2013 Room Service Atlanta Update!

I am so beyond excited about how amazingly generous my friends are!  I am truly blessed to have them in my life.  They support, honestly, everything that I do.  It's like a reflex!  I literally just express a thought, idea, need, whatever; and they are there with a means, a resource, a hand, an "I got you, don't worry about this" way of supporting me!  These are the kinds of people we all need in our lives that enrich it and makes us so much better for their presence!

 

The 2013 Room Service Atlanta project is underway and many designers have begun the process of getting their spaces ready.  I've yet to start the physical work, but I have been busy putting all of the pieces in place.  Erika Ward and Dayka Robinson are the charitable geniuses that gave birth to this incredible organization!  You so need to click on their names and visit their sites to get to know them!  I can say that I genuinely adore both of these women.  They are very different from each other, but they each are reflections of my personality collectively!  Weird, huh?

 

 

My color inspiration for the lounge!  I cannot wait to get started on the painting!  Well, hmmm...I'm not quite sure how much of the painting I personally am going to do, but I can't wait to see it!  You know what I mean!  I'm sure I'll paint something because I'm a little too much of "I see things that need to get done, so I need to do them" kind of person; so my hands will have paint on them, I'm sure!  SPECIAL THANKS TO GLIDDEN PAINTS FOR SPONSORSHIP AND DONATING THE PAINTING SUPPLIES for the entire project!  Wow!  Such an awesome contribution!

 

The sofa sectional has been donated by another incredible RSA sponsor, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Atlanta!  Jonathan White and his team in the Atlanta store are totally the best!  I've had the privilege of working with Jonathan, and I promise you, he is the real deal!  What you see is what you get!  I love him!  I may have to reconsider the lighting, as I'm thinking that if the guys get a little rowdy tossing a ball around and hit this amazing fixture, it may not end so pretty!  I'm not 100% on the coffee table; I'd actually like four cubes that will serve as a coffee table and additional seating if needed.  Maybe I'll make them...again, not "Me", but I'll have them made!  Shaking my head!  You guys should know better by now!

Okay, so totally excited about the gaming area!  I may have to visit from time to time to get in on the action!  My husband had the sweetest idea of having multiple televisions in the space for television viewing and for gaming.  He was getting a little carried away with all of the TV's he said to do, but his idea was fantastic and I am running with it!  I plan to paint the furnishings featured here in bright colors.  I will need help with that, as I have not ever painted furniture before!  You Tube will be viewed quite a bit in the next few weeks!

 

Words seem to escape me when trying to describe her, my friend Deirdre Frutiger purchased the laminate flooring for the lounge area, and the tile for the small restroom that's located inside of the lounge!  Did I not say in the very first paragraph that I have the most supportive friends???  Well, here ya go!  I cannot tell you how much this means to me!  Sometimes all I can say is "Wow"!  And for those of you who know me, it speaks volumes when I am rendered speechless!

 

 

This donation is so overwhelming!  My client/good friend Dale Oudems, assisted me with getting the flooring, that Deirdre purchased, to the cottage one rainy day.  He just happened to look up at the roof and says, "Have they had this roof inspected?  It looks like they could use a new one.  Have them send me some information about the organization and I'll see what I can do to get them one."  He was so matter of fact when he said it, so I was like, ok.  I got the information to him and two to three days later, the company where he is the human resources manager; CertainTeed in Peachtree City, Ga...was calling the CEO of the United Methodist Children's Home to find out how many tiles they needed in order to replace the roof!  Shut the front door!  Speechless!  Again, I am so blessed; so much so to the point where I can't do anything except say "Thank you, Jesus"!  We are all blessed to be a blessing, and my friends totally walk in this!  Again, Thank you Jesus!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

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***Although I've not taken any additional pictures of the space, please visit the RSA tab at the top to keep up with the progress as I move forward with this incredibly amazing project!

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Wouldn't Take Anything For My Journey Now...

Ahhhhh...it feels so good to be back home!  Well, back in the "home office"!  The Inspiration House wrapped Sunday evening and I experienced mixed emotions of it coming to an end.  On the one hand, I am so glad it's over because it's been such a long journey.  On the other, I met some of the most talented and wonderful designers that will forever have a place in my heart and my memories!  I want to mention William Mclure (Bill Ingram Architects), Sherry Hart (Sherry Hart Designs), and Lori May (Lori May Interiors, LLC).  These three were my compadres on the lower level of the house and we had the best times together!  I don't know how I'm going to get along without them!  Everyday spent with them was like spending it with long time friends.  We talked about everything under the sun.  They totally made my first show house experience one that I will never forget!

