Extreme Makeover: Kindness Edition 2012 update

Today is the start of Kindness Week here in Ottawa. Not that you shouldn’t be kind EVERY week, but this is a great initiative that encourages people to “choose to be kind”. And really, it’s not very hard to be kind – hold the door open for the person behind you, give someone your seat on the bus, smile at a total stranger… even the smallest gesture is appreciated.

As I mentioned in this post, this is the second year that I’m participating in Extreme Makeover: Kindness Edition. Next Friday, the TBBs and I will work our magic at the Foster Farm Family House Homework Club, a place where kids in the Foster Farm community go to do their homework. Over the last month, we’ve been rounding up sponsors and donors and planning the design. You might remember our colour palette inspiration…

Image via House Beautiful, February 2011

Well, just like any design, things change and evolve based on a number of factors – in this case, we had to adjust our colour palette because we couldn’t get the yellow chairs that we planned to use in the space. But never fear – just like last year, red has come to our rescue! And now we’re going with this colour palette…

Image via House to Home

Here’s a little sneak peek at the design board that our lead designer, Sonya Kinkade, has put together…If you want to see more, head over to the EMKE Facebook page and click the Like button.

I’d like to send out a huge THANK YOU to all of our donors and sponsors who have contributed products, labour, and money to this very worthy project. Can’t wait to see it all come together next Friday!

D.E. Kinkade Konstruction Ltd	Construction, labour, and materials
Ottawa Valley Kitchens	Built-it cabinetry
Sherwin-Williams store #8785	Paint
B.T. Kelly Painting Inc.	Paint labour
Barwood Flooring	New hardwood flooring
Marchand Lighting and Electrical	New lighting
Climate Works	New central air conditioning
Lafarge Canada	Supplied new school chairs
School Furniture of Canada	Kindly discounted the price of the school chairs
Tamarack Developments	Cash donation for homework room décor
Tag Along Toys	New school supplies
Smart Space Organizing	Office and school supplies
Ikea Canada	Office supplies
Future Shop	Wall mounted TV and Blu-ray player
Faye Fortune Drapery	New window treatments
Matt LeBlanc Abstract Art	New custom art piece designed for The Homework Club
Sheila Cain - Sample pencil artist	Custom art piece
Danielle Lynn Photography	Capturing the makeover with photography
Randy Little, Investment Fund Advisor	Donation of chalkboard paint

And of course, the TBBs design team!

Sonya Kinkade (Lead Designer)	Sonya Kinkade Design
Maureen Coates	Modecor
Nicole Duguay	Solace Interiors
Lisa Goulet	Lisa Goulet Design
Donna Hargrove	dh designs
Kelly James	JAX Decor & Design
Sarah Kidder	Sarah Kidder Design
Mary Anne van Gaal	Otta Decorate!

If you’d like to be part of Extreme Makeover: Kindness Edition, there are still a few items that we need to buy – a couple of chairs, a floor lamp, a long wall shelf, and dictionaries. If you’re interested in donating a few dollars to put towards the purchase of these items, please send me an e-mail or leave me a comment and let me know.

And to change the subject completely… I’ve got an amazing project to share with you on Monday. It’s been in the works for a few months, and I’m so excited that it’s finally done and looks even better than I envisioned! I’ll also be guest posting over at Lisa Goulet Design on Monday about a topic related to my project. I’m keeping it a secret for now, but here’s a clue…

Happy Weekend & spread the kindness!

Spreading the kindness: D.E. Kinkade Konstruction LTD

As you know if you’re a regular JAX does design reader, I recently spent a couple of months working on a big design project with a fantastic group of Ottawa designers. Extreme Makeover: Kindness Edition was a charity event sponsored by The United Way Ottawa and the Yummy Mummy Club as part of Kindness Week at the end of February. The Good Companions Seniors Centre in Ottawa was selected as the lucky recipient of lots of kindness! {All images by Danielle Lynn Photography.}

The Extreme Makeover Design Dream Team!
Back row, L to R: Donna, dh designs | Kelly, JAX Decor | Sonya, Sonya Kinkade Design | Lisa, Lisa Goulet Design
Front row, L to R: Nicole, Solace Interiors | Maureen, MODECOR | Mary Anne, Otta Decorate!

The challenge: To create a beautiful space that’s functional for the seniors and adults with disabilities who frequent the center, and with a budget of $0. That’s right – we had to do the entire makeover with NO MONEY! And it was a big job –  the lobby area, reception area, and in-house store all had to be redesigned as part of the makeover.

Before     

After

    

We put out the call to tradespeople, suppliers, hotels, and anyone else we could think of who might be willing to donate  their services or products. The response was amazing – lots of people with big hearts jumped at the chance to help us out. Each and every person – from the contractor to the artist to the florist – played a vital role in ensuring that our design vision came to life. THANK YOU doesn’t begin to express how much we appreciate everyone’s help. So in an effort to show our gratitude to these amazing people, we’d like to introduce them all to you though our blogs. Today’s featured donor…

Daryl Kinkade of D.E. Kinkade Konstruction LTD and his crew had the huge task of tearing down walls, rebuilding walls, moving windows… the whole layout of the space depended on them and their work, and they didn't disappoint! They were so focused on the task at hand, they barely took a break to enjoy the lap dance – I mean, coffee and doughnuts – that Maureen brought them one day ;-)

The in-house store required the most work – they had to take down a glass partition and build a new wall. See the seating area in front of the window? That’s where the new store was going.

Work in progress by the D. E. Kinkade Konstruction team – the new store is well underway…

 

The final result…

Prepping the new Reception sign…

  

About D.E. Kinkade Konstruction LTD

Daryl Kinkade has been in the construction industry for 36 years, and founded D.E. Kinkade Konstruction LTD in 1991. His company is a full-service general contractor that specializes in custom homes, additions, renovations, and commercial projects. In addition, they offer general contracting, drafting, and design services through their affiliation with Sonya Kinkade Design. So they can design, renovate, build, and decorate pretty much anything you want! Here are a few examples of their work…

   

And in case you’re wondering, yes, Daryl and Sonya are a team in real life as well as work life :-)

Please stop by Lisa Goulet Design to read about abstract artist Matt LeBlanc, dh designs to read about The Upper Room Home Furnishings, and Solace Interiors to read about floral designer Michelle Vandenbosch, three more of our awesome donors. And I’ve added a list of all the Extreme Makeover donors to my sidebar with a link to their profiles (as they’re posted).

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.