The Healing Power of a Revamped Room
Growing nonprofit Savvy Giving by Design is brightening the lives of sick kids and their families with bedroom makeovers
Last October, Maribel Loza found out that her 9-year-old daughter Sarah had cancer. It was a rare, aggressive form of lymphoma that had started in Sarah’s pelvis and spread to her lymph nodes, her head and behind her eyes. Overnight, Sarah had to trade 4th grade school days for a rigorous schedule of surgeries, blood transfusions and chemotherapy.
Sarah, who lives in San Diego, also faced changes at home. She stopped sleeping in her room with her sister and stayed instead in her parents’ room so they could watch over her. This went on for months until a friend connected the family to Savvy Giving by Design, a nonprofit that gives bedroom makeovers to children in medical crises.
Sarah, who lives in San Diego, also faced changes at home. She stopped sleeping in her room with her sister and stayed instead in her parents’ room so they could watch over her. This went on for months until a friend connected the family to Savvy Giving by Design, a nonprofit that gives bedroom makeovers to children in medical crises.
Sarah and her sister Arianna shared this queen bed before the Savvy Giving by Design makeover.
Sarah’s room (before). Work on the rooms took place the final week of March 2018 and wrapped in time for Sarah’s final infusion of chemotherapy two weeks later. The room designs came as a surprise.
Sarah’s room (before). Work on the rooms took place the final week of March 2018 and wrapped in time for Sarah’s final infusion of chemotherapy two weeks later. The room designs came as a surprise.
Sarah’s room (after). When she first saw her new bedroom, Sarah was in shock. “She couldn’t even really say much. Her eyes were just wide open,” says Loza, her mom.
Arianna, left, and Sarah enjoy their new makeup table.
Older sister Arianna, pictured here in the blue dress, let out high-pitched screams of glee when she saw the new shared bedroom.
Older sister Arianna, pictured here in the blue dress, let out high-pitched screams of glee when she saw the new shared bedroom.
Now that she’s settled in, Sarah says she is especially fond of her Alexa, a voice-controlled tool that allows her to speak commands (like “turn off the lights") and see them happen. Sarah also loves the room’s two swings, where she likes to sway and sing along to pop music. She likes how organized the room is, and that it has a place for everything. And she likes her comfy new bed — a full that she doesn’t have to share.
Arianna, left, Savvy Giving by Design founder Susan Wintersteen and Sarah
Thankfully, Sarah had been declared in remission January 26, though she still had to weather more chemotherapy to keep the disease at bay. Treatment was so hard on her body that it caused the skin on her feet to peel off, “almost like the sole of your shoe coming off,” Loza says. Sarah’s last infusion of chemo was April 16.
The new room makes a comfortable and beautiful place for Sarah to recover and to feel like life is moving ahead in a positive way. “Going from sharing a bed with your sister to having your own bed, your own space, is really awesome for her,” Loza says. “We are just so grateful for what they have done for our family.”
Thankfully, Sarah had been declared in remission January 26, though she still had to weather more chemotherapy to keep the disease at bay. Treatment was so hard on her body that it caused the skin on her feet to peel off, “almost like the sole of your shoe coming off,” Loza says. Sarah’s last infusion of chemo was April 16.
The new room makes a comfortable and beautiful place for Sarah to recover and to feel like life is moving ahead in a positive way. “Going from sharing a bed with your sister to having your own bed, your own space, is really awesome for her,” Loza says. “We are just so grateful for what they have done for our family.”
Sarah’s older sister Arianna, pictured here, also loves her new room.
Little sister Julieta, whom everyone calls Juju, got her own room makeover. “For her it has really given her a sense of independence,” Loza says. “She feels like a bigger girl.”
Loza, pictured here in the center of the photo with Sarah and the family dog, her husband Miguel Loza in the black shirt, and Savvy Giving by Design founder Susan Wintersteen and others, says the rooms have changed the family. “To see my girls light up every day, to ask us to come home because they want to be in their room, is really beautiful,” she says.
The experience has made Loza want to give more to others, and she says her daughters feel the same. “They were able to see how kind people with big hearts can come together to make a difference in one person’s life.”
The experience has made Loza want to give more to others, and she says her daughters feel the same. “They were able to see how kind people with big hearts can come together to make a difference in one person’s life.”
This is the “before” photo of a room belonging to Savvy Giving by Design’s first client, Kasey.
A Designer Uses Her Skills to Help
Sarah, now 10, is one of three dozen children to receive a room makeover from Savvy Giving by Design, a nonprofit started in Southern California about three years ago. The idea for the nonprofit came after designer Wintersteen of Savvy Interiors in San Diego learned that a friend’s 14-year-old, named Kasey, had cancer. Wintersteen decided to try to lift the sick girl’s spirits with a room makeover.
Wintersteen started a GoFundMe campaign and within days received $6,000 in donations. Once she got started on the room for Kasey, she realized they also needed to make over the room belonging to Kasey’s 11-year-old sister, Kaitlyn. “We felt like the siblings were part of the family dynamic in Kasey’s healing,” Wintersteen says.
After helping this first family, “I was pretty much hooked,” Wintersteen says.
A Designer Uses Her Skills to Help
Sarah, now 10, is one of three dozen children to receive a room makeover from Savvy Giving by Design, a nonprofit started in Southern California about three years ago. The idea for the nonprofit came after designer Wintersteen of Savvy Interiors in San Diego learned that a friend’s 14-year-old, named Kasey, had cancer. Wintersteen decided to try to lift the sick girl’s spirits with a room makeover.
