Room for Improvement: Therapy Room

WSVN -- Since 1979, hundreds of families have made a connection through Kids in Distress. But over time, areas like this therapy room have become a bit antiquated.

That's why employees and parents such as Rachelle Williams believe a makeover could make this place even more nurturing.

Rachelle: "This place put me on the right track. It helped me heal. It was a safe haven for me, and it still is."

Martin: "And with us now is Kevin Bohanic, the clinical manager of Kids in Distress. Kevin, thank you so much. You have a great program here. How exactly is the room used at the moment?"

Kevin: "Primarily, we do a lot of family therapy in this room. We also use it for family visitations."

Martin: "What about the room don't you like at the moment?"

Kevin: "We want something that's inviting, something that makes them comfortable and feel relaxed."

The biggest problem with the room right now is that it appears very cold, almost like a hospital setting. It's something we definitely want to avoid. But before we get to work, let's clear out the space.

We want the room to be eye-catching for kids. So, for that reason, our design scheme will use primary colors. We have three wallpapered walls that work nicely with the colors already, and I want to keep this wall neutral by painting it creme. This way all the colors pop right against it.

It's pretty similar, but trust me. Go with the flow.

The furniture's right on time.

OK, so the painting is done now. We can work on the new window treatments that we got from Lowe's, so that we can replace these dated metal blinds. Not very attractive.

There we go, so now we have better looking blinds that make it more functional. But, we still want to add curtains and a rod to make it more decorative.

These striped tab top curtains keep it casual yet fun for the kids' environment we are creating, while still dressing up the windows. It's the prefect balance of the two.

And to continue with the ribbon theme we have on the panels, I'm actually going to use ribbon as tie backs. It's cheap and creative.

I used a small eyelid hook to hold it in place.

So now that all the major installation is done, let's go ahead and pull the look together by bringing in the furniture.

Kevin requested additional seating, and these cubes fit the bill perfectly.

We brought in some furniture from other areas, but by adding some new pieces from El Dorado, such as the ottoman that we are using as a coffee table, the end table and, of course, these cushions. It gives the space a brand new look.

Now, this wall is still looking a bit bare. But, this wallpaper border in this bold red strip is going to solve that.

A popular series of books, Chicken Soup for Little Souls, makes the prefect compliment for the room. We're done.

Martin: "Just remember what the room looked like this morning. One, two, three."

David: "It looks so good."

Rachelle: "Very, very pretty. The colors are amazing."

Rachelle: "It's a lot more inviting. Relaxing. More couches. More room."

Martin: "OK, guys. Gather around. Another one day makeover has come to an end. Thank you for letting WSVN be a part of this amazing program, Kids in Distress. You do amazing work and obviously, Rachelle's family is a testament to that. We thank you for letting WSVN be a part of it. This is another edition of Room for Improvement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

El Dorado Furniture
www.eldoradofurniture.com

Lowe's
www.lowes.com

Kids in Distress
819 Northeast 26th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305