Interior Design Contest Launched

http://www.mcpaw.org/contest/

Leave your mark on the new Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center by being a part of MCPAW’s Pet Showcase Design Challenge!

Close your eyes and picture this… you walk into the lobby of the new Adoption Center. There are 11 rooms surrounding your entrance. You hear cats softly meowing from seven of them, and dogs gently barking a greeting to you from the other four. Then you see the cat visitation room. What do the showcase rooms look like that these pets are temporarily housed in while waiting for their forever homes? Can you picture it? Each showcase is that animal’s home away from home. And if you can picture it, you can build it. We want you to unleash your creativity and design one of the showcase rooms in Montgomery County’s new adoption center!

How does it work? You come up with a theme for one room in the center. Create the layout for the 7’x10’ room with a 9’ ceiling in a drawing. Place elements to be included in the room, including textiles and furniture. This is where you can have some real fun… think “Home is Where the Heart Is” for a dog room. We’re picturing a picket fence with bright red dog house. Or maybe a police or fire station “Working Dog” theme is more your style? Cats have always thought they were royalty descended from Egyptian heritage. Can you picture an “Egyptian Royalty” themed cat room, complete with pyramid? Or maybe a “Jungle Cats” theme with tall carpeted trees and earthy concepts so small cats could roam like their big cat cousins.

There are no limitations… whatever you can dream, can be a reality. Now you’re starting to come up with a plan, aren’t you? Keep your eyes closed and continue to imagine it with these things in mind: Most rooms have two or three floor-to-ceiling windows or doors with remaining block walls. You will need to introduce everything from paint, pet furniture, and toys, to items that might hang from the ceiling and even window decals. However, since this is an animal adoption center where dogs and cats will be housed, you will need to think of their comforts and include a sleeping area and a feeding area. Cats will definitely need litter boxes, and maybe even vertical spaces like cat trees or blocks on the walls for climbing to new heights. Dogs might enjoy plastic play sets or even an actual dog house to curl up in.

First, go online to mcpaw.org/contest and send in your Pet Showcase Design Application with design concept, including a cost estimate, by the due date of July 31, 2013. From those entries, one finalist will be chosen for each of the 12 available rooms. If you are one of the lucky ones, your design team will then get to make your concept a reality. Each showcase will be completed with a plaque announcing it as your design team’s creation.

Then, we take it one step further. At the Adoption Center’s Grand Opening, the public in attendance will vote for their favorite showcase, ultimately choosing one Grand Champion for cat rooms and one for dog rooms. Grand Champions will be announced at a later date, and then receive their design team name on a 8”x8” brick permanently displayed at the building’s entrance.

Imagine how many dogs and cats will make their way through these showcases in the years to come. This is your opportunity to make a difference for these animals that most likely have been dealt a rough hand in their short lives. You can bring these pets a little piece of home… give them comfort as they wait for a new family to come along and scoop them up to their forever home. Now open your eyes… and bring your design to life.