Mother’s Day Makeover Project Mother from 2023

How the design process worked

Roxanne and Peter have lived in their mobile home for many years. Their small bedroom didn't allow for nightstands on either side of the bed. The linen closet had no shelves in it and the functionality and personality were lacking. They added a door from their bedroom to the only bathroom in the house to make it feel like an on-suite, which is nice. However the two doors into the bathroom swing and hit each other all the time. I also noticed how much their only bathroom needed a facelift as well. I didn't know how we would do it but I knew we had to do the bathroom for them as well.

I surprised Roxanne at her home on April 6th to tell her I would be giving her a free bedroom makeover! She was speechless and overwhelmed with joy. I asked her and Peter their needs and wants for the room, their style and to make me a Pinterest board of their dream room. Well, Roxanne's Pinterest board wasn't very big. I then asked her if she would like me to take inspiration for her room using the pillow she had on her bed that was made from her daughter's coat, who had passed away last year. And to use earthy tones with a touch of floral for her room design she agreed and told me she has full trust in me and my design decisions.

All of April, I worked on the design plans and reworked them many times due to the size of the room it was challenging to make sure it was all going to function well for them. I reached out to sponsors for all the supplies and materials we needed to make my design possible not only for the bedroom but also for the bathroom renovation! Since there is only one bathroom in their home I knew if we were going to tackle it we would need them out of the house and not just out of the bedroom. With the help of Stars Inn & Suites Leduc and Leona Berreth with Axiom Mortgage Solutions, we were able to give Roxanne and Peter a two-night stay at Stars Inn & Suites Leduc. Which gave us two days to work on the bathroom renovation while they were gone.

With my donations picked up, my shopping done and my volunteers lined up we got to work Monday, May 1st, and "kicked" Roxanne and Peter out of their room, no peeking allowed! Preparation and painting were done on Monday and Tuesday by myself and two friends, Tammy Klapstein and Sandra Town. All the paint was donated by Leduc Wall Fashions. Wednesday I had Jenny from Green Stone Contracting and Design building closet barn doors, making modifications to the barn door headboard, and figuring out how to add shelves in the linen closet. She would finish building something and then I would paint it for her. Wednesday evening I had Chelsea, their daughter-in-law come and uninstall the toilet and sink for us so we would be ready to get started in the bathroom in the morning. Thursday was the day we sent Roxanne and Peter to the hotel, they were also gifted a gift card to the Sawmill, Boston Pizza, and Hair Goals by Melanie, so they could enjoy a dinner out each night and then Roxanne could get her hair done Saturday before they come home for the reveal. With Roxanne and Peter gone, we got right to work in the bathroom. Jenny removed any loose floor tiles and laid down plywood to level the floors. Sutherland Carpentry sent a worker to help install the new vinyl tile flooring donated by Hayduk Lumber & Hardware. As well as flip the bathroom door so it would swing into the bedroom and no longer hit the other bathroom door. While Sutherland Carpentry was working on the door swing I was removing the baseboards and old vanity. Which was trickier than I thought. The doorways in their home are unusually small, 22" wide, an average doorway is 30" wide. So when we tried to take the old vanity out of the bathroom and it got stuck in the doorway/ hallway!! Yikes! Good thing it was the old vanity, so we just smashed it apart and got it out that way! Now I was concerned that the new vanity might not fit through the tiny doorway, something that hadn't crossed my mind till that point. We are on a time crunch and if the new vanity doesn't fit I'm not sure what we will do, it's Thursday and they will be coming back home Saturday afternoon, we wouldn't have time to find a new one!

As Sutherland Carpentry worked on the flooring I prayed the new vanity would fit and kept working away in the bedroom. Once the flooring was complete Jenny and I slide the new vanity down the hallway and into the bathroom with not even room for a hair on either side of it! It fit and we were relieved. The new vanity was beautiful, functional, and a perfect fit. The vanity was donated by IG Wealth and what a difference a new vanity made in this small bathroom.

With the floors in and the new vanity in place, I stayed late to paint the bathroom that night. Friday morning we had the plumber and Electrician from Primo Electric come. They installed new lighting in the bedroom and bathroom. As well as reinstalling the toilet and new sink and faucet. The faucet was donated by FreeFlow Plumbing and Mechanical as well as Bartile and Gibson Showrooms. Jenny added some real wood tongue & groove boards halfway up one wall in the bathroom. I painted it and we added hooks for functionality. The tongue & groove boards as well as the plywood for the barn doors were donated by Windsor Plywood Leduc.

With the bathroom mostly back together I had Urban Vinyl and Signage come and install custom wallpaper in the bathroom that I selected. With the wallpaper installed, I was starting to see my vision come to life! There was still lots to do in the bedroom and the bathroom so I called my Dad, Bob Martin for his help! He was happy to help and I always enjoy working with my Dad! We worked late Friday knowing that they would be coming home Saturday and needed to get it done!

