Every now and then an organization comes along that speaks to your heart.

You know.

The one that gives everything it has and accomplishes great things and wakes up every day and makes this world a better place. We have one of those organizations right around the corner in our town.

It’s called The Samaritan Inn.

The Samaritan Inn is a comprehensive homeless program that helps willing people gain dignity and independence.

My father once said, “If you give a man a fish, you will feed him for a day. If you teach a man how to fish, you will feed him for a lifetime.”

The Samaritan Inn is all about fishermen.

This week I’m joining Sherwin-Williams® to celebrate National Painting Week. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. For four years, I’ve been lucky enough to partner with Sherwin-Williams to lift up and come alongside and encourage a local nonprofit by brightening up one of their spaces with a makeover. You can see how together we transformed a community center, cancer survivor center and a school lobby.

And this year?

We chose The Samaritan Inn.

Are you ready for a little before and after that will literally make your heart smile?

Oh, good.

Me, too.

Here’s where we started.

This is the before.

This is the central office of The Samaritan Inn. They have an amazing thrift store that helps benefit the Inn and most of the furnishings in the space came from the thrift store.

Here’s the other side of the room.

Everything is a little mis-matched and the walls needed painting and the room needs a little organization.

And a little brightening up.

I set up a meeting with the director, Rick Crocker, and here are some goals we agreed upon for the project.

1. New paint for the walls and hallway
2. New furniture for the lobby space
3. Lighter and brighter and more modern aesthetic to match the look of the new Inn they just finished
4. Space for coffee station
5. A mural for the wall where donors could take pictures

 

So here’s where we started.

This is what the front lobby looked like just a couple of weeks ago.

And now?

It looks like this.

And this side?

It looks like this.

Can you even BELIEVE IT?

It all started with our number one goal. A new coat of paint for the interior.

A GIANT shout out to our neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store. They volunteered to come in on a weekend and paint the entire space.

The challenge in the space before was that the cream was fighting with the white ceiling. The floor has white specks with a creamier, whiter base and I knew a beautiful white paint color would make both of the look a little brighter and whiter.

The room was painted one of the most perfect, neutral whites on the planet, Extra White SW 7006 and the product Emerald® Interior Satin.

It provides amazing coverage and can change the whole look of a room in an afternoon.

Just like this one.

The new painted walls completely changed the look of the space.

Remember our goals?

Number one:  New paint for the walls and hallway.

Check.

Next, I put together a design plan for the space.

I knew we needed seating, so I chose these modern, faux leather and chrome chairs that are super sturdy and would hold up in a lobby space.

I paired them with a glass coffee table to hold brochures and fresh flowers.

On the other side of the room, I found these fun mid-century modern console tables.

They are going to use one for the coffee station and the other one for a welcome center.

They are simple and functional and clean and classic. Above each table, to reflect light into the space, I found these incredible over-sized round brass mirrors.

The mirrors give depth to that wall and streamline the look of the room.

In the center of the room, I found the PERFECT rug for the room. It’s modern, yet classic, yet fun with a little bit of sass and it brings so much color to the space and anchors the room.

All that was left was to bring in a few fun accessories.

Like this fun message board and white geometric vases and a couple of fiddle leaf figs and some baskets and flowers.

Goals number two, three and four?

New furniture for the lobby space. Check.

Lighter and brighter and more modern aesthetic to match the look of the new Inn they just finished. Check.

Space for coffee station. Check.

Oh wait? Did I forget to mention this?

Goal number five: A mural for the wall where donors could take pictures.

Here it is.

This incredible puzzle mural is the conversation piece in the room. Each of the puzzle pieces were drawn on plywood and then cut out, painted and installed on the wall.

(Just between us, I was crossing my fingers they all puzzled together correctly).

Here are the colors that we used for the puzzle pieces:

Bluebell SW 6793

Sky Fall SW 9049

Soar SW 6799

Blue Plate SW 6796

And yes. They all puzzled perfectly.

After we installed the mural, I painted the logo directly onto the puzzle.

I think I’m going to write another post about how I created all of this.

But for now?

Here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes of how to paint a puzzle mural.

The reason why I chose a puzzle?

The reason why we spent hours planning and drawing and creating a mural made completely out of puzzle pieces?

Because that’s how The Samaritan Inn was built.

Puzzle piece by puzzle piece.

There are so many things that The Samaritan Inn does.

They teach life skills and self-sufficiency.

They provide a safe haven to help individuals get back on their feet.

They listen and provide meals and educate and show how to take the first step on the journey.

They have an incredible program where you can sponsor a child for the summer to give them educational and recreational activities that they have been missing out on.

All this and so much more.

But truth?

It’s really hard to see the mission of an organization if you just look at one piece of the puzzle.

Everything looks a little blurry.

It’s hard to understand how your piece fits together with others.

But when you put all the pieces together?

When we join the puzzle pieces and put them into place?

When we lift up organizations that are making a difference and come alongside them to create a community where everyone is welcomed and loved and encouraged and given the tools to help them succeed?

The final picture is beautiful.

Disclosure: This post was written in collaboration with Sherwin Williams^®.

All opinions are my own.

Please see my disclosure page for more information.

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