Fresh start for a young mum

Karen is a young mum who fell pregnant at 19 with her first daughter Penny. Karen was in a toxic and unhealthy relationship which ended leaving Karen and Penny homeless and living with various friends until they received assistance. When we were introduced to Karen she was pregnant with her second baby and we had planned to makeover her unit before baby arrived but as things would happen, Susan arrived very early! 

As she was premature she was to spend some time in hospital before coming home which has allowed us time to proceed with our makeover as planned and we were so pleased with the result.

We provided a cot for baby Susan and decorated it with the clients own soft toys and bedding. We added a large white toy box to the girl's room for extra storage. Some lovely bird and butterfly artworks were hung above each bed and the beds were all made up with fresh linen and decorative cushions and soft toys.

Girls bedroom before makeover

Girls bedroom after makeover

The girl's beds makeover

Karen's room was decorated with two beautiful artworks and matching timber bedside tables and lamps. The Madras Link linen and cushions donated by SHACK homewares looked beautiful and the clients own red and white parasol matched the scheme perfectly. Some beautiful vases from Katherine Holihan and some of the clients own items were placed on the chest of drawers. We also added a gorgeous white Boori bassinet for baby's early days. Red and white boxes from Howards Storage and other donated baskets made neat storage solutions.

Karen's bedroom before makeover

Susan's room after makeover

We hope the girls are all settled back at home now and enjoying their newly decorated rooms. We hope to have given this young Mum a well deserved treat and inspired her own creative flair! Thank you so much to all involved and to all those who contributed items for this makeover.

Tammy Scharenguivel & Georgie Wollaston

Out of Africa

Background

Sophie was born in Liberia Africa.  She lived with her parents and siblings until 1989 when the war began. Sophie’s tribe were one of those particularly targeted during the war causing Sophie and her father to flee the country with only the clothes on their back in search of safety. She believed her mother had died in the war as they were separated and never saw each other again. Sophie lived in a refugee camp in Guinea for 15 years, where she experienced extremely traumatic physical and emotional abuse, constant danger and extreme poverty. There was little or no education in the camp.

In 2004, Sophie immigrated as a refugee to Australia with her father and siblings, settling in Newcastle . Sadly, a few years later her father passed away. Sophie found it difficult to find work in Newcastle so after her father died she moved to Sydney and shared a unit with an African friend.  At that time she was able to secure work as a housekeeper and is now a valued staff member.

Shortly after moving to Sydney the lease on the rental property Sophie was sharing ended as the landlord decided to move in.  With her lack of family support, education and poor English skills, Sophie found it impossible to find a rental property.  The landlord allowed her to store her property in the garage temporarily but with nowhere else to go, all she could do was live in the garage.  

Fortunately Sophie found assistance. She has maintained her employment (gaining many awards for her outstanding work), and continued to work hard to provide a future for herself. She has had to face many challenges.  Sophie has experienced great disadvantage in her life, yet despite this she remains positive and optimistic. She currently attends TAFE full time to improve her English and continues to work before and after class as well as weekends. 

The Makeover Day

We began at Rhodes Self Storage and with Rob's assistance loaded a car full of beautiful donated homewares. Sophie is living in a studio apartment which provided the challenge of combining the kitchen, living area and bedroom all in one room. 

We were so privileged to have photographer Aran Anderson come along on the makeover day to photograph the room. We appreciate this very generous gift of his time and expertise, as you will see below his photos are incredible.(www.aranandersonphotography.com.au)

We went with an African inspired theme and some of the vases and statues recently donated by stylist Katherine Holihan fitted the theme perfectly. 



Kitchen before makeover



Kitchen after makeover

A set of three dark timber stools donated by Sarah Castillo and a refurbished side table gave Sophie a relaxed and versatile area to sit with visitors or pull up to the kitchen bench.





Bedroom Before Makeover

Cushions from Shack Homewares added a luxurious feel to her bed and a print also donated by Katherine Holihan together with Amanda McSeveny's group of four paper artworks also looked beautiful in the room. Some fabulous items donated by Howards Storage World were great for storing shoes and other personal items with limited space. Donated cane baskets were also used to create additional storage that looked great.



Bedroom Makeover After

Outdoor Area Before Makeover

Sophie's unit also had a very large balcony where we were able to create a comfortable outdoor living space which will be great in Summer.



Outdoor Area After Makeover

A huge thank you to all those who were so generous in contributing to this special day for Sophie.



The Lotus team has been at it again...

This time we introduce Sarah Marriot, interior designer from Hare + Klein who has generously been allowed to assist us during her paid hours! A very big thank you to Meryl Hare we are so touched and grateful for Sarah's wisdom and expertise. Also a big thank you to Lotus volunteers - Ros, Rachel & Katy - you guys inspire me!


Mary*, a beautiful Indigenous mother and her young 2 year old son were the recipients of our next makeover and what a makeover it was! Mary* has grown up with domestic violence in her home and then ended up herself in a volatile relationship. She has however demonstrated incredible resilience and has strived to provide a better life for herself and her little boy by studying law through distance education. Understandably she struggles with self esteem and regardless of all her achievements she continues to have a negative self perception. We hope that this beautiful transformation will bring her renewed hope and belief in herself for the future.



Kitchen Before

The kitchen was very dated and retro so to speak - so we decided to work with this and this is the outcome! A very special thank you to Sarah Castillo for the gorgeous suede chairs, to SHACK for the numerous nick knacks and to Hare + Klein for the vase and crockery.



 

Kitchen After



The living room lacked personality! Now it doesn't! Again many thanks to Sarah Castillo for the gorgeous antique coffee table and to stylist, Katherine Holihan, for the art work.



