Southwest Florida designers turn vintage chairs into art for Youth Haven

Designers in Southwest Florida transformed vintage chairs into unique art pieces for a special cause. The event, hosted by Gulfshore Life, marked the first "Chairs for Charity" auction to benefit Youth Haven.

The event highlighted a new partnership between MHK Architecture and Youth Haven, aiming to build a state-of-the-art therapeutic center for children in need.

Kirby Joyner, a designer with MHK Architecture, shared how she approached the project.

"I kind of let the chair inspire the design itself," said Joyner. "I spent weeks looking on Facebook marketplace for the perfect chair, and was just kind of gonna let that take lead on what I ended up doing."

Faith Ashley from Clive Daniel Home also took a creative approach to her chair design.

"So I cut out every single flower, and then I glued it onto the chair, and then I used the blue cheetah, because I wanted it to be a little funky at the same time, because that's how I am," said Ashley. "And I just thought about the fur on the arms. What else could you do? Right? I mean, you could do a lot of things, but I just thought it was festive."

Linda Goldfield, CEO of Youth Haven, emphasized the importance of the event.

"We are the only shelter in our community for children who have been removed from their homes by the Department of Children and Family Services for abuse, neglect and oftentimes, homelessness," said Goldfield.

Youth Haven has been supporting children in Southwest Florida for more than 50 years. The proceeds from the auction, along with the partnership with MHK, will further their support.

"We are in the middle of a $20 million capital campaign to build a state of the art therapeutic center for our children," said Goldfield. "MHK has donated their services for that project as well, and that is a passion project for our children. Our children deserve to have the finest facility."

Karen Larson-Murphy, a designer with Broad Avenue Studios, expressed her gratitude for being part of the project.

"They can take in approximately 74 children a year, and every story is so heart wrenching, it makes me realize how lucky I am," said Larson-Murphy. "How blessed I am, and how fortunate you know I am to even work on this project."

The "Chairs for Charity" event featured designers in Gulfshore Life's 2026 Home Edition, creating a unique opportunity for the design community to unite for a common cause.