children's rooms today---a boys' room and a girls' room. The girls' room houses 4 little girls, ages 1 year to 5 years, so bunk beds were the only way. Their grandmother said there would be no trouble getting them to go to bed tonight!!

Before and After Master Bedroom Makeovers by Ensworth High Students

2011-10-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ensworth High's Service Learning Day

2011-10-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Project Redesign thanks 13 juniors and seniors from Ensworth High School for helping to makeover 4 bedrooms for two very appreciative families. We love the Tiger spirit!!

Before and After---HCA Day

2011-09-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

HCA Caring for the Community

2011-09-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Project Redesign and the HCA volunteers tackled a 3-room makeover today in the Cayce Homes---a living room, master bedroom, and children's room. The biggest challenge was making the children's room work for both a boy and a girl and this group got very creative! Great job!

Hooray, Hooray for HCA

2011-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Project Redesign wants to thank the wonderful volunteers from HCA for doing a three-room makeover for a very happy mother of two in the James Cayce Homes. HCA gives their employees a day off every year to participate in their "Caring for the Community Day" and Project Redesign has been lucky to work with this fine group for the last three years. Their mission statement: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life...that does say it all!

Volunteers: Stephanie Smith, Lesley Edens, Susan Carey, Amy Fizer, Tracy Edney, Don Stinnett, Chuck Bennett, Todd Cato, Janet Foust, Dustin McWhorter, Diane Boone, and Bruce Moore

Pembroke Antiques

2011-09-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to our friend Laura Doolittle of Pembroke Antiques for donating discontinued bed linens from her fabulous shop to Project Redesign. We cannot wait to make beautiful bedrooms with what she gave us!! Just awesome!

Project Redesign begins Fourth Year

2011-09-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our first redesign of the new season is a living room makeover for a family of 4. The husband/father is going to have surgery later this month and we wanted to complete this room for his recovery. This furniture was donated by someone who is moving out of town and it is just fabulous! Thanks to Kirsten Whitsett and Crissy Samide for helping us today.