Lotus Interiors: 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.