Furnished 2024: Colorful, collected and creative designs
November 22, 2024
No place like home: Charlotte interior designers team up to support Furnish For Good’s mission of helping families in need.
by Cathy Martin | photographs by Dustin Peck
When Furnished, the annual fundraising event for Furnish For Good, kicked off at Slate Interiors on Oct. 10, the nonprofit coincidentally marked another major milestone: its 1,000th furniture delivery to Charlotteans in need.
Started in 2019 as a grassroots effort to provide gently used furnishings to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness, Furnish For Good served 620 clients in its last fiscal year, including 236 children. Averaging five deliveries per week, more than 12,000 pieces of furniture moved through FFG’s South End warehouse and into the homes of families in need.
Money raised during Furnished — the nonprofit’s sole fundraising event — goes directly to operating costs and will allow the organization to add more paid staff in anticipation of serving even more families in the year ahead. This year’s event raised more than $280,000.
“Affordable housing is a challenge to find for so many of our neighbors in Charlotte, and accessing safe shelter when in transition can be particularly difficult,” says Meredith Marks, director of development at Furnish For Good. “As Charlotte continues to grow, and the economy proves more difficult for many, the difficulty of finding housing and furnishing that housing becomes a paramount concern to living a safe life.”
Furnished pits top Charlotte interior designers against each other in a friendly design competition. This year, four designers and one collaborative team created vignettes, and the public was invited to vote on their favorite design and bid on the furnishings and decor in a silent auction.
Natalie Papier’s art-filled retro lounge design took top honors.
“It was such a privilege to be a returning participant of Furnished and to be a small part of the amazing work Furnished For Good does throughout our community,” says Papier, lead designer at Home Ec. “I was incredibly honored to ‘win,’ although we all felt like winners in the end with all the money raised!”
“Furnish For Good is so grateful to our fabulous designers, donors, volunteers, corporate sponsors, friends, family and founders who helped us reach our fifth year of Furnished,” Marks says. “The wide-ranging impact we are having serving our Charlotte neighbors in need is a testament to so many in the FFG family and community. We are eternally thankful to all who have helped us reach this milestone.” SP
Natalie Papier of Home Ec – Winning design
Ashley DeLapp of Ashley DeLapp Interior Design
Meredith Beregovski of Georgia Street Design
Lisa Sherry of Lisa Sherry Interieurs
Design by Furnished veterans and FFG volunteers Donna Werner and Carrie Yorker
SouthPark Magazine was the 2024 media sponsor for Furnished.
