Can a small apartment with nine pieces of furniture and a dinette set be transformed in ten days? Yes, when dedicated IRIS interior redesigners get to work! This was the first apartment of three in our makeover project for Shelter House, the organization that runs the Patrick Henry Family Shelter. It proved to be quite a challenge.

The apartment was very small and in need of a lot of repair and TLC. Before we could paint we had to clean, sand and prime the walls-a process that took a lot of precious time. Painting was almost comical. The heavy double sets of bunkbeds couldn't be moved out of the rooms because of lack of space and could only be moved a foot or two away from the walls because the rooms were barely big enough to hold them and a chest of drawer wedged between. If you've ever seen movies with scenes where burglars have to step over and around lazer beams to avoid tripping alarms, then imagine a similar scene of women doing intricate moves over, around and under furniture, ladders, equipment and each other in the process of prepping and painting the walls. Hard work and lots of laughing. No video of that, fortunately.

When not on the premises, members of the group had their assignments-sewing, refinishing furniture pieces, scouting for free furnishings on craigslist and freecycle, picking up donations from paint and hardware stores and shopping for supplies.

We had decided in advance that as much as possible and practical, the decor would be dictated by the donations. The donation of the love seat made it possible to remove the wood framed sofa and create a softer, more comfortable feel in the somewhat shadowy space. Donated fabrics brought in the sunflower motif. Refurbishing a donated table and chair set added more pleasing curves to the space. Adding more light and bright art work, particularly the custom sunflower painting by one of our talented members, contribued to the feel of warmth and comfort.

Interior redesigners create one day room makeovers using the furnishings that exist in the home. In this case, the funishings were practically non existent or were in very poor condition. So this project called for a slightly different technique. We used what we could find through donations-and it worked!


See the before and after video here: http://www.realestateshows.com/383648or on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd92mk10-T4