These are the ideals that propel Furnish with Love, a Decatur-based nonprofit founded by Kathleen Kelly. The organization offers families coming out of homelessness a new lease on life by providing them with furniture and professionally designed spaces that work for their lifestyles. With each thoughtfully designed room, Furnish with Love is restoring hope and helping families imagine a brighter future.
Kelly’s journey to starting Furnish with Love is rooted in her passion for both service and design. “My background is in nonprofit management, and I’ve worked with a variety of other organizations,” Kelly shares. “I actually worked for a similar nonprofit that was based in another city. I managed an Atlanta chapter that they opened for a short stint; and, when they closed it, I decided to start an Atlanta-based version. This type of program does exist in many different US cities under many different names. And I thought to myself, ‘This is brilliant. Why not bring it to Atlanta?’”
With her experience and belief in equity, Kelly knew that this concept—transforming spaces for families who had endured hardships—was precisely what her city needed. But despite her passion for the cause, Kelly is quick to admit she’s not a designer herself. “I love design, although I don’t have any creative talents in it,” she says with a laugh and pausing. “But I am an organizer, and I can organize people who do have the talent. I reached out to people in Atlanta’s vast design community and asked, ‘What do you all think about starting something like this here?’”
The response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Atlanta has AmericasMart and ADAC, two of the biggest sources for furniture in the U.S., and the design community here is huge, so it felt like a natural fit,” Kelly explains.
But first, Furnish with Love needed a place to live itself. Tapping into her knack for creative solutions and organization, Kelly found a solution that required some thinking outside the box.
“My husband and I have lived in Decatur since 2001,” Kelly says. “While I was looking for a space for Furnish with Love, he was looking for a new space for his law firm. Coincidentally, we both stumbled upon the same place.” Kelly recalls the moment her husband called with excitement. “He called me with a real estate agent and said, ‘I’ve found this great place.’ And I said, ‘We need to do this together.’”
The result is a beautifully functional shared space in Decatur where Furnish with Love and her husband’s firm coexist, benefiting both organizations.
At the core of Furnish with Love is its unwavering mission: transforming spaces for families transitioning out of homelessness. Kelly is deeply intentional about the wording of that mission statement. “We thought carefully about the words—families, children, functional, dignified, beautiful. We believe strongly that every family should experience dignity in their home, which is why we provide new sheets, towels, and functional items, like desks for kids, places for family meals, and the essentials—from forks to headboards.”
Adhering to the mission has enabled Kelly and her team of volunteers to complete nearly 50 homes, a mark she could have only dreamed of when she first started the non-profit.
Many of the families served by Furnish with Love are survivors of domestic violence or human trafficking, making the organization’s work all the more impactful. “When we meet them, they often have very little,” Kelly explains. “It’s hard to live in those conditions, so we focus on making their homes not just pretty but functional and dignified.”
When families return for reveals after a six-hour whirlwind of transformation, it often is deeply emotional for everyone involved. “One woman told me, ‘You took my brain and put it on the walls.’ That’s the kind of connection we strive for. We want to make their space feel like a home.”
While the work is rewarding, Kelly is transparent about the challenges. They could always use more inventory and more hands. Furnish with Love also relies heavily on twice-a-year pop-up sales, which allows them to keep supporting their mission. The next one, scheduled for November 15-17, is one of Kelly’s favorite events.
“The community really comes out for it,” she says. “We have everything from furniture to holiday decor. It’s fun, and it supports our work.”
The vision for Furnish with Love is clear: to create functional, beautiful, and dignified homes for families who need them most. “It’s about creating a space where these families can feel safe and inspired,” she says.
As they quickly approach the next milestone of families helped, Kelly keeps herself focused on one project at a time. For her, each reveal is a reminder that the effort—the long hours, the challenges, and the meticulous details—is all worth it when a home becomes a place of hope and possibility.
“That’s what makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
For more information on how to get involved with Furnish with Love or to donate, visit their website furnishwithlove.org, or stop by the next pop-up sale in November.