For families moving out of shelters and into housing, these spaces can be sparse and devoid of personal touches. Humble Design focuses on furnishing those houses and apartments to make them comfortable places for families to call home.
Designers and volunteers personalize the furniture to best fit the occupants of the living space to make it truly theirs. Humble Design's Operations Manager Tia Baker and participant Anthony Batisste joined New Day Northwest to talk about the non-profit's amazing work.
Batisste is a father of four boys and said his family experienced homelessness before being given a home from Mary's Place.
"I was living in a motel. There was times when there was no capability to pay for the motel so we would sleep in the van," Batisste said.
"But I was going to have problems furnishing it. Humble Design got in touch with me and asked me how I would like them to lay it out," he said. So he told them to come over and surprise him. "...and believe me, I was surprised."
"It's really hard to get back on your feet when you have nothing to sleep on, nothing to eat on," Baker said.
Humble Design works with local homelessness support agencies, like Mary's Place, to identify families in need. Before they decorate a home, they do a walk-through with the person or family, Baker said. Then they ask about favorite colors, hobbies and gather other information to pick out things for the new home.
"It needs to feel like you are represented in that space because you want to stay in that space if it feels like it's your own," Baker said.
Watch New Day Northwest 11:00 weekdays on KING-TV Ch.5 or streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.