A Scottish decorator is leading a project to provide free makeovers for children’s bedrooms.
Mikey McKinnon, the owner of McKinnon Decorators in Livingston, West Lothian, has been running his Mission Makeovers community project for the last few years.
These projects involve Mikey – with the help of a local charity – contacting a family in need and using the skills he has built through his own business to transform a youngster’s bedroom.
All work is entirely funded from his own pocket, and recently Mikey has completed his fifth Mission Makeover for two young girls who are delighted with the end product.
Mikey, 36, explained the idea had its foundations way back in 2020, when a local OAP had appealed for help to fix work by a “rogue tradesman” who had done a “shockingly bad job” decorating his kitchen.
With the elderly man out of pocket and looking to have his kitchen in order for Christmas time, Mikey reached out and did the job for free.
Feeling inspired by his act of kindness, Mikey said he wanted to give something back to the community. He turned his eye to local news outlets, looking for families who might be going through a tough time and ended up reaching out to the family of a young boy, whose bedroom he transformed for free.
These instances developed into Mission Makeovers in 2024, when Mikey contacted a local foodbank and asked the staff there if they knew of any families who might be struggling. He was subsequently put in contact with a family whose son’s room was in need of a refresh as the boy was “embarrassed to have his friends around”.
Mikey’s next project came in the form of a room at Corstorphine Primary School, which is a valuable refuge space for children with additional support needs.
Working in the evenings after school hours for five days in April this year, Mikey painted the room from top to bottom and installed a large woodland mural on the main wall.
Mikey has just completed his most recent project in the past few days. Reaching out to some local charities that deal with families and children in need of help, River Kids children’s charity in Broxburn put him in contact with a local family with two young girls, aged 8 and 9, to discuss what he could offer.
With the two girls sharing a bedroom which was in need of some TLC, Mikey asked them to choose some colours and some themes – with one picking space and the other choosing Lilo & Stitch – and got to work.
Aided by Valspar Trade – who had also supplied all the paint for his previous projects – Mikey reached out to Kristoffersen Carpets and Flooring in Edinburgh, who agreed to supply a carpet for the girls’ bedroom for free.
Mikey has since completed his part of the work, painting half of the room in a deep blue with space-themed stickers of stars and planets adorning the walls, and the other half in a lighter blue, with pictures of the Disney characters Lilo & Stitch.
Now all that’s left is for the carpet to be laid, which contractors from Kristofferson were about to complete.
Already on the lookout for his next project, Mikey has the Scottish Home Improvement Awards in Glasgow first, where he is a finalist for Scotland’s Best Painting and Decorating Company.
Having finished runner-up and highly recommended in the past two years, he is hoping to go one step further this time around.
Speaking to Deadline News on Friday, Mikey said: “It all started just before Christmas in 2020, when I heard of a local elderly gentleman looking for a painter and decorator because he fell victim to a rogue tradesman who attempted to decorate his kitchen in time for Christmas but instead did a shockingly bad job and left him upset and out of pocket.
“I got in touch and told him that I felt so bad for him that I would do the job for free as I’m sure he said he had just recently lost his wife and just wanted a nice kitchen for Christmas time.
“Fast forward about two years later and I saw the memory on my social media and it made me think if it’s something I could do again – to give back to someone who needs help.
“After all, I have the skills, equipment and knowledge so I thought it would be a good way to give something back.
“I tried to run competitions on my social media pages but I found some people were trying to cheat and lie in order to get something for free so I changed my tactics and kept a look out for stories in local papers for families who might be going through a difficult time.
“I reached out to a family and I transformed a little boy’s bedroom for them but they didn’t want anything to be published on social media so out of respect I kept it private.
“That’s when I got the idea of Mission Makeovers. In 2024 I contacted the local foodbank, who I had done work for, and asked if they knew of any families who might be struggling and I made it clear I wanted it to be for a child because I strongly believe that every child should have a bedroom that is a safe space to let their imagination run free.
“I was put in contact with a local family with a son whose room needed decorated as he was embarrassed to have his friends around.”
Explaining how his projects picked up steam, Mikey continued: “Earlier this year in April, I did a room at Corstorphine Primary School was called ‘The Primary School Project’.
“It was a room that was used for kids with additional support needs and was a valuable space for the kids to escape to but it was in dire need of decorating.
“So again, I jumped at the chance and worked in the evenings after school hours over five days to get the job done. It involved lining, painting top to bottom and installing a large woodland mural on the main wall.
“Fast forward to my most recent project, I decided to reach out to some local charities that deal with families and kids in need of help for a wide variety of reasons.
“River Kids charity got in touch and welcomed the idea, arranged for me to meet up with a local family with two young girls (ages 8 and 9) and discuss what I can offer.
“This was probably the most touching makeover I’d came across as the bedroom the girls shared wasn’t in very good condition and the carpet was old and dirty.
“I supplied a colour chart, let them decide on two colours and to top it off, because I couldn’t see them have a carpet like that any longer, I emailed around lots of carpet companies around Edinburgh and West Lothian asking if anyone could help out and donate a carpet for free.
“Thankfully, Daniel at Kristoffersen Carpets and Flooring agreed to help out and has been absolutely amazing from the beginning. Valspar Trade paint has been onboard with me on my makeovers and have always been more than happy to supply the paint free of charge, making sure that it’s something I don’t need to stress over.
“I also bought some glow-in-the-dark stickers and planets for one half of the room as one of the girls wanted a space theme, and I got some Lilo & Stitch pictures for the other girl as that’s the theme she wanted.
“It’s safe to say that the family and the two girls are over the moon with the bedroom. That moment those two little girls walked into their new bedroom and their faces lit up with happiness is the reason I do this. To me, you can’t put a price on that moment, it really is something special.
“I think we all need more happiness in today’s world and I’ll continue to do as many of these Mission Makeovers as I can, because it’s nice to be nice.
“I am attending the Scottish Home Improvement Awards in Glasgow on 18 September, which will be full of other trades from around Scotland. My plan for next year is to get other trades onboard with the Mission Makeovers and hopefully expand on what I can offer – not just decorating.”
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