Landen's Story
Landen had just turned 7 years old when he was shopping in a pet store with his family and collapsed. He was rushed to St Joseph’s for treatment and diagnosis and within just a few hours his family was shocked to be told the news that Landen has A.L.L. Leukemia, t-cell type. Landen was admitted, and chemo began immediately.
Landen shares a room with his 3 year old brother, Corben. They are serious buddies and love playing games together and doing all the fun things that brothers do. Since they share a bedroom, we were able to turn their extra space into a playroom with lots of shelving for their toy and game collection! Ponton Interiors very own, Alexia Stalpes, designed this incredible play space for the boys.
Their playroom is an important part of their growth and healing as the boys spend time together in this space, learning, playing and creating memories.
We updated the closet doors by placing stained veneer panels over the original bi-fold doors to add organic wood tones and bring the jungle theme to life. The door transformation was executed perfectly and donated by Custom Hospitality Restoration.
Inspiring our jungle theme was a feature wall of jungle wallpaper and this leafy chandelier donated by our local team at Ferguson Showrooms Tampa. Thanks to our partner Erwin Electric for once again donating their time and expertise, we were able to light up the new rooms. They also added dimmer switches, which are so important to assist for parents who need to come in for a night time medicine doses without waking the entire house.
In the bedroom, we wanted to give the boys their own sense of space, but in a shared room for togetherness. Twin beds from Crate and Barrel flank the room to allow space for playing and reading between the beds. These lower beds make it easier for Landen to get in and out of bed when his treatments affect his mobility.
The blinds were in good shape, so we cleaned them to remove allergens. We added fully closing blackout drapery to aid in deep sleep, thanks to our fabulous partners Revolution Fabrics who donated this chemical-free pin stripe material! Our friends at Creative Design Interiors created these beautiful drapes which give the room full darkness when Landen needs to rest.
The doors were bi-pass solid wood doors. To add visual interest we designed a millwork detail that added thin strips of wood to the face of the first door, and painted them in a high gloss charcoal grey lacquer.
These rooms would not be possible without the collaboration of our incredible friends in the design industry. Lisa Gilmore Design donated the beautiful cabinet for the playroom and Marissa and Kenny with BuckWyllie made the gorgeous floating walnut shelves that tie into the wood tones in the play room. Landen’s pet tarantula loves his new home on these shelves, surrounded by jungle leaves.
We know that Landen and Corben will have so much fun spending time together in their new rooms. Thank you to all of our #savvygivers who make these rooms possible!
