Katie Dudziec, who lives with a caretaker in a residence for young adults in Stillwater Township, played a big hand in the makeover
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Katie Dudziec was moving into a new home in Sussex County. The whole house would be updated for her comfort and safety, but she wanted a master suite that would reflect how her tastes had changed since she moved into her first adult home nearly 10 years before.
Where she had previously selected a bold blend of hot pink and equally intense orange, green and yellow, she now wanted a more grown-up scheme with only touches of vibrant color. And she wanted to integrate an orange storage ottoman and a framed floral print from her previous bedroom.
Her mother, Evelyn Dudziec, is the kind of woman who can bring a lot of people together to make things happen, so she helped by calling in Holly George, an interior designer who had previously combined the colors Katie loved.
"Katie chose raspberry red and deep purple," George said, discussing the new room. "We added gray and the design took off from there. The concept was 'Coco Chanel meets thoroughly modern Katie.'"
Katie, 30, was born with oral-facial-digital syndrome, a developmental disorder that prevents her from speaking and limits her physical and intellectual development. It does not, however, prevent her from making friends; holding part-time volunteer jobs at a theater, a thrift shop and a childcare center; or from appreciating the beauty and benefits of a space designed for her needs.
Katie shares her four-bedroom, three-bathroom house with one roommate, and they hope to bring in another young woman. They have a live-in caretaker who supervises their activities and shuttles them to part-time jobs, activities and appointments.
The 2,000-square-foot house, built in 2001 in Stillwater Township, is called Katie's Place. It's now a residence for young adults with developmental disabilities. Katie's adoptive parents, Conrad and Evelyn Dudziec, founded the nonprofit organization behind the house in 2001. In the year's since, they've raised funds, marshaled volunteers and rolled up their own sleeves to help grow a network of three houses where young adults like Katie can socialize with peers of their own age, interact with their community and live with dignity.
"Our goal is to allow as much independence and freedom as possible while still providing full-time oversight," Evelyn Dudziec writes on katieshouse.org, a website about the organization and life with Katie. Residents, she writes, "are invited, but not required to help with meal preparation, grocery shopping and simple house cleaning."
The Dudziecs adopted Katie as infant who was not expected to live beyond her first birthday. When she reached age 11 despite numerous medical issues, Katie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and she beat it with treatment. At one point doctors thought she would lose her ability to walk, but she proved them wrong.
In their advancing years, Katie's parents wanted to ensure that a young woman who continues to overcome obstacles would never be housed in an institution. To give Katie and others like her the best, most independent lifestyle possible, they bought the first Katie's Place in 2007, and Katie moved in at 21.
The renovation
The Dudzeics selected Katie's new house in the event that mobility problems would require her to live on one level, her father said. "We felt that we had to find a house that if she had problems walking, she could live on the first floor. The new house has a lower level with a bedroom, bathroom and recreation area that Katie can move down to, if needed.
The original Katie's Place was renamed Dan's Place after one of its two new residents. It joins Richard's Place, opened in 2012, as a residence for young men with disabilities.
The New Jersey chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers outfitted the first Katie's Place in Newton as a community service project, and members have worked on each of the houses since then.
Holly George has been involved with all three houses, fully designing the interior of Richard's Place. While other commitments prevented her from taking on Katie's new house in full, she had enjoyed working with Katie and wanted to work with her again.
"About a dozen people provided labor in the bedroom, and everyone donated time," says George, who called in friends, family and business associates to help with the project. She negotiated donations of paint, fabrics, furnishings and more. She even sat down at the sewing machine to make the gathered skirts and draperies that, with coats of white and pale gray chalk paint, transformed a donated vanity and nightstand into chic additions.
"I was amazed at what she did with all of that unwanted furniture," said Evelyn Dudziec. "Even more than the furniture, I was especially surprised and happy with the transformation of the bathroom. It was really ugly before."
The bathroom, which flows into the bedroom, now has a complementary design that involves new light fixtures, window treatments, a bit of Victorian gingerbread trim and a vibrant accent wall in a Sherwin-Williams red called Radish.
"By painting the walls surrounding the shower area a deep, bold color, the plain white fiberglass shower enclosure needed nothing more than a thorough cleaning to make it look brand new and much nicer," George said.
In the bedroom, the focal point is the bed with its tailored canopy of pleated black and white houndstooth print and red insets. The fabrics were donated by Kravet and Duralee, with workmanship donated by Alan Schatzberg & Associates, which also produced the matching bed skirt and shams.
Design Consign, a high-end charitable consignment shop in Fairfield donated the bed, a dresser and a chair for the vanity, all were refinished in complementary chalk paint by Periwinkle Skies of Morris Plains.
The completed house, whose redesign was managed by Heidi Mountford, was opened to the public last May as a show house fundraiser. It was advertised as a house "remodeled for $8,000 in one month" using repurposed, recycled and donated goods.
Some professionals were paid for their work, but George said the goal was to work with as many donated materials and as much volunteer labor as possible. Expenses for the bedroom totaled $1,250, she said, but the design would have cost at least $15,000 under normal circumstances. The donors and volunteers who worked on the bedroom and the entire house are too numerous to mention, ranging from big box stores to community members who just wanted to help.
And Katie loves her new house, Conrad Dudziec says. "Especially her bedroom. Her bedroom is fantastic."
What they renovated?
An entire house with special emphasis on the master suite for Katie, a young woman with disabilities.
Why they did the work
"The new house would provide living quarters for Katie and two roommates, but it needed more than fresh paint before they could call it home," says interior designer Holly George. "It needed to be adapted for the use and safety of developmentally disabled residents." Also, in the bedroom, walls were stained and the carpet ruined from an earlier furnace malfunction, she said.
Who did the work?
Holly George of Holly George Interior Design in Fredon managed the bedroom redesign with help from numerous other volunteers.
How long it took
Less than 8 weeks from mid-March to May 2016
How much it cost
Expenses were $1,250, but this was a pro bono project that benefited from the generous efforts and donations of the local community, Katie's family, the designer's friends, business associates, design industry partners, retailers and several fabric wholesalers.
Where they splurged
On the floral drapery fabric. "Although it was very deeply discounted, it was the only fabric that wasn't 100 percent donated," George said. "It was a challenge to find a fabric that combined the 'right' red and purple colors of the fabrics previously donated and being used for the bed."
How they saved
The donated dresser, night table, vanity, chair and bed were found in a consignment shop and a barn, George said. They were all repaired and painted.
What they did themselves
All of the bedroom labor was done by volunteers. Katie's sister, Tracey deWaal, painted the wisteria branch mural under the canopy.
What they like most
"Katie loves her 'new' bed, it is just the right height for her," says Evelyn Dudziec. "She tells us when she sleeps anywhere else that the beds are way too high."
What they'd have done differently
"Since Katie is 4-feet-4-inches tall, we would have liked to replace the bathroom sink cabinetry and counter with a lower unit to make its use a little more comfortable for her to reach," George said.
Kimberly L. Jackson may be reached at home@starledger.com. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.