Wintersteen started a GoFundMe campaign and within days received $6,000 in donations. Once she got started on the room for Kasey, she realized they also needed to make over the room belonging to Kasey’s 11-year-old sister, Kaitlyn. “We felt like the siblings were part of the family dynamic in Kasey’s healing,” Wintersteen says.
After helping this first family, “I was pretty much hooked,” Wintersteen says.
Savvy Giving by Design’s first client, 14-year-old Kasey, in her “after” room. Photo by Gleaux
Making a Difference for Families
With the help of her husband and a lawyer friend, Wintersteen turned the project into an official nonprofit and kept making over rooms. To date, Savvy Giving by Design has revamped 36 spaces for sick kids and their siblings. Most of the children had cancer, though one teen was paralyzed in a car accident and another suffered a brain hemorrhage that left her unable to speak, keep her eyes open or move on her own. Two of the children the nonprofit has helped have since died.
Making a Difference for Families
With the help of her husband and a lawyer friend, Wintersteen turned the project into an official nonprofit and kept making over rooms. To date, Savvy Giving by Design has revamped 36 spaces for sick kids and their siblings. Most of the children had cancer, though one teen was paralyzed in a car accident and another suffered a brain hemorrhage that left her unable to speak, keep her eyes open or move on her own. Two of the children the nonprofit has helped have since died.
Wintersteen arranges pillows in the first room made over by Savvy Giving by Design. Photo by Gleaux
Her Process
Wintersteen visits each space to talk to the child and family. She finds out what the child’s physical needs are, as well as their interests, passions and favorite colors. She asks teens to share inspiration images. Then Wintersteen goes back to her office and plans the room.
A makeover often includes new flooring, fresh paint, a new closet system, lighting, window coverings and new furniture and bedding. The room designs are intended not only to lift the mood of a sick child, but also to bolster the child’s health. When solid surface floors are needed, Savvy Giving by Design uses a LEED-certified product. Wintersteen chooses low-VOC paint and organic sheets, and fabrics that are chemical-free.
In Southern California where she works, Wintersteen has relationships with contractors who discount their services and vendors who donate products to support the nonprofit’s mission.
The room’s design remains a surprise until reveal day. “The kids tell us what they like but they don’t know what the room is going to look like,” Wintersteen says.
Her Process
Wintersteen visits each space to talk to the child and family. She finds out what the child’s physical needs are, as well as their interests, passions and favorite colors. She asks teens to share inspiration images. Then Wintersteen goes back to her office and plans the room.
A makeover often includes new flooring, fresh paint, a new closet system, lighting, window coverings and new furniture and bedding. The room designs are intended not only to lift the mood of a sick child, but also to bolster the child’s health. When solid surface floors are needed, Savvy Giving by Design uses a LEED-certified product. Wintersteen chooses low-VOC paint and organic sheets, and fabrics that are chemical-free.
In Southern California where she works, Wintersteen has relationships with contractors who discount their services and vendors who donate products to support the nonprofit’s mission.
The room’s design remains a surprise until reveal day. “The kids tell us what they like but they don’t know what the room is going to look like,” Wintersteen says.
Savvy Giving by Design founder Wintersteen with Kasey and her family in Kasey’s new room. Photo by Gleaux
Expanding Across the Country
“Design is assumed to be a luxury service,” she says. But working with clients who would probably otherwise not hire a designer, and who have more weighty things on their minds than choosing paint colors, quickly puts things into perspective. It’s also a good reminder of the power of design to improve lives.
Wintersteen is now expanding the organization with local affiliate chapters across the country, with a goal to add four or five new chapters per year going forward. The first six chapters are in Mobile, Alabama; the Ozarks, Arkansas; Tampa, Florida; Denver; San Francisco; and the state of Rhode Island. Houzz has sponsored three chapters and has committed to sponsoring up to five this year.
Wintersteen screens applicants wishing to found chapters not only for their passion for helping sick kids, but also for the caliber of their designs. “We want to make it like our best luxury client would want,” she says.
Watch Sarah, Arianna and Juju see their new rooms for the first time
More: A Caregiver’s Guide to a Supportive Home
Expanding Across the Country
“Design is assumed to be a luxury service,” she says. But working with clients who would probably otherwise not hire a designer, and who have more weighty things on their minds than choosing paint colors, quickly puts things into perspective. It’s also a good reminder of the power of design to improve lives.
Wintersteen is now expanding the organization with local affiliate chapters across the country, with a goal to add four or five new chapters per year going forward. The first six chapters are in Mobile, Alabama; the Ozarks, Arkansas; Tampa, Florida; Denver; San Francisco; and the state of Rhode Island. Houzz has sponsored three chapters and has committed to sponsoring up to five this year.
Wintersteen screens applicants wishing to found chapters not only for their passion for helping sick kids, but also for the caliber of their designs. “We want to make it like our best luxury client would want,” she says.
Watch Sarah, Arianna and Juju see their new rooms for the first time
More: A Caregiver’s Guide to a Supportive Home
Sarah’s New Room
Volunteers from the nonprofit group quickly moved to put together new dream rooms for Sarah and her two sisters. The goal was to make Sarah’s and older sister Arianna’s shared room not only beautiful, but health-promoting with nontoxic products and materials. Little sister Julieta got a room makeover too.