More Than Just Paint

Why does good design matter? One answer comes to mind.

FOR THE PAST DECADE OR SO, New Hampshire Home’s sister publication, New Hampshire Magazine, has promoted and supported the work of Building on Hope. This all-volunteer group first gathered in our office, where an ambitious mission was hatched: Every other year, they would select a local nonprofit and coordinate a complete renovation of that organization’s facilities.

In 2018, the Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire (CCCNH) in Concord was chosen. The center’s overhaul included 15 contractors, donations from 260 companies (including both products and crews) and 200 volunteers. In the end, the total cost in donated items and services was more than $500,000.

The following is an excerpt from the story of the transformation, written by Lynne Snierson, which appeared in the July 2018 issue of New Hampshire Magazine:

“‘The buildout is magnificent,’ says CCCNH Director Paula Kelley-Wall. ‘This has been an incredible experience, and working with Building on Hope has really helped shape our future. This is what we needed to be. This is not just a shelter, it is a place now where people will have dignity in their home, and it will help build self-respect, self-esteem and self-confidence.’ She adds that honoring someone in need with such care is what changes lives. ‘They are in a place that isn’t just paint and paper,’ she says. ‘It’s a space that’s very thoughtful and is designed for a survivor to heal.’” What struck me then, and I’m reminded of now, is that design isn’t just about aesthetics or functionality—design matters because it makes us feel good. It can turn simply surviving into living.

Later on in the story, Kelley-Wall said she cried the first time she walked through the made-over center. What was once just a roof over a survivor’s head was suddenly a home—a home even capable of, as Kelley-Wall said, helping people heal. Good design can do remarkable things.

The CCCNH project came to mind when planning this month’s cover story (page 60). Emily Shakra, the interior designer of the featured home, helped establish Building on Hope those 10 years ago, and she still serves on the steering committee and continues to volunteer her design services. She worked on the center’s kitchen in 2018, doing her part, as she said back then, to make the center feel like “a boutique hotel.”

I should mention that Shakra isn’t the only person to appear in the pages of New Hampshire Home who’s contributed to or volunteered for Building on Hope. I encourage you to visit buildingonhope.com and explore the past projects and the vast thank-you lists for each. At minimum, if your faith in humanity is currently flagging, the length of the credits might help shore up your reserves of, well, hope. You might even be inspired to pick up a paintbrush (or hammer) during the next undertaking.

As this issue was going to press in early December, the pandemic-delayed reveal of the latest Building on Hope renovation— the Nashua Police Athletic League Youth Safe Haven facility—was days away. Initially scheduled for completion by summer, the need to keep things socially distanced meant a slow, room-by-room, piece-by-piece production as opposed to the usual swarm of (only slightly chaotic) activity.

Starting this winter, at-risk youth will have more than just somewhere to go; they’ll have a place to call their own, a place that was carefully designed just for them. A place that feels like home.

Building on Hope reminds us that a sense of home can be found in many places, but no matter where that may be, it’s an essential part of all our lives.