Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2016 - 12

Hot Topic

Design that
Changes Lives

tures for his use, like a waist-level microwave and
knobs on the front of the stove.
"We also incorporated custom designs like the
master bedroom barn door," said Henry, explaining that phrases that held meaning to the client
were painted onto the wood. "The barn door was
a special piece that came together with the help
of the entire team."
Along with a gym and a backyard pool for
physical therapy, the home includes a guesthouse
and an outdoor kitchen and bar.
"I believe it is important to give back to the
community, and this was just one small way to give
back to an amazing individual who has inspired so
many others," added Henry.

Three designers use their

talents to help communities

ENDING HOMELESSNESS

special skill set: They can make
houses into homes and rooms into destinations.
When that talent is taken to help the less fortunate, lives are transformed.

WORKING FOR A WARRIOR

When Scottsdale, Ariz.-based designer Angelica
Henry of Angelica Henry Design signed on for
Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors program, she had no idea who
the client was or how her design would impact his life.The client turned out to
be Army Ranger Cory Remsburg, who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2009.
As he relearned to walk again after a brain injury, Remsburg lived in a
rental home with plastic guards to protect corners from his wheelchair and
an Internet cord snaking from the bedroom to his office. In the redesigned
1,825-sq.-ft. home, Remsburg now has an open floor plan with special fea-

ABOVE Designers Joann

Kandrac and Kelly Kole and
their team took their talents
to Guatemala to provide a
ﬁve-member family with its
ﬁrst comfortable home. Even
with this basic construction,
the designers "jazzed it up a
bit" with comfortable sheets
and pretty bedding and
fabric panels.

BY ERINN WALDO

BASIC DREAMS

Providing simple necessities like a roof or a stove
drastically changes the health and happiness of
a family. One family in Guatemala never had a
home with a non-dirt floor, a locking door or a
non-leaking roof, and through the charity Cata-

Kitchen & Bath Business / JAN. 2016 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official sponsor of KBIS (KBIS.com)

Photograph by John John

ESIGNERS HOLD a

Last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
that New York could be the first state to end the
AIDS epidemic - citing not a vaccine but the goal
of building 5,000 supportive housing units in the
next five years. New York-based designer Byron C.
James-Rodrigues of House of Oasis took part in
this goal by creating a bath vignette for the charity
Housing Work's Design on a Dime.
"Whenever I do showhouses or vignettes for
charity, no one ever does a kitchen or bathroom,"
said James-Rodrigues, explaining that it can be
expensive and difficult to find vendors who want
to donate big-ticket items. "So for Design on a
Dime, I decided to do a men's lounge."
James-Rodrigues and his design were part
of a three-day event that featured more than 50
of New York's designers, whose vignettes were
donated and sold for 50 to 70 percent off retail
pricing. The benefits helped build a 6,000-sq.-ft.
housing project for 26 single, formerly homeless
adults living with HIV/AIDS in the city.
"Charity events are twofold," he said. "I love
giving back by using my talent for causes I am passionate about. They also give you an opportunity
to be your own client and use your creativity, and
by doing so you can showcase the event to clients
as another example of your work."

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Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2016

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