Well, we’ve done it again!  We’ve remodeled another kitchen in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and as part of our ongoing Alma Project.  Together with an amazing team and some generous donations, we’re proud to showcase this incredible new kitchen we remodeled for a local emergency shelter.

A little backstory first.  On the same day we wrapped up the first Alma Project kitchen, Warren, our partner at COTS, told us about this second home that was also part of the transitional housing program, a five bedroom home that was to be used as an emergency shelter for single parents and their children, with move in dates in October.  Each family shares a bedroom so this home will work for both COTS and with Child Protective Services to keep families intact by taking them off the streets and giving them temporary housing until they find a more permanent solution. 

The home was in really bad shape and saddened us that it was in no condition for children or families, so we decided to adopt a second house this year.  Matt and I love this project so much, it fills us with great pride to be helping people in need by remodeling these spaces in our community.  For this home makeover, we again turned our attention to rounding up all the resources we could.  You’ve seen the hall bathroom and over the summer we’ve been working on both the great room and kitchen.  We’re so excited the kitchen remodel is finally done! 

This was the kitchen the day we toured it back in July, and it was in really horrible shape.  (I swear that plunger is not a prop, it was actually sitting there.) This space was really depressing, it was dark and dingy, the cabinets were broken, the old laminate countertops were chipped, the flooring was moldy and peeling up in places, it was an absolute mess.  

So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, and over the course of three months, we pooled resources and asked some generous donors to contribute and we’re so amazed by their generosity.  A combination of DIY efforts pulled this off, but first I’m so excited to acknowledge our sponsors.

Again Home Depot came to our rescue and donated new flooring, cabinets, a sink and faucet, and new backsplash tile.  Wilsonart countertops donated the new laminate countertops, and Shades of Light donated a new light fixture.  With some local donations of appliances and some funds raised from our Alma Project, we were able to completely transform this kitchen in three months.

Here it is, all complete! 

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Hello everyone, I’m excited to announce we’ve completed another space remodel as part of our Alma Project!  I hinted a few months ago that we’ve adopted a second house in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and a team of volunteers has been working on this home to prepare it for the families that will be moving in shortly. 

This home serves the purpose of helping families that are in immediate danger of separation because the parents don’t have a place to live, often they’re sleeping in cars.  This house helps keep homeless families intact so that CPS does not separate the children from the parents.  It’s a place for families to reside temporarily while our local COTS helps them obtain more permanent housing.  We couldn’t be prouder of this hall bathroom remodel!

This could not have happened without the support of some very generous sponsors and a team of volunteers.  Just like with the kitchen remodel earlier this year, Home Depot was a very generous donor, supplying us with the new vanity, toilet and faucet, and we are extremely grateful for their support!  Glidden provided the paint, and with some money raised from our Alma Project fund, we were able to add the extras.  

When we started, this shared community bathroom was a complete disaster, and in desperate need of upgrades.  Here’s a peek at the space two months ago before the remodel began.   The tub and flooring were dingy, discolored, and in very sad shape.   The vanity and toilet were really bad too, so we removed everything in the space except the tub and started over. 

Here’s how it looks two months later!

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Greetings all, doesn’t it feel so strange that the Fourth of July is on a Wednesday?  It’s totally throwing me off but I’m happy for the day off tomorrow.  Well as I’ve been hinting at for days, we are really proud to have finished the kitchen at our Alma Project just in time for four new families to move in.

If you’re unfamiliar with this project, you can read the details and the motivation behind it here, but basically we adopt a house every year with our local Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) and we take time every few months to upgrade the spaces (playroom completed in April).  This home is shared by women with children who are making the transition from homelessness to success stories through counseling, job training, and abstinence from substance abuse.  This four bedroom home currently houses 9 people, including 4 mothers and their 5 children, each family shares one of the four bedrooms.

The kitchen was a total disaster when we started and we had limited funds and only six weeks to make the necessary changes before the new families moved in.  Thankfully,  several of you donated to the project and we were able to raise $1,550 from your donations (thank you donors, see list below) but that wasn’t nearly enough to get us where we needed to go.  So I struggled with what to do, and thankfully others stepped up to take this to the finish line.

First was Home Depot.  I’ve got to give them so much credit for this transformation, I wrote to them and asked them to donate cabinets to replace just the center island and they generously agreed.  Then when they sent their kitchen designer and cabinet supplier to the site we told them the story of the purpose of the house.  They looked around and they decided to do an amazing thing.  Home Depot decided that just the island wasn’t enough, they were going to donate all, yes ALL NEW kitchen cabinets.  I can’t explain how amazing it was to get that email.  ALL NEW CABINETS?   Wow, we’re talking several thousand dollars in cabinets donated for this cause!  THANK YOU HOME DEPOT!!

Thanks to Kelly and Nicole from Home Depot corporate, Christine, our local kitchen designer, and Keith, Craig and John our local cabinet supplies who all came together to replace all the cabinets for the entire space.  COTS was also able to allocate $1,700 to the project so with the donations by several of you, Home Depot, and COTS we were able to complete this full kitchen remodel for just over $3,600.  Without any help it would have cost us $9,000 in just materials (not including any labor).

Here’s the full tour and the story to go with it!

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Okay friends, time for the project breakdown on the playroom reveal earlier this week.  I’ll tackle the four projects from easiest to most challenging, here we go!

The Play Table:

After shopping around online and finding only plastic tables in my budget, I spied this ad on Craigslist the weekend before the install and literally jumped for joy.  It was a used Pottery Barn Kids chalkboard table with a storage center in the middle for crayons, art supplies, etc. and four solid wood chairs.  It was perfect!  I quickly emailed the owner and drove over to grab it mere moments after she replied to my email telling me it was still available.  $45 buckaroos was a total score!

The chalkboard surface was worn and scratched but the rest of the table was in great condition, so I sanded the surface with the orbital to get it nice and smooth. Next I taped off the wood and primed the surface, and followed it up with two coats of teal paint to bring it back to life.

Such a cute addition to the space with plenty of space for arts and crafts.

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