Lounge Before



Lounge After


Mary's* bedroom was tired and disorganised.



Bedroom Before





Bedroom After

Now it is a beautiful sanctuary! A special thank you to SHACK for the gorgeous bedding, cushions and Louie chair! We all wanted to take them home! Thank you to SHACK customer Edward Winterton for donating the SHACK wardrobe - it is absolutely stunning in this room. Also to Louise Walsh Interior Design  for the beautiful handmade linen pillowcases......you are so generous!


Finally her little boys room was in need of a pick me up.....so that's what we did!




Child's Room Before



Child's Room After


"Volunteering my time alongside the Lotus team was rewarding in so many ways! After spending the day transforming a house into Home sweet Home was awesome! And seeing the huge difference it made to such a beautiful girls life was so special. What a great team of people working together to help a restore hope to young woman and children." Sarah Marriott.

Another job well done!

Angela Wilson
Lotus Interiors
Founder

*Please note names have been changed.

SHACK and Lotus bring vibrancy to a Sydney Women's Refuge...

After much hard work and a huge combined effort from Shack staff members and Lotus volunteers we are finally able to reveal the final transformation of a once very tired women's refuge.

The Lotus Team was so encouraged by the incredible generosity both in goods and in time from the SHACK team who worked tirelessly and cheerfully during a very busy time of the year to give back and pay forward kindness and hope for all the future women and children in crisis who will set foot now this Women's Refuge.

We hope that as you browse through these before and after shots that you would be inspired and encouraged by our achievement.
 

Lounge Room Before

Lounge Room After

 

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After

Retreat Space Before

Retreat Space After

"Breathe", Mixed Medium on Board, Amanda McSeveny 2011

We need to say a very special thank you to the following generous contributors; Shack , Blinds by Bayliss, Chantal Binnett, Accent Curtains in Seven Hills, Norwest Bunnings, Proud Furniture in Alexandria, West Ryde Paint Wholesalers' ,The Julie Lewis Agency, North Epping Girl Guides and Beautifully Recreated . There are many others as well so to everyone who so generously offered their time, skills and resources to us - we couldn't have done it without you!


Angela Wilson
Lotus Interiors
Founder

Vote for Lotus Interiors at projectlocal.com.au

The Northern District Times newspaper are currently part of a community grant scheme called Project Local. Lotus Interiors have applied for one of the funding grants and our application has made it through to the voting round.

We would love all of our supporters to register and place their votes for us.

Go to projectlocal.com.au to register and vote!
  

Unfortunately voting is a rather lengthy process however here are some instructions to try to make it as easy as possible.

1. Go to projectlocal.com.au and register yourself.
2. Upon receipt of your project local account details confirmation email click on the enclosed link to set up your password and log in to vote.
3. Once you have created your password you will be advised that you have an allocation of 10 votes.
4. To vote for Lotus Interiors click on the 'Current Ideas' tab on the top navigation bar
5. Ensure 'All ideas' are selected in your search bar. You will note there are 30 pages of Ideas.
6. You will need to search for Lotus Interiors as it doesn't always appear on the same page. When you have found it click 'Read More'
7. Once this is selected you will find the 'Vote' button. Click this and you will be asked how many of your 10 votes you would like to allocate. We would love it if you nominated all 10.


We have two weeks to get as many votes as we can, voting closes on Friday 16th March.

Thank you for taking the time to support us, fingers crossed!!!

It was 2011's final makeover...

December 2011 was a busy month for the Lotus team as we worked together with SHACK on making over the communal spaces of a Sydney Women's Refuge. Our last project however for the year was to assist Belinda*, a 22 year old girl who grew up in foster care due to domestic violence. Having had 21 homes in as many years Belinda* was excited about the prospect of a safe and secure house for the next couple of years.

Lotus had meet with Belinda* a few months earlier and been busy planning and coordinating a makeover for her cute little 2 bedroom unit. Belinda* had received a funding grant allowing her to purchase white goods and some furniture and we took on the task of assisting her decorate her unit, so her house could become a home.

Lounge - Dining Before

Belinda's living room was already accessorised with rusty orange tones. So the addition of a throw, rug and some artworks from SHACK all added some more colour to the neutral furniture and complemented the existing decor beautifully. An upcycled bowl also looked beautiful against her dark timber dining setting.

 Lounge - Dining After

Master Bedroom Before 

In the bedroom the addition of a natural timber heart created a beautiful, romantic feeling which was complemented by the floral quilt set donated by SHACK homewares. Belinda's* bedside tables were adorned with candles, a donated lamp and a vase. A restored mirror added extra functionality to Belinda's* jewellery display.

 

Musk Cherry Blossoms, 2011, Acrylic and Mixed Medium on Canvas- Work of Amanda McSeveny

Amanda McSeveny's Cherry Blossoms artwork at the end of Belinda's bed added to the romantic feel its lovely soft pink tones. This piece is a beautiful representation of the preciousness and fragility of life. It also reminders the viewer that each tiny seemingly insignificant part 'life' is unique and priceless. Upon completion of Belinda's* room she commented that her bedroom "looked like one of those beautiful hotels". We certainly hope it will become her special retreat. The addition of some potted plants also softened her little balcony.

Second Bedroom Before

In the second bedroom Sue Blake of In An Organised Fashion created a study/dressing room for Belinda* with lots of new storage solutions. A big thank you to Howard's Storage for a wonderful donation of a hanging robe and some beautiful storage baskets.

Second Bedroom After

Belinda* was very overwhelmed and extremely grateful for all that was done. We too as always loved the privilege of being able to assist in such a simple way.

Thank you to everyone who was involved with our projects in 2011 and we hope you will join with us again in 2012!