Dwell With Dignity 2014 Atlanta

In February of this year, some of  the members of my Atlanta Bloggers’ Group got involved in a  DIY & Design mission for Dwell With Dignity, a non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas.  Our group leader, Erin Spain, let us know about this opportunity to help with this amazing organization after they contacted her. It was truly putting 2 things together that I have wanted to be involved with for some time: design and helping those in need. When I left the teaching profession, one thing I really missed was watching how lives can be changed through a nurturing and safe environment of learning.  It’s sort of like watching a flower grow, and that was such a rewarding aspect of teaching!  If you’ve read my “About Me,” you know that teaching was not my idea or plan for my life, but instead my parents’ desire for me. Honestly, I did struggle a bit when I decided to start my own design business because I was raised in a Christian home where serving others was important. I watched my Dad lead &  pastor several large churches, and my Mom taught Elementary school for many years. Together, over the years, they have both served people personally or through the Ministry. So how was I supposed to use my design abilities to serve the Lord? It was what I loved, but it seemed sort of superficial compared to some of the ways I knew to serve God. It was a question I have pondered over the years, but I’ve since been convinced & convicted that it’s ok to love what I do and find a way to honor and serve God through my changed career choice, because I think the things we are attracted to are our God-given talents anyway! My heart knew what I loved all along,

 Alrighty, so what does all that have to do with Dwell With Dignity? Well, first I must say that the ball starting rolling when I bought another girl’s ticket to the Haven Conference last year when she couldn’t go. I had only been blogging about 6-7 months at that time, but I wanted to learn more about blogging for my Interiors by Melanie Robinson business. I met so many nice, supportive women at the conference that I shared common interests with, and from there I  became involved with an Atlanta Bloggers group that specializes in DIY/Home Decor. Through this wonderful group of women, I have learned about many opportunities and Dwell with Dignity was one of those. Full circle, right? That’s what I thought, too!

So who is Dwell With Dignity?

” Dwell with Dignity is a non-profit group of Interior Designers and volunteers dedicated to creating soothing, inspiring homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty. We provide and install home interiors for families that include furnishings and art, bedding and kitchen supplies, and food in the pantry.”

And what exactly is their mission?

“Our mission is to help families escape poverty and homelessness through design. One household at a time.”

The belief at Dwell With Dignity is that by changing a person’s life, you can change their outlook, and this is achieved by designers and volunteers working together to create beautiful living environment with good design and art for these well-deserving families. By exposing them to this positive and beautiful environment and way of living, the hope is that the individuals in the household will continue to desire a higher standard of living, and influence future generations. I absolutely love this mission and purpose and that we were able to help create an environment that a Mother and her 2 sons could be proud of and enjoy for years to come. 

The Project

Buckhead Christian Ministries nominated this family, then interior designers, Brian Patrick Flynn and Kerry Howard created a design plan for each space in the family’s home. Erin from DIY On the Cheap blog, our fearless Bloggers’ Group leader, was in constant communication with them seeing if they wanted some of the items our blog group members wanted to donate and what exactly to do with the selected items based on their design vision. Several of the group members worked at a studio at ADAC to get certain items ready for the rooms in the home. They decoupaged a dresser with comic strip images, painted pieces, and made one-of-a-kind art that the designers requested. I was happy to donate 2 shelves and an IKEA chair, all of which were gathering dust in my basement. I have 3 sons, so knowing that these were going to help complete these 2 precious brothers’ room thrilled my heart!

I helped some of the other bloggers paint the apartment for the family. When I walked in, the colors were bright and happy in the kitchen and family room! We sort of weren’t sure where Brian Patrick Flynn was going with these bright green and orange spaces, to be quite honest….

Kelley Wilson painting the kitchen orange and Erin Spain painting the family room green. Bright green.

      Designer Kerry Howard chose soothing  pale yellow and gray paint hues for the bedrooms.

It was such a fun experience working in this small apartment with all these volunteers, knowing it took all our efforts to complete the big picture. Such a rewarding time!

Dwell with Dignity founder, Lisa Robison ( right ) and Kim Turner, her business partner, are both Interior Designers who share this vision for this amazing organization. It was fun meeting some fellow native Texans and hearing their story. You can read about it here. Very inspiring how Lisa had the vision to start this non-profit years ago. I really related to the fact that she had an innate desire to give back more in this world with her gifts and talents through design.

The mother and her 2 sons stayed in a hotel for a few nights, while their home was being painted, decorated/staged, and their fridge and kitchen was being stocked with fresh groceries. Then it was time for the big reveal of their home. You can watch the video here.

The video brought us all to tears, watching the reaction on the mother and her 2 son’s faces when they saw their newly decorated home! They were so grateful and joyful! It was so beautiful seeing that.

Here are some more pictures of the final reveal. ( photography by Thomas England )

See how fabulous the green and orange painted backgrounds turned out with all the furnishings, textiles, and art work? Just goes to show you: Never question a creative genius’ vision. Ever. lol 🙂

Love how these 2 bedrooms turned out, too! 

Collage images from KMH Interiors Instagram page

The before and after images of this apartment are incredible! To check out more pictures of this Atlanta project and more Dwell with Dignity projects, check out their website here. It’s so fun to see the design vision brought to fruition, and all the many hands that helped it happen. Willing, able, and talented people together can do amazing things for other people!

The Wrap Party

Peacock Alley at ADAC West hosted an after party for all those involved in the  Dwell With Dignity project. The Atlanta Design Community, Bloggers’ group, and other volunteers were invited to attend. It was held on a Sunday afternoon, and the early March temperatures were unseasonably warm! It was a lovely afternoon.

Peacock Alley has a beautiful showroom filled with luscious linens and bedding!

Members of the Peacock Alley Team ( image by Kim Banta )

 Some of my Blogger friends ( from left to right ) ~ Rhoda, Erin, Kim, Kelley, and me! ( in the back )

 Kristin Stocksdale and Julie Montgomery ( image by Kim Banta )

Lisa Robison addressing the group

Cracking up that my hubby, Mark, and designer Brian Patrick Flynn both had matching gingham shirts! ( and in such a mature fashion as to position ourselves so that we could get a picture…Hello, 2nd grade immaturity!)  LOL ( Image by Kim Banta)

Kerry Howard Interiors Design Team, Brian Patrick Flynn, Tyler Lynch, Erin Spain, and Amanda Macy Hall of ADAC

 

Rhoda of Southern Hospitality blog and Kristen Stocksdale of Haven Conference

 

Kim Banta of A Quirky Creative blog and Designer Kerry Howard of KMH Interiors

Having fun at the photo booth….. 

Dwell With Dignity sugar cookies~ 

Lots of other fabulous appetizers, too!

 The whole experience was such a blessing! From meeting new people, to using our gifts and talents for good to help others, and all the in between~ So happy to be a part of this! We will be doing another Dwell With Dignity Atlanta project in August…can’t wait!

Coming up in a future post, I’ll share about the big charter bus thrifting adventure we went on to benefit the organization! Is there an organization that needs YOU? You bet there is! Finding your niche and contributing to this world to make it better is where it’s all about. Thanks for reading about this wonderful organization..maybe you would like to donate your time, services, products, or home decor items ( furniture, art, etc. ) We plan on having a warehouse or storage area to donate items we can use for future Atlanta DWD projects, so stay tuned!

xxooxx