A room makeover for a local boys’ shelter will officially begin next week with a fundraiser.

Representatives with Allison Havill Todd Interiors, a Cumming interior design firm, this year awarded a room makeover to the Bald Ridge Lodge.

Each year, through its Designing Dreams program, the business accepts nominations from the community for families or nonprofits in need. One is selected to receive the room makeover, valued at up to $20,000.

A fundraiser and kickoff party will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails.

Tamara Gaalema, project manager at the firm, said the event is free to attend, but those interested in coming should R.S.V.P. with the office.

"There will be complimentary hors d’oeuvres, water and soft drinks and a cash bar," she said.

She said there will also be raffle tickets for sale, as well as a silent auction.

"Our raffle prize is a full day on Lake Lanier in a house boat," Gaalema said.

Some of the auction items include gift certificates for cleaning and personal organizational services, dinners, an energy audit and skin care products, she said.

John Haigler, director of the lodge, said everyone at the facility is eager to see how their room turns out.

"Our staff is real excited and the guys are real excited," he said. "There’s a lot of anticipation about what [Todd] is going to do with our room."

Haigler said the facility’s living room, where the boys watch movies and play video games, has been selected for the makeover.

In its first year, the Designing Dreams prize went to a local family with a daughter with numerous health issues, including a brain tumor and complications from a premature birth.

Last year’s winner was Jesse’s House, a home for displaced girls. That facility’s common area was chosen for the project.

"We’re good friends with Jesse’s House, so we’ve seen how great their room turned out," Haigler said. "That makes us really eager to see how ours will turn out."

Gaalema is expecting a good turnout for the kickoff event.

"We should have well over 50 people," she said. "We’ve already had a good response and we’re still a week out."