Three years ago, I had the pleasure of designing this beautiful home in Longboat Key, Florida.
I worked with the homeowners on a project on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and was thrilled to have the opportunity to help them design their dream home on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Sarasota. We had a wonderful time pulling this all together. My team and I flew down to install the furnishings while this couple was on their honeymoon. I still have the voicemail message saved from when they saw their home completely furnished for the first time.
The owners of the home are the founders of Resilient Retreat, a treatment center on 84 acres of conservation land in Sarasota that helps people affected by trauma and abuse, including first responders.
While they enjoyed their home in Longboat Key, sometimes dreams change and they decided that now is the time to live a bit closer to the non-profit they started in Sarasota. So, here we go again, embarking on a wonderful new design project together — and this time sharing an inspiring story about generosity and giving back to those in need.
The couple recently put their Longboat Key home on the market and it was sold that same day by real estate broker Sherri Mills of Michael Saunders & Co. — and the buyers chose to purchase the house with all furnishings and accessories!
It’s certainly rewarding when people respond to my interior design, but the most rewarding part of this story is that Sherri is donating $60,000 from her commission to Resilient Retreat. What a wonderful way to give back to those who have been greatly affected during these difficult times.
In a YouTube video, Sherri explained why it was important for her to donate to Resilient Retreat for their efforts during the pandemic to help first responders who are struggling with a trauma related to their duties.
“Did you know that first responders experience trauma that they see as though they’ve gone through it themselves? This is why the PTSD and suicide rates have skyrocketed since this pandemic has begun,” Sherri said. “And like many organizations, Resilient Retreat had to pivot early on when this pandemic arrived and offer a menu of services online,” which she said actually makes their services accessible to more people now.
To learn more about and help support Resilient Retreat, visit www.resilientretreat.org.
Life is hard. Let’s make it pretty.
Lisa Teague