Introducing A New Feel Good Pen + Napkin Makeover For SUCH A Deserving Familly (+ How You Can Help)

Hello and blessed Friday! Ashley here, of Ashley Fiocco Designs. I americium a LONG-time scholar of this blog, truthful to beryllium penning this close present is SURREAL. After having my 2 boys, I near my decade-long vocation successful the culinary/celebrity cook world, to spell backmost to schoolhouse successful bid to crook my passionateness for beauteous interiors into the meaningful vocation I present enjoy! I’m a 1-woman workplace based successful Orange County, CA, taking connected projects with budgets large and small. It’s important to maine to assistance others, careless of income, to unrecorded successful spaces that marque them consciousness their best. Obviously, sustaining my concern is simply a goal, but the benefits of assisting anyone and everyone I tin to recognize their visions of homes that volition bring them joy, confidence, and serenity are truthful overmuch much fulfilling to me.

Back successful 2021, erstwhile I work this EHD post seeking volunteers’ assistance to instrumentality their Feel-Good MOTOs nationalist with Pen + Napkin, I instantly wanted to get involved. However, astatine the time, I was surviving successful London with my household (a perk of being joined to a prof is we each get to spell connected sabbatical!). So I had to settee for submitting an exertion and hoping to link successful the future… And now, a twelvemonth and a fractional aboriginal and backmost successful SoCal, I’ve been matched with a household that I americium truthful grateful to beryllium capable to help!

Suzie, a hard-working azygous mom, and Brett, her teenage son, (not their existent names) are survivors of home violence. As Suzie puts it, they’ve “been done a storm.” After escaping a horrible concern a fewer years ago, they had obscurity to spell and ended up homeless. They made their mode to OC and present person a extortion implicit their heads. When I archetypal visited them successful their flat to spot it and get a consciousness for their preferences, it was evident that the abstraction was not perfect successful decor oregon function. Suzie and Brett person been sleeping connected mattresses connected the floor. There are nary wired lights successful the main surviving country oregon bedrooms, and they don’t person the resources to bargain lighting, truthful the flat is rather dark. As a designer, this truly struck me—ample lighting is truthful important, not conscionable for purely functional reasons, but besides to make an ambiance of warmth and coziness. The flat besides has nary curtains and galore of the blinds connected the windows are broken, truthful adjacent wrong you consciousness rather exposed. With neighbors and strangers walking by, capable to spot inside, Suzie mentioned however she and her lad often consciousness vulnerable. The small furnishings they bash person (just a few, breached pieces) was handed down oregon recovered connected the curb.  

Shortly aft securing their flat and getting backmost to enactment and backmost connected track, Suzie mislaid her beloved dad, whom she called her “hero”.  A fewer months later, 1 of her closest friends died of cancer. If things couldn’t get worse, she past had to person exigency surgery. This resulted successful her losing her occupation since the clip she needed disconnected to recuperate couldn’t beryllium approved by her manager.  

To enactment it simply, Suzie and Brett request immoderate help. Talking with them, I learned their top tendency is to consciousness safe, cozy, and settled – Suzie, understandably, conscionable wants a HOME for her and her son. She likes browns, acheronian blue, pinks, scented candles, and 80s music. She has young nieces and nephews who sometimes travel over, truthful their location needs to beryllium child-friendly. Brett is connected the autism spectrum and feels much comfy attending precocious schoolhouse virtually for the clip being. He needs a due table connected which to bash his homework and the due setup successful his country to work and play video games. Once, erstwhile I was over, Brett was sitting connected the level of his bedroom, trying to bash schoolwork successful his lap—there was obscurity other backstage to sit. Similar to galore young men, helium is into anime, sports cars, and basketball, and likes cherry red, black, and gold.

With each of this successful mind, I created these designs that I anticipation volition supply the intelligence and carnal comfortableness Suzie and Brett are seeking. Suzie utilized the connection “cozy” to picture her perfect location truthful galore times, truthful I truly tried to plan spaces that volition let them to exhale, to marque them consciousness similar they’re getting a warm, pleasant hug. After each they’ve been through, they could truly usage a hug!

So, here’s wherever you each travel in. Even though this surviving abstraction is being designed connected a genuinely choky budget, the costs of furnishing from scratch an fundamentally empty, 2-bedroom flat are inactive significant. We request each the assistance we tin get! The itemized privation lists of affordable furnishings and furnishings astatine Wayfair, IKEA, and Amazon tin beryllium recovered here, and we person a donation link to effort to screen different things we’ve already purchased from Target and different large retailers, arsenic good arsenic immoderate higher-quality thrifted items, decorative objects, etc.

Pen + Napkin and I person launched a campaign page for donations. We are SO VERY grateful that this leafage is being shared with you each connected EHD, but we could usage your assistance successful further spreading the word. Please nonstop the nexus astir to your communities, your societal media networks, etc. If immoderate other funds are raised, they volition beryllium utilized for aboriginal Pen + Napkin projects, which I anticipation Ashley Fiocco Designs tin beryllium a portion of, too!  It’s tremendously satisfying (and fun!) to assistance paying clients execute their preferred vibe and desired look successful their homes. But to beryllium capable to bash truthful for radical who, without the inaugural and expertise of the Pen + Napkin team, combined with the generosity of galore others, would not person this opportunity—people who would inactive beryllium sleeping connected the level or, literally, sitting successful the dark—is an adjacent much fantastic feeling — THE ULTIMATE fantastic feeling! Please, if you can, articulation america and beryllium a portion of this astonishing effort, thing benignant and loving and just, basically, GOOD.

Let’s marque MORE GOOD together. 

You tin travel on connected the travel here wherever I’ll station advancement made and updates, and we besides program to stock an aft post, erstwhile capable of the hoped-for items person been installed, truthful you tin spot the last translation that (hopefully) you volition person besides played a portion in. I, myself, cannot hold to spot it and stock it with each of you! Thank you!

The station Introducing A New Feel Good Pen + Napkin Makeover For SUCH A Deserving Familly (+ How You Can Help) appeared archetypal connected Emily Henderson.