Opportunity Knocks

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The Opportunity House, interior designer Ryan White‘s latest collaboration with LA Room & Board, illustrates the power of design to support homeless students in their quest for a vibrant future

The 100 year old Spanish Revival style building had beautiful bones including rounded archways, moldings, ceiling beams, fireplaces, and tiled stair risers. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.

Manifesting is a powerful tool. Just ask interior designer Ryan White. To bring balance to his successful career, White was searching for a way to give back, “I’m trying to manifest a project that fills my soul in a different way,” he remembers telling a publicist over lunch. The next day she called with a proposal: she knew of a charity who was looking for an interior designer, would he be interested?

Muralist James Mobley donated his time, enhancing the entryway’s walls with hand-painted trees. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović

Founded by Sam Prater in 2020, LA Room & Board is geared towards helping California’s community college students who are experiencing homelessness to achieve their post-secondary education by providing affordable, transitional housing. “It was really just having the vision for it and being persistent in making it come to life,” Prater says of turning his dream into reality. More than just a place to sleep, the houses are offer support services, meals, community and a secure environment. “We’ve had dozens of our youth graduate,” Prater shares. “Equipped with the tools that enable them to flourish and be self-sufficient, they’ve gotten into colleges like Stanford, Columbia, UCLA and USC.”

A Samsung Frame tv, here showcasing Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Dos Cabezas, anchors one end of the game room. “It’s an opportunity for these young men, many of whom are black and Hispanic, to not only be exposed to amazing art but to understand that there are role models for fantastic artists within their culture,” says White. The pool table is from Crate & Barrel. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.

“I thought it was going to be a few rooms,” White recalls of his tour of Dunamis House, the first space he worked on. “It turned out to be a 17,000 square foot house with 40 bedrooms and 50 bathrooms!” With a tight timeline and an even tighter budget, White transformed the Boyle Heights building into an inviting co-ed space.

In the sunroom, CB2’s Bese rocking chair is paired with the Muir Curved Boucle Sofa designed Lawson Fenning, also from CB2, and the Greta scalloped floor lamp. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.
The Great Room is broken up into convivial groupings underlined by comfortable slipcovered Sofas from Pottery Barn, fringed ottomans from Lulu & Georgia, consoles from Anthropologie, and bubble pendant lights. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.

The fifty bed The Opportunity House, LA Room & Board’s third space, represents Prater and White’s second collaboration. The all-male facility houses students who are coming from correctional facilities. “Many of them have been in jail since they were barely teenagers. They have no education and no family to support them,” says White. “This is a space for them to learn all of that stuff and have those grounding experiences that most of us take for granted.” 

The Study Lounge is a soothing space in which to do schoolwork. Round linen pendant lights from Zara Home, sculptural white occasional tables from Urban Outfitters, and Flor’s carpet tiles underline’s the room’s quiet calm. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.

“My goal was to make it feel sophisticated and inviting, like a beautiful boutique hotel space,” says White, who took his inspiration for the space from British designers, hotels and clubs. “We didn’t want this to feel like the normal institutional space. We wanted them to be able to experience something where they can understand that.”

A checkerboard floor, round tables and the addition of a chair rail, conjure up a homey atmosphere in the dining room. The chairs were found at Pottery Barn. Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.
A custom built in was created to hold the hot trays used to serve meals. “We didn’t want the usual stainless steel bar,” says White. 
Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.

“We came into to create a place that feels inspiring, that’s not just four white walls but a place that makes them feel like they can do better, that feels like home, that feels comfortable and welcoming,” says White. “And we all know how your surroundings can dramatically affect your life.”  Find out more information about LA Room & Board and donate here.

A student’s room. “Some are single rooms, some are doubles but they all have a bed, a dresser and a desk for each student,” explains White. “Once they move in they can move the furniture around and when they hit certain goals, they’re given money to go out and buy their own art.” Photos by Dušan Vuksanović.