At the otherwise undistinguished intersection of Washington Boulevard and Beethoven in west Culver City this afternoon, there was a tribute to humanity that would have made all 40,000 residents raise toast accompanied by a deafening cheer if they had known about it.
The creative Upward Bound House of Santa Monica (upwardboundhouse.org) opened its second family shelter in the needy lap of a blue-collar neighborhood that has just acquired what some already are calling a crown jewel.
Turning a two-story former inexpensive motel into a sparkling three-months-at-a-time shelter for desperately homeless families is a scene that may have been re-enacted, with variations, across the country.
What marks this Upward Bound project as enticingly unique is that each of the 18 rooms has been drawn — from scratch to stardom — pro bono by18 different high-powered interior designers.
It is virtually the equivalent of a homeless person being garbed in designer clothing.
A Treat for the Eyes
Hundreds of smartly dressed guests — including most of the City Council and two County Supervisors, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Zev Yaroslavsky — roamed the grounds and the stairways just after lunch. Resembling an attraction at Disneyland, the guests rotated in and out of the rooms, in tiny groups. Speaking in short words ending in exclamation marks, they buzzed with smiling disbelief over the beautifully decorated temporary homes.
Vanessa De Vargess, an interior designer in Venice, contacted 18 of her best designing friends and asked them to stretch their imaginations in drawing friendly hearths for suffering families of four in these 300-square foot settings.
The home that young Jessica Brende (BrendeHome.com) of Pacific Palisades created is so cozy, warm and handsome, any ordinary traveling family of four across the land could settle in comfortably.
The Conversion Process
With her (also handsome) 11-month-old son Stefen Taylor cradled in her left arm, Ms. Brende, a willowy blonde standing in the glimmering center of her just-completed design, said she was called days before Christmas.
Since Ms. Brende had just begun her own business, Ms. De Vargess wanted to know if she would be willing to make a one-year pro bono commitment to Upward Bound.
On short notice, could she convert a random motel room, a pedestrian scene, into a plump, condensed temporary home for a family? And then maintain it?
When Ms. Brende’s room came to life this afternoon, ooh and ahh were the loudest words heard.
Who knew that a square, pedestrian scene could percolate into a colorful landing place, the parents’ ample bed on one side, across from color-schemed bunk beds? Except for the reduced size, beaming brides would burble if they walked in here.
As Ms. Brende explained:
“We are responsible for designing and furnishing the apartment for four separate families.”
As previously noted, Upward Bound limits rescued families to 90-day stays.
“We are responsible for the bedding, the sheets — everything that you see in here,” Ms. Brende said. “We have to turn it over four times.”
That hardly was the end. Her fundraising skills were tested, too.
Turning to her old employer, her regular vendors, plus family and friends, Ms. Brende solicited nearly $2,500 in donations to niftily appoint the apartment.
When she walked into the blank ex-motel room for the first time, Ms. Brende was asked, what was her objective? “I wanted to make it as cheery and fun as possible,” she said.
Nodding toward her spirited son, she said she was motivated “especially after having him.
“This organization caters to children. In order to live in the room, you have to have children. And so I really wanted to make a space that was exciting and uplifting for them, something kind of cute.”
Ms. Brende clearly succeeded.
All that remained was identifying the color scheme.
Blue and yellow, isn’t it?
Demurely, she demurred with a smile and an understated chuckle. “Chartreuse and turquoise.”
Oh.
