Ruby Slipper Project surprises sisters

While Katie Lapointe was recovering from cancer surgery in the hospital, a team of volunteers took over the second floor of her family’s Marietta condo. Their goal was to transform the 18-year-old’s room and the bedroom of her younger sister, Mia.

More than 30 helpers swarmed over the spaces, transforming Katie’s room into a retreat where she could recuperate and hang out with friends, and Mia’s into a nook for a chic bed chamber with a corner for studying and relaxing.

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Sara Hopkins/Special

Katie Lapointe, 18, a senior at Walton High School, can now recuperate from cancer surgery in her new bedroom in Marietta. It was redone courtesy of the nonprofit Ruby Slippers Project.

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Sara Hopkins/Special

Mia Lapointe, 15, a sophomore at Walton, chose bold colors to showcase her personality.

RUBY SLIPPER PROJECT
For more information, go to www.rubyslipperproject.org or call 404-786-5220.

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Before the surgery in mid-September, the sisters and their mother, Joan, met with Frank and Jennifer Simotics, a Roswell couple who headed up the makeover for the Ruby Slipper Project. The 4-year-old nonprofit organization offers decor makeovers to worthy individuals.

“We found out what the girls really wanted,” said Frank Simotics. “Then we went to work to make it happen. I didn’t know the girls previously, so it was quite a challenge. But the result was really rewarding.”

Joan Lapointe still finds the stunned reaction of the sisters hard to describe. “They just kept saying, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’ ” she said with a laugh. “They were pretty speechless.”

What Katie Lapointe discovered was a multipurpose room where her queen-size mattress rested on a raised platform accessed by a ladder. Below the sleeping loft, volunteers created a sitting nook with a navy sofa bed, a dark blue area rug, glass table and end tables. The closet was rebuilt with shelves and cubbies and covered with gauzy curtains. A soft sea foam green paint went onto the walls. A blue-framed mirror and artwork in similar hues were added. A thin wire was run along the top of one wall to hold photos. A dresser was repainted white and topped with the room’s main attraction: a 40-inch flat-screen TV.

“The designers told us to pick out what we wanted from magazines and to dream big, so I did,” said Katie Lapointe. “Before this, I had a single bed, a desk, a bookcase and a bean bag.”

In sister Mia’s room, a queen-size bed was framed with a dramatic overhead drape made from shiny pink fabric edged in crystals. The same material was turned into drapes around the closet and the windows. New linens in gold and pink were accented by oversize plush pink pillows. Artwork in pink hues and a photo wire were added to the walls. A new white ceiling fan and a white nightstand brighten the space.

The project included replacing the bedroom and hallway carpet with hardwood floors. And each room received a final finishing touch: A sparkly red ruby slipper to remind the girls of the volunteers who made it possible.

“It was better than they both imagined,” said Joan Lapointe. “Now I’m ready to do my room!”