Thanks to a dedicated mom and interior designer, McKinley Elementary School’s library in North Park looks new again – for way less money than projected.

Heather Vitti Pruett, allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers, helped to complete a 4,000-square-foot pro-bono library renovation project at her fourth grade daughter Riadon’s public school.

The McKinley Elementary School library was completed in November 2022. The professional interior designer and small business owner got the $200,000 construction project completed with just $60,000.

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The construction team was comprised of parent and community volunteers who came together for the various stages, saving thousands of dollars and time.

“The efforts and hard work of every volunteer made this project materialize. The hard work of these volunteers created a space that will be used and enjoyed by generations of McKinley students, staff, and associates for years to come,” Vitti said.

For example, the custom-made furniture was constructed from the parents’ raw materials, resulting in items such as the circulation desk in the middle and two custom bookcases. The bookcases are curved so when people walk in, bookcases are visible but on the other side there is seating.

“From packing up books at the start of the summer, all the way through the demo, construction, carpet removal, building the custom circulation desk and custom bookcases, painting, and putting up the last piece of artwork at the beginning of fall 2022,” Vitti said of the various roles volunteers took on.

The only item installed professionally was the carpet. The library has a detailed layout and it was decided the carpet was best left to the professionals.

The commercial grade carpet is 100% solution-dyed nylon, has a severe traffic classification, is a green label, has been tested for indoor air quality, and has an environmental product declaration.

“I also selected a dark carpet to cover any stains or spills and went with a 24” x 24” carpet tile so that if any part of the carpet gets damaged, they can pull that up and replace it easily.”

Many thoughtful decisions to prioritize long-term safety in the library were considered. The water-based paint has low Volatile Organic Compounds and was tested for indoor air quality.

This style overall is modern and contemporary, but “I like to categorize this project as ‘Geometrically Modern,’” she said.

Early on

Vitti said she decided to participate in McKinley’s Parent Teacher Club to get involved in projects that benefit the school.

“It was at the very first meeting I attended that the Beautification Committee announced that the school would be remodeling the library,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘What a perfect project for me to get involved in!’”

The design was called in at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, and Vitti presented 3-D renderings and presentation boards to the school district, the PTC, and the school foundation.

In February 2020, she was ready to present to the parents of McKinley and the community … then COVID-19 hit, virtual learning began, and the project halted for two years.

“After a long wait, in 2022 the principal at the time and I decided it was time to get this project started again,” she recalled.

Vitti added she had a great time with the project and always wanted to design a children’s library.

“I was a bookworm when I was younger, and I always loved going to my local library and checking out books. My mom has a drawer full of old pictures and I remember seeing a few where I am looking over my shoulder at the camera while laying on my bed with a book. As we all know, public schools are severely underfunded, and this was my chance to make a positive impact in my community and on my daughter. It’s quite an amazing feeling to be doing what I love for a living and also giving back at the same time,” she said.

Skills

Vitti used her skills as an interior designer including concept planning, space planning, color scheme, overall furniture planning, custom furniture building plans, finish selection, budget preparation, and sourcing materials.

“I did things the same way that I do my regular jobs. Every design I do is different, but my process remains the same for each project. What I did differently was involved the kids and used my connections in the industry to work with San Diego vendor representatives to get the carpet donated, attained list prices on commercial-grade furniture, and got half off the paint and final photography donated,” the founder of Vitti Interiors said.

Vitti herself donated 150 hours to design and 200 hours to construction in between running her own business. The project manager, Nancy Flores, was president of the Parent Teacher Club and donated hundreds of hours alongside Vitti to finish the renovation.

Vitti is grateful to have an understanding fourth grader because there were many weekends that Vitti brought her daughter along.

“She got in on some of the simpler items like painting and sweeping. We also had other parents bringing in their kids, so they had each other to keep company,” Vitti said.

Kids helped

As mentioned, the students played a role in the renovation. McKinley organized a Children’s Library Committee for third-fifth graders (ages 8-11). Vitti treated the kids like a client.

“The kids were just wonderful to work with and they were interested and had lots of fun on the committee and they were my driving factor,” she said.

The project also meant Vitti’s daughter got to see her work in action and benefit from the project in weekly visits to the library.

“She remembers what it looked like before and how it looks now. On the back-to-school night, I was in the library with her, and she started running around telling everyone ‘My mom designed this!’”

At the back-to-school night, Vitti’s daughter told her that she was proud of her “and it just warmed my heart … I feel like I showed my daughter that no matter how challenging something maybe if you stay focused, you can achieve it.”

Today the students are enjoying the library whose color scheme is heavy on purple and blue and contrasting, complimentary green and orange accents.

“I can envision this scheme in other types of commercial projects, but it would take a unique client to have this color scheme, flooring, and textures in their house,” Vitti said.

These days, the student love their new library and Vitti said she has been on campus for non-library-associated activities and will see her daughter’s friends.

One time, one of the students turned around and told, “I just love the library; it is so much better than what it was, and I like being there now. Thank you so much.”

Another student said that it is cool to see the finishes he selected and loves to tell everyone he helped.

“This project transcends generations of McKinley students and staff. These kids deserve this library, and I am so happy to be able to say that I helped make it happen,” Vitti said.

To view additional before and after pictures, please website: www.vittiinteriors.com.