Saturday morning I had my Dad's help installing the barn wood in the bathroom and hanging shower curtain rods. I was making the bed, staging, and steaming. Roxanne has such a wonderful family, as they offered to come help, so I had them clean and help clear out all my tools and materials. Kaitlyn with Kaitlyn Emily Photography came to help me stage, steam things, and photograph the room for me. We had so many people helping me finish the spaces off in time.

Roxanne was getting her hair done by Hair Goals by Melanie Saturday morning while we finished everything up before they arrive home for the reveal. Feeling exhausted and excited to show Roxanne and Peter their new room and bathroom (which they still didn't know about!!) I take a moment to reflect on what we just completed, a complete bedroom and bathroom transformation in 6 days, which was only possible with all the support of our amazing community and the design and pre-planning I did all month long!

Family and friends welcomed Roxanne and Peter home. I walked them down the hallway to their closed bedroom door with Kaitlyn waiting inside ready to record their reaction to their reveal. All of us with butterflies in our stomachs but are so excited. I open the bedroom door and Roxanne Gasps in amazement at the transformation that just took place, and Peter lets out a little chuckle of surprise and amazement. They are both taken back and can't believe this is their bedroom. They don't know where to look first. Roxanne is so overwhelmed with joy, she does a little happy dance! She and I hug as she expresses her gratitude, we both have happy tears in our eyes. As I show them around the room and talk about all the little details we did for them, I have Kaitlyn sneak out of the room and into the bathroom. She lets me know she is ready in the bathroom to record their reaction to the bathroom renovation that they had no idea was happening. I open the bathroom door to show Roxanne and Peter how we flipped the door swing for them and they stand in shock and amazement that there is a new bathroom behind that door. Roxanne walks into the bathroom taken back by how beautiful her bathroom is, she does another little happy dance of joy. They can't get over that it's their bathroom! I was impressed we were able to keep the bathroom renovation a surprise for them this whole time! I say, if you only have one bathroom in your house, it should be fabulous!

Roxanne tells me how much she loves her new bedroom and bathroom. She says it's absolutely stunning, functional and so very personal, it just feels like us, our home but newer and prettier. After the reveal, Roxanne told me she had something for me, very unexpected but very thoughtful. We went outside where she gave me beautiful potted flowers and a garden angel and told me how grateful she was for me and all the work I did and that I am an Earth Angel. We hugged as more tears of joy rolled down our cheeks. This truly is a project of love and I'm so grateful I get to share my gifts with the world to help inspire and spread love. Each year I am amazed by the generosity of your community to make this project happen. Thank you to all who sponsored and volunteered their time for another successful Mother's Day Makeover Project.

Please see the list of amazing community sponsors and if you are interested in sponsoring or being a part of this project next year please reach out to me at s_martin@live.ca.

Now for a shout our to all the businesses and people that donated to make this project possible!

Thank you to:

Hayduk Lumber and Hardware Ltd. for donating building supplies and bathroom flooring.

Leduc Wall Fashions for donating all the paint.

Saradee Boutique for donating the beautiful decor items.

Leduc Co-op Home Centre for donating building supplies.

Green Stone Contracting and Design for donating her time and skills to build the barn doors, install shelves in the closet and much much more!

Sutherland Carpentry Services Inc. donated their time and skills to switch the bathroom door swing and install the new bathroom flooring.

Windsor Plywood for donating plywood for the closet barn doors and the tongue & groove panels for the bathroom.

Hold the Door - Everyday Concierge Services for helping with emails.

Market House for marketing support.

Jenris Creations for donating the barn door we turned into the headboard.

IG Wealth for donating the new bathroom vanity.

Rose City Organizing for donating your time and skills to help organize and declutter Roxanne’s whole house.

Countryside Vision Care for a cash donation.

Liv Hunter Home for donating 3 beautiful signs for the bedroom and printing their family photos.

Kaitlyn Emily Photography for donating her time and talents to photograph the project.

Days With Gray for a generous cash donation.

The 3rd Drawer for donating her talents and time to do a stunning job refinishing their existing dresser into a piece of art!

Urban Vinyl and Signage for donating and installing the custom wallpaper.

Cloud Nine Pajamas for donating a pair on pajamas and items to spoil Roxanne.

Nurtured Minds and Wellness for a generous cash donation.

Boston Pizza Leduc for a gift card for Roxanne and Peter to enjoy a night out.

Sawmill Prime Rib & Steak house for a gift card for Roxanne and Peter to enjoy a night out.

Hair Goals by Melanie for donating your time to do Roxanne’s hair Saturday morning.

Stars Inn & Suite Leduc for donating a two-night stay for Roxanne and Peter.

Leona Berreth with Axiom Mortgage Solutions for contributing to getting the two-night hotel stay.

FreeFlow mechanical and Bartle & Gibson Showrooms for donating the new bathroom faucet.

Leduc Canadian Tire - donating a new ceiling fan

Primo Electric - for installing the new ceiling fans and lighting fixtures and suppling a plumber to install the new vanity and toliet.

Don and Fran Weeks, Bob and Karen Martin, Brian and Kathy Thomas, Tammy Klapstein, Kim Sieno, Sharon Sorenson, Vera Myles, Randi Randall, Edna Jabs, Sandra Nickerson for your support.

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