Nine-year-old Danielle lives with her family in a beautiful suburban home where she enjoys watching television, collecting toys and playing with friends. She is a typical kid in every way except one: she is struggling with the day-to-day realities of battling a serious illness.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted me because design-savvy Danielle was longing for a dream bedroom makeover -- and apparently she's a huge fan of Divine Design! So I showed up on her doorstep, surprised Danielle and her family in a big way, and geared up to design a bedroom that will make this little girl's biggest wish come true.
Danielle kicked off the plans for the makeover all by herself. Our budding designer created a great drawing of what her fantasy bedroom should look like. She had three big desires: She wanted to incorporate her favourite colours of pink and green, along with a nice big canopy bed, and a swing! Danielle's mom, Sherine, had a few wishes of her own: She wanted to create a restful space for Danielle to recuperate after hospital visits, a lot of closet space, and a desk for doing homework.
I decided that Danielle's room should be pretty and girly, but I wanted the room to have longevity, so I decided to get rid of all the existing pink and create a neutral theme with coloured accents -- and a bit of a Parisian twist.
I had fun and funky removable floor tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern of cream and black to help ground the space. Then I replaced the existing bubblegum walls with a creamy, vanilla-coloured paint.
Next, I got to work on the room's focal point: a brand-new canopy daybed with the most luscious pink and green linens, pillows and ruffles -- a perfect place for Danielle to read, relax, and maybe even sleep! At the window, I set up a long black desk, which Danielle can use for storage, drawing and homework. The black in the furniture adds a dash of sophistication to the room. I carried the colour into other elements: the scroll detail in the cabinetry, the faux zebra fabric for the desk chair and lamp shades, and the closet, whose sliding doors are covered in chalkboard paint to give Danielle a place to doodle.
For extra fun and whimsy, I installed a hip green chair, a delightful Parisian-inspired area rug, a variety of accents and accessories -- and even a flat-screen television (on which Danielle can watch her favourite design show). To brighten up the space, I put up a beautiful, fanciful chandelier over the bed and a few whimsical, feathery sconces on the wall.
This little girl's pretty and frilly dream room was now complete -- well almost. With the limited space available, I just couldn't figure out how to fit in the swing that Danielle had asked for. So I got my crew together and built her a swing set in her backyard where she can swing to her heart's content -- without banging into a desk or bed. Now that's divine!
Interior design consultant Candice Olson is the host of Divine Design on the W Network. For more information, go to http://www.wnetwork.com/divinedesign or http://www.divinedesign.tv