Four Local Designers Decorate a Home for a Habitat Homeowner
In 2011, new college graduate Lauren Chapin decided to spend a year as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity Virginia. That year stuck with her and helped her realize the importance of providing safe, affordable housing opportunities in communities. Flash forward to present, Lauren is now the owner of local interior design company Circle G Designs which focuses on the importance that our spaces play in our lives.
So when Emily Henderson, a high-profile interior designer, put out the call for designers from across the country to volunteer with Pen + Napkin (a nonprofit focused on decorating homes for families who have experienced housing instability), Lauren signed up right away. She would soon find out that three other local designers were called to do the same.
Chaney Widmer (Mix & Match Design Company), Jamie Ivey (Ivey Design Group), and Diana Mathews (Mathews & Co. Studio) joined together with Lauren to take on this project. With Lauren’s experience as an AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity seemed like the perfect fit! Richmond Habitat’s Homeowner Services team helped to pair the designers with a family purchasing a home through their Affordable Homeownership Program.
The group worked together to develop design plans and raised funds to purchase furniture and decor for the home.
“I have always wanted to find a way to give back to my community using my interior design experience,” said Chaney Widmer, “and when I discovered Pen + Napkin, it seemed like the perfect fit.”
The designers made their design plans a reality on Monday, August 8th and Tuesday, August 9th, when they fully transformed the home. It culminated in a tear-filled and heartwarming reveal to the family on the afternoon of August 9th.
