Before I get to the pictures, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me in my efforts to make this project an overwhelming success! Overwhelming? Sure, because I had no idea how I was going to pull this off. All I had was a vision! In no particular order: Gerald Peterson, Jackie Kearse, Terry Kearse, Rice Painting, Marco Lemon, Scott Kelly, Kelton Bryant, Deirdre Frutiger, Dale Oudems, Steve and Jill McKenzie, Brigette Young-Martin, Dr. Karen Chaplin, Laura Newsom, Ramsey Eddington, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (Atlanta), Floor and Décor (Southlake), Glidden Paints, Walmart (Midway Drive), Target (LaVista Rd) Walmart Distribution Center (LaGrange, Ga), and Dayka Robinson & Erika Ward (Room Service Atlanta Organization Founders). If I overlooked anyone at all, please charge it to my head and not my heart! I could not have done this without any of you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I remember when Gillian and I first toured the Girls and Boys cottages; she wanted to do a girls space, but I was more drawn to the boys. Why I chose the largest space in the cottage, I have no idea! I left there that day thinking to myself, what had I done? I was leaving for Paris in two days, so I thought I would worry about it when I got back!
That is a 47" 3-D television that was donated by the Walmart Distribution Center, located in LaGrange, Georgia as well as the amazing Carson sofa sectional donated by my good friend Jonathan White at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in Atlanta! The DVD player was donated by Terry Kearse, along with his DIY skills at putting down the tile in the small bathroom! The dry erase board, books, and games were original to the space. The posters and frames, as well as the snacks are from Walmart. The glass canisters, clock, and pillows are from Ikea. Oh! the popcorn containers are from The Dollar Tree!
The cross is original to the space also. You can see it in the first picture, tucked in the right corner, sitting on top of some books. Gillian gave it a coat of paint and we left it where we found it! After all, God was in every detail of the planning of this space. You don't mess with perfection! What goes better in a space where movie watching, sports, and gaming are happening? Snacks...and lots of them!
As you can see, Gillian was in the right corner of this picture making her own video commentary! She wasn't pleased with my decision, but lent her support in every way she could during the project!
The flooring made the biggest difference in this space! Oh it's so much better than the two layers of commercial carpet glued on top of some weird kind of tile! If you haven't heard already, my most amazing friend Deirdre Frutiger made this possible! The art was so generously painted by Steve McKenzie! He and his wife Jill truly are two of the most gracious and supportive people I've met in a long time! I think it's just incredible for these guys to have original artwork by a very talented local artist! The Luna 45" table is another fantastic donation by MG+BW! The chairs were found by my good friend Dale Oudems from Ikea via Craigs List! This guy can sniff out a deal! I'm never that lucky! But I guess with friends like mine, luck has nothing to do with it...I'm very blessed!
Look closely at the Ikea side tables! They were my attempt at creating a little rhythm to flow with Steve's paintings! Ha! close, but definitely no cigar! I actually really like them, though!
Not sure what these window treatments were, but I knew they had to go! It was pretty scary! The furniture was used in other spaces. Those designers that snagged them, did some pretty amazing things to them! When I saw them, I just didn't have any imagination whatsoever! My hat goes off to these very imaginative designers!
Truly never knew what a Fat Head was until this project! My girlfriend Jackie Kearse has three sons and so she knew all about them! As if contributing two weeks of her time and sweat wasn't enough; she made these Fat Heads possible as well! These things come with tons of decals! We only used the individuals, their names, and a couple of the Falcon ones. The rest, I'm sure her sons will enjoy when I do their new bedroom! Her home burned in February, so she was very inspired by this project!
That wallpaper paneling piece, that was once an exterior windows kept my mind in riddles until literally the 11th hour! That's how creativity works sometimes! It had to be God inspired people, cuz I had nothing until driving one day! A few people suggested some really cool art piece, but I just wasn't feeling that! What I did finally come up with ended up being my favorite spot in the whole space!
That's right my friends, Astroturf purchased at Home Depot for less than $20 bucks! It was already pre-cut, so I just measured out how much I thought I would need to make a small rug for the gaming chairs to sit on, and I had just enough left over to hang in that horribly, unsightly space. After we hung it, I began to think out loud and expressed how cool it would be to paint a football field on it and carry the theme onto the floor as well. Jackie went to work! She grabbed her phone and googled some images of football fields, and voila! Those gaming chairs are so cool! I love the speakers in the headrest with the controls on the sides! This area I set up for the guys to play PS2 (which was also donated by Jackie's boys) and watch movies on the DVD player (donated by Target). Walmart Distribution Center also donated the 32" television! The chest that the television is sitting on is from Ikea! I just decided I would add my on little DIY touch and paint a little of the trim and louvers! What do you think...pretty special, huh?
I knew I wanted to put something very personal in the space and I thought what better place to put it than on the bathroom door. These are all the things that I had to have in order to make this space a reality for these deserving young men. The only one I didn't put up was gratitude, however in the personal piece that I wrote to them, I made sure to let them know that showing gratitude for even the smallest acts of kindness and support, keeps the blessings flowing!
Make it AMAZING!
Rhonda
