Local Newspaper Covers Washington DC's Project H.O.M.E.

Hi Everyone!

The October 2008 edition of East of the River, a local Washington, DC newspaper, provides a wonderful article about the Unity Health Care East of the River Key Corner which is the Washington, DC Project H.O.M.E. project. Special thanks to Deidere Gantt for a great article!

Read about it here

All the Best,

Sherry B. Ways, Project H.O.M.E.
Design Scheme Interiors, LLC

Project H.O.M.E. Florida by Kathy Peterson Inspired Watch this 5 room makeover on PBS-WXEL on the South Florida Today show!

Hi Everyone!

Kathy Peterson here to show you the bedroom results of Project H.O.M.E. in Florida. And can I just say this was one of the most empowering experiences I've ever had yet one of the biggest challenges having to work with a zero budget, hand-me-down furniture in 5 "very small" rooms and juggling every one's schedule! But believe me----it was soooo worth the effort and time--- even if it did take 3 months to complete.

I was so blessed to work with Maculene, age 20 and Christina, age 19 spending many days together teaching them how to sew, craft, make art, decorate, paint and more. We made all the bed covers, pillows and curtains plus painted and upholstered furniture and painted all the walls, made art and refurbished furniture-------and simply had a marvelous time creating a new look.

The biggest challenge was getting rid of all the clutter, working with a small amount of fabric, keeping things organized in a small space, coordinating schedules and finding hand-me-down furniture that fit the scale of the room. But the result speaks for itself! The small amount of fabric was challenging because we had so much sewing to do in each room but it made me really "get creative" with designing and I think the "patchwork" results are just so fun and cheerful!

I'm so pleased to have been a national coordinator for D.A.N.A.'s Project H.O.M.E. in Florida and to have worked with two incredible young women who stuck with me for 3 months to complete the project and be actively involved in all the decorating endeavors. It was so empowering for me to watch these girls learn new skills and gain more and more confidence every time we worked together.

PBS-WXEL South Florida Today spent an entire afternoon with us this week taping a TV segment that will air on OCTOBER 8th & 10th at 7pm EST. So if you're located in Florida or passing through, please be sure to watch this incredible 5 room makeover reveal!

Enjoy! Kathy Peterson Inspired www.KathyPeterson.com

Questions---contact me at kp@kathypeterson.com

More Washington DC Project H.O.M.E. Photos

Washington DC Project H.O.M.E. Project- DONE!

Greetings DANA Members!

This is Sherry B. Ways, Project Coordinator of the Washington, DC Project H.O.M.E! We have crossed the finish line folks! My has it been a wonderful and powerful experience for me. I am so blessed to have a multitude of talent and DEDICATED people around me. I wish to thank the following people for seeing this project TO THE END:

Bill Howard, Artist, Ward 7 Arts Collaborative
Wand Aikens, Executive Director, Ward 7 Arts Collaborative
Audrey White, Unity Health Care Foundation
Naima Hashim, Unity Health Care Foundation
Nika Stewart, Decorators Alliance of North America

Without EGO or fretting over "who is the lead" or dropping out you all showed unselfish dedication to this project we would never have been able to see it through. Though we had some bumps in the road, we saw it through. That is what life is all about, moving through difficulties and roadblocks in a dignified way never being negative but always positive. For that I thank you.

I also want to thank our sponsors:

City Interests
Eco-Green Living
IKEA
Authentic Art Consulting
Thick Art Collaborative

Without you we could not have had a great space!

Well folks, what can I say? The morning of Wednesday, September 17th was full of pomp and circumstance. Our Key Corner Reading room for the Unity East of the River Clinic is finally finished!

The morning was filled with coffee, pasteries, conversation and lots of smiles! A formal program which included top leadership of Unity Health Care rounded out the event.

Dr. Marlene Kelley, MD., Chair of the Board of Unity Health Care made remarks, as well did Vincent Keane, President and Executive Director of Unity Health Care. In addition, remarks were made by Wanda Aikens, Executive Director of the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative, Bill Howard, Muralist and member of the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative, yours truly on behalf of Design Scheme Interiors, LLC and Ms. Nika Stewart, Co-Founder and Executive Director, of the Decorators Alliance of North America, Project H.O.M.E.

Sharon J. Burton of Authentic Art Consulting was in attendance. Authentic Art Consulting along with the Thick Art Collaborative provided reading books, school and art supplies for the children. Tara Shimberg DC DANA member was also in attendance for support.

The media was there- Capitol Community News and ABC Channel 8 affliate here in Washington, DC covered the event during their evening news programming.

NOW, I wish to post Nika Stewart's comments about the event that she sent via email yesterday:


Hi DANA members!

I writing to tell you about my experience
yesterday at the first Project HOME
reveal.

If you've been following Project HOME
on the blog (http://projecthome2008.blogspot.com),
you know that several DANA members have been
busy volunteering their talents to give
back to their communities - and making the
world a better place. Well, yesterday was the
"grand opening" of the new reading corner inside
Unity Health Care's East of the River Health Center
in Washington DC.

The ceremony was lovely. The Unity Health
Care Foundation recognized the incredible
generosity of DANA member Sherry B. Ways,
of Design Scheme Interiors, LLC. Sherry worked
with artists and furniture companies to bring
this beautiful space together. We are so proud
and inspired by you, Sherry!
Television and newspaper press attended the
ribbon cutting to capture the event. The CEO
of Unity publicly thanked all the volunteers,
and I even got to stand up and express my joy
at being there and my appreciation for what
Sherry has done.

