Ottawa furniture and decor company Polanco donates brand new, Canadian-made furniture to local Abbeyfield Retirement Residence.

When Ottawa’s Abbeyfield Retirement Residence reached out to Polanco Home Furniture & Interior Decor Solutions for used furniture donations, Polanco’s co-owner and design expert Mandy Renfrew was eager to help. After visiting the not-for-profit organization’s Ottawa residence and volunteers, however, Mandy was determined to do even more for the space and its community.
 
“We decided we wanted to help Abbeyfield as much as we could,” said Mandy. “When I visited the residence, I realized how incredible the organization is, with a community full of lovely people, and a living space with lots of potential.”
 
For Polanco, that help meant working with their Canadian suppliers to completely re-model Abbeyfield’s common space with brand new furniture. “We at Polanco provided three new custom Marcantonio Collin sofas to increase their seating capacity from six to nine, upholstered the sofas with soft fabrics and inviting designs, and provided accessories such as a solid maple Brooklyn writing desk, coffee table, and media unit to complete the room,” Mandy explained.
 
Polanco’s help in transforming Abbeyfield didn’t stop there: Mandy also reached out to Anna Dicenzo, a drapery expert and owner at C&M Textiles in Ottawa who, along with her installer Gerry Sikorski, were happy to assist in this special project of creating the perfect living space for residents. Mandy also worked closely with Polanco’s contractor Denis Villeneuve who, with his team at Villeneuve Interiors, helped complete the space’s upgrade with beautiful new flooring and by repainting the room to complement the new furniture.
 
For staff and volunteers at the Ottawa retirement home, Polanco’s helping hand made all the difference. “Our old furniture was mix-matched, didn’t suit our space and didn’t provide the seating capacity we needed for our growing residency,” stated Abbeyfield Ottawa’s House Manager, Debbie Sprowl. “As a completely independent, not-for-profit organization, we depend on volunteers and donations to be able to operate, and as such, buying new furniture was completely out of the budget.”