Designer Mark Cutler, along with Dwell with Dignity and nousDECOR, recently reimagined, renovated and redecorated the Dallas, Texas, home of a single mom and her four children. The family was nominated by the New Friends New Life program to receive the home makeover, provided by the first-time partnership between Dwell with Dignity, a nonprofit contingent of designers and volunteers who work to create "soothing, inspiring" homes for families dealing with poverty and homelessness, and nousDECOR, a digital interior design platform that both crowdsources ideas and provides inspiration and recommendations. The home was revealed to the public and to the family (whose identity has not been revealed to protect their privacy) for the first time on June 18.
Mark Cutler
The New Friends New Life program helps trafficked women and those in the sex trade to escape their circumstances. The mother of four exceeded career goals set by the program to earn her nomination for the makeover. “After months of hard work by our respective teams, the result is a gorgeous home designed to encourage stability and love for the family in their new life,” said nousDECOR cofounder Dorothee Fisher. “The space is a great reflection of our philosophy that beautiful design has the power to transform lives, and that everyone should be able to enjoy a space that’s meaningful for them, regardless of budget.”
The newly reimagined living room
Before and after: the new family room
The home was furnished on behalf of sponsors including Gina Berschneider, Robert Allen Fabrics, Lamps Plus, Lowe’s, Stacy’s Furniture, Benjamin Moore, Garnet Hill and The Container Store, among others. As Cutler, who has created homes for celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Steve Carell and Vanna White, shared, “So often, the more successful a designer becomes, the more detached they get from their original goal of transforming lives. The partnership between Dwell with Dignity and nousDECOR gets me back to the root of why I became a designer in the first place—it lets me make a difference in the lives of others.”