But more important than yesterday's festivities
is the lasting impact this is going to have
on DC's underprivileged families. By creating a
comfortable, cheerful space for children to relax,
and by inspiring them to read - by offering them
books in a fun, inspiring atmosphere, this new
reading corner will help children feel good about
reading - and feel great about themselves.
I think that makes the whole world a better
place to live, don't you?

Have a great day!
Nika

Nika Stewart
Executive Director, DANA

Decorators Alliance of North America


I wish to thank those who have been reading this blog and following this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our project. We are still taking donations so feel free to contact me at (202) 582-5555 or e-mail me at sherry@designschemeinteriors.com.

I would love to hear from you!

I will let you know of new things that are happening as a result of this space and the impact it will have on the community.

Stay in touch!

Respectfully Submitted,

Sherry B. Ways, Washington, DC Project H.O.M.E. Coordinator
Design Scheme Interiors, LLC
www.designschemeinteriors.com

Nika Stewart, Co Founder & Executive Director of DANA, Will Attend Project H.O.M.E DC Ribbon Cutting

Howdy! This is Sherry Ways and we just got word that Nika Stewart, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Decorators Alliance of North America will be attending the DC Project H.O.M.E. ribbon cutting and grand opening on Wednesday, September 17th @ 10:00 am. Nika is expected to make a few remarks during the presentation.

Also, a permanent plaque will be presented by Unity Health Care Foundation with the words "Decorators Alliance of America Project H.O.M.E." to be placed in the Unity Health East of the River clinic. Design Scheme Interiors, LLC as well as other sponsors names of the East of the River Key Corner will be included on the plaque as well. This plaque will be a sustained fixture in the center. We are so proud and excited!

Lastly, the Unity Health Care Foundation will publicly recognize Design Scheme Interiors, LLC and other sponsors for their work with the East of the River project at a volunteer recognition reception on Thursday, September 18th at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC.

Again, here are the particulars of the invitation for this Wednesday:

East of the River Community Key Corner Unveiling

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
10:00 am

Unity Health Care's East of the River Health Center
123 45th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20019

Be there or be square!

Respectfully Submitted,

Sherry B. Ways, DC Project H.O.M.E. Coordinator
Design Scheme Interiors, LLC
http://www.designschemeinteriors.com
E-mail: sherry@designschemeinteriors.com

Listen every other Friday at 10:30- 12 noon EST to the Inside Design Internet Radio Show
http://www.designschemeinteriors.com/insidedesign/

Project H.O.M.E. Jupiter, Florida by Kathy Peterson Inspired

PROJECT H.O.M.E. ---THE AFTER!

Hi everyone--Kathy Peterson here just to give you a sneak peak of the BEFORE/AFTER of my Project H.O.M.E. in Jupiter, FL.

All the furniture is hand-me-down remakes (fabric, paints, etc) Check out the before below! We're almost done with this five (5) room makeover!

Enjoy!

Kathy Peterson

Kathy Peterson Inspired

P.S. This is a 5 room makeover for 2 former foster kids who have aged out of the foster care system. More room reveals later!

The BEFORE--Project H.O.M.E.

Hey --where did that window go? Well, all ya gotta do is make art!

More rooms to share later!

Kathy Peterson Inspired

http://www.kathypeterson.com/

kp@KathyPeterson.com

The Home Stretch: Washington, DC's Project H.O.M.E.

Greetings! This is Sherry Ways from Washington, DC's Project H.O.M.E. We are now in the final throws of the East of the River Key Corner Project. Since I last posted, The Washington Business Journal recognized our efforts in July under their Good Works Section which discussed Design Scheme Interiors, LLC providing complimentary design services to the Unity East of the River Project!

We gained another sponsor, City Interests, a for profit commercial real estate developer in the District of Columbia, who has invested heavily in the East Washington community. City Interests has made a $1,500 contribution towards furniture and maintenance for the Key Corner. Thank you Todd Lieberman of City Interests for making the contribution happen!

The photos above demonstrate time that Ward 7 Arts Collaborative member and artist, Bill Howard and Black Artists of DC member John Cooper spent painting the mural for the space in July. As you can see the mural took a lot of time and man power getting painted. However, both artists' were pleased with my contribution! Both John and Bill said that they would "hire me anytime" to help paint a mural. I guess they were impressed with my artistic ability (LOL!).

The mural is now complete, furniture is being ordered and we will be picking up the children's furniture from our sponsor IKEA shortly! I along with Ward 7 Arts Collaborative Executive Director, Wanda Aikens, Ward 7 Arts Collaborative Board Chair, Julia Jones and Naima Hashim and Audrey White of Unity Health Care met yesterday to discuss the final festivities and invitations to the grand opening/ribbon cutting event.

Now we are preparing for opening day! The ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17th at 10:00 am at the East of the River Unity Health Center. The media is being invited along with City Council leaders, etc. I will be speaking on behalf of Design Scheme Interiors, LLC and the Decorators Alliance Project H.O.M.E. Stay tuned!

Respectfully Submitted,

Sherry B. Ways, Project H.O.M.E. Coordinator, Washington, DC