As a fan who is also an architect, I tend to keep track on the development of the Soul Foundation, so I found this.
I totally agree with "A beautifully designed home changes your life", and I do believe they are very nice and comfortable, for having been made with donated furniture they look pretty good. I'm convinced that if you live someplace nice and clean and comfortable your whole frame of minds changes too, so I'm happy they pay attention to this aspect, not just throw stuff in there. That's the "Soul" part I guess and hopefully more and more massive housing projects would pay attention to this. It also makes people feel like "home" and not just like living in a "house", what makes them care more about what they have.
I don't see the "design" part of it though, do you? I mean, it's nicely "arranged" and "decorated" but "designed" I don't know...
By Karyn D. Collins/For The Star-Ledger
...The HELP Genesis JBJ Soul Homes, a $10.4 million project that was the result of a public-private partnership between Bon Jovi’s JBJ Soul Foundation and the charitable housing developer HELP USA, opened Tuesday with HELP USA Chairman Maria Cuomo Cole, her famed husband designer Kenneth Cole, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and other officials in attendance.
...This 51 unit apartment building provides community computer labs, art gallery, graphics facility and an environmentally-friendy "green" roof to its residents many of whom will have some special need.But for a few people in the crowd, the focus was on the details of the lobby itself — the textured terra-cotta wallpaper, the coordinating brown moldings, the elegant framed artwork, the gleaming finish on the carved faux fireplace just inside the main entrance.
The 51-unit development, for which Bon Jovi put up $1 million and called in support from others in music, politics and fashion also attracted the attention of Elle Décor, which in its March issue, will feature the building’s model unit, which it brought in designer Elaine Griffin to decorate with retailer-donated furnishings.
"It looks like a home," said a woman named Dina who stood in a hallway of the building after the grand-opening fanfare had died down.
"It’s gorgeous," Dina said of the apartment building. "I can’t believe it’s true that I’m going to be living here. It’s been so long since I had my own place to live." She is pleased with the modern style of the apartments, which are certified "green" project with Energy Star appliances and other eco-friendly features. The building also has an art studio and community computer lab among its features.
"Just walking into this place feels so nice," Dina said.
Most residents of this slick-looking building with a stone-like facade were selected by lottery.
To give residents an idea of decorating possibilities for the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at JBJ Soul Homes, Elle Décor brought in Griffin, who decked out the two-bedroom model unit.
"A beautifully designed home changes your life," said Griffin, who was on hand for the opening celebration. She pointed out homey decorative touches such as bookends, vases, wall hangings and area rugs she had found at HomeGoods.
"When you have a home that is thoughtfully and lovingly designed — that is warm and comfortable and inviting — it’s your refuge from the outside world," she said. "It welcomes you home and loves you back every time you walk through the door."
She hopes its efforts will help give "the gift of good design to people who arguably need it most: those who are less fortunate, are homeless, or are too consumed with navigating the struggles of daily life to spend time beautifying their homes."
You can read the entire story
here.