Sherry Hart, Lori May, William Mclure

  

 

You've just feasted your eyes on images from Sherry and Lori's feminine Stone Room!  Why Stone Room?  Because the space had these stone walls that were just begging for the two of them to come in and make them amazing!  Oh, and get this, they added wood planks to the ceiling!  The juxtaposition was just so beyond!

 

 

William and Bill Ingram of Bill Ingram Architects did the Hearth Room, which is just a doorway away from Sherry and Lori's room.  Upon first glance, one would think that both rooms were done by the same designers or that the designers collaborated on their plans for their spaces.  Not!  William and Bill's room is such a comfortable masculine antithesis to their space of cozy femininity.  The painting is the creative genuis of William!

 

The boys from upstairs, Jonathan Gonzalez (Petite Maison) and Bryan Alan Kirkland (Bryan Alan Kirkland Designs), became quick pals of mine too. Bryan designed the living room and kitchen in the attic apartment and Jonathan designed the bedroom and the bathroom. Their design aesthetics couldn't be any more different! Polar opposites actually! Bryan's use of color in an Art Deco inspired space is so refreshing and energetic. Jonathan's French inspired interiors were very lovely and lady-like, but not so much so until a gentleman wouldn't feel comfortable. The one thing that the lower level had in common with the upstairs attic is that both levels had to undergo renovations in order to get our spaces to a workable blank canvas. Maybe this is why we all felt an immediate connection? Hmmm, probably not! The six of us all have this amazing energy that just worked and the last week of the show, you could usually find us huddled together doubled over in tears of laughter that resonated throughout the main level of the house!

 

Jonathan, Me, Bryan

 

Jonathan's French inspired Boudoir and bath; so feminine and lovely!

 

Bryan's Art Deco pad takes away your blues immediately!

 

Jonathan and Bryan's spaces are polar opposites, right???  That's one of the wonderful things about show houses; there's something for everyone.  Even if it's not your taste, you can still have an appreciation for the aesthetic.  If you've not ever toured a show house before, I certainly hope that after seeing these incredible images, you will!  My new designer friends are totally talented and truly fantastic people!  You would love them all if you had an opportunity to meet them!  You would!  Really!

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*If I'm not mistaken, my blog title is from one of Maya Angelou's books.  If you know, please send me an email so that I can give proper credit! :)

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A Show House Update...

Okay, so as some of you may remember, back on November 12th, I shared with you my presentation that I submitted for the 2013 Cathedral Antiques Show Inspiration House titled A Show House Presentation.  Well, to bring you all current, if you have not read that fantastic posting, I proposed for a hallway on the lower level of the home where the Cathedral Counseling Center has offices.  What began as one portion of the hallway has now turned into the entire lower level hallway plus the entry!  You will definitely have to go back to read the earlier posting I did to really appreciate how this story will end!

 

Main Hallway (before)

 

I have been working pretty closely with Rick Anthony Bonner, who is one of the Co-chairs of the Inspiration House with Cindra Brown, and also one of the featured designers in the Inspiration House, keeping him abreast of my plans for the additional space.  Floor and Decor (Southlake; Morrow, Georgia), so generously donated flooring for my area, and Rick, Cindra, and I were all totally excited!  Rick, Jacqueline Glover, and I met with Virginia Pansing Plummer, the director of the Cathedral Counseling Center, to talk about my plans for the centers hallway, and for me to learn more about what the center does and how it operates.  Let me tell ya, Ginny (Virginia) is very passionate about what the center offers and it showed in her excitement and delivery of the information!  She was a little fireball!  "Nothing great was achieved without enthusiam"--Unknown.

 

Main Hallway (during flooring installation)

 

It was after that meeting that I met with the general manager of Floor & Decor, Tony Toomer, and Jackie (Jacqueline) to discuss the possibility of a larger donation for the lower level, when they decided to become a corporate sponsor of the Inspiration House!  I was thrilled!  After listening to Ginny speak just one day earlier about the center and the types of counseling that is offered, I was so excited to be able to assist her and the center in anyway that I could to make it a more warm and inviting place for the counselors and their clients!

 

View leading to the Entry Hallway (Before)

 

I've minced no words about my faith and belief in God here on my blog, so if you don't feel like reading more of how God works, then you may want to stop reading right now!  Still with me?  Okay, that makes me happy!  Things are beginning to be revealed!  I didn't, of my thought and decision making, submit for this space!  As I said in that earlier posting, I was led by the Spirit to propose for this space.  Although, I will say, then I thought for completely different reasons!  Please go to that posting to refresh your memory or get brought up to speed because I'm telling a very important story here and I don't want to lose those of you who are still with me! 

 

View of the Entry Hallway (during flooring installation)

 

I am now seeing that God had a much bigger plan in mind when I proposed for this space.  Who could have known, but Him, that I would end up doing all of the transitional spaces and the entry?  Who could have known that I would find such amazing people to work with and who were just as excited about my vision for the space, but Him?  Wait a minute, did I just give myself credit for my vision?  Surely not!  It was truly divine inspiration.  The finishes, the flooring, the entire concept was God using me to assist Ginny and the Cathedral Counseling Center in creating a place where healing can begin.  Where peace of mind can be had.  Where people, no matter what their need or whatever it is they are dealing with, can receive the counseling they need in order to have a better sense of well-being.  Design isn't just about making things "pretty"!  It goes so much deeper than that, and I am so glad that I walk in the spirit and obedient to what He tells me to do, because this is as much for me as it is for the counseling center!  How?

 

Back Hallway (Before)

 

In a posting that I did in mid October, It's Good to Let go of the Plan and be Lead from Within, I talked about how I was lead to stop at the track on my way home from dropping my son off at school, and what that did for my spirit.  Anyhoo, I shared this with someone whom I'd mentioned somewhat tricked me into proposing for a space in the house; I told them, one of the most important things this experience has shown me was that I really underestimate myself.  I don't give myself enough credit.  For some reason, I don't trust myself to do all the things that God has equipped me to do.  It also came to my attention since being involved in the Inspiration House, I've not ever really stepped out on faith!  Sure, I know that God is capable of making all things possible, but for some reason I still thought I needed to assist him.  Can I just tell you how I truly didn't know how all of this was going to get done, and yet, here I am.

 

A little peek of new flooring installation (Entry Hallway & some of main Hallway; view from the stone room)

 

Back to the counseling center!  We are living in a time where someone we know, even ourselves, at one point or another have needed or need someone to talk to.  We have very real challenges and obstacles that we are facing, and reaching out for assistance on how to navigate and cope with those challenges is a courageous and smart thing to do.  There should never be any shame or embarrassment attached to admitting that you just cannot do it alone and you need help.  We, as a community, as a nation, and as world need to realize that we all want basically the same things and reach out to one another to figure out how best to accomplish them.  The counseling center provides services for all who need them regardless of what community you live in.  They assist with challenges such as *Couple and Family Conflict; *Depression; *Addiction; *Anxiety and Stress; *Questions of Faith, Spirituality & Values; *Trauma and Abuse; *Loss and Grief; *Personal Growth and Transition; *Parenting challenging children; *Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents; *HIV/AIDS and othe illnesses.

 

Peek of flooring installation (Main Hallway and Back Hallway; view from one of the offices)

 

I know this was a pretty long posting for me, but it was one that was placed on my heart to do.  For those of you who hung in there to the end, thank you!  I do hope that you will spread the word about the Cathedral Counseling Center and the wonderful work the counselors there do, as well as come out and show your support for the 2013 Cathedral Antiques Show and Inspiration House.  This year the proceeds will benefit Refugee Family Services, a community-based organization that has met the needs of the metro Atlanta refugee community for over 20 years.

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*I will be featuring pictures as progress continues, as well as the wonderful people that are making all of this possible.  This is truly a team effort and one that I could not do without each and every one of them!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

 

*Special Thanks to Corporate Sponsor Floor & Decor (Southlake; Morrow, Georgia) and Escobedo Painting and Flooring! 

 

Resources:   2013 Cathedral Antiques Show and Inspirstion House

The Cathedral Counseling Center

A Show House Presentation

It's Good To Let Go Of The Plan And Be Lead From Within

 

 

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