Remy's Story
Meet 2 year old Remy!
Remy was diagnosed just 2 months after his second birthday with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. On what should have been a day for celebration (his Mom’s birthday), the family found themselves at the E.R. with Remy, who was pale and lethargic and highly anemic.
They waited two days for results to confirm Leukemia but were immediately admitted for blood transfusions and a barrage of tests.
We met with Remy and his family in February 2020 and the boys were very excited to hear about getting a new room. Remy shares his room with his older brother Charlie, and the two told us about their favorite characters (Paw Patrol and PJ Masks) and their favorite colors.
Remy is mostly confined to home, with a rigorous treatment schedule that includes chemo that can result in uncontrollable pain, and the associated side effects from such an intense treatment on such a little body. He is a charming, smiling and sweet boy, with wispy adorable hair and a super cute smile.
His big brother Charlie was intrigued with the design process and watched us measure and draw, pointing out important design features (we are keeping a fan) and asking a lot of questions!
Remy and Charlie’s room reveal was postponed (and then postponed some more) due to Covid-19. While the pandemic gave the rest of us some insight into the heightened state of alertness Remy and other kids undergoing treatment must live in, the boys waited patiently until it was finally safe for us to install their room (while they were out of the house).
Big brother Charlie leads the way as the boys explore their new room for the first time!
We were lucky enough to coordinate the room reveal with Remy’s Third Birthday! We loved using blue and white stripes to brighten the room and add some color and drama. The stripes give the room character, but also room to grow without being too babyish.
The boys have an impressive collection of books, so we incorporate some wall storage for Mom and Dad to rotate out favorites in a cozy reading corner. We also added a new bookcase in the foyer to the room to store the rest of their books. The beanbag helps create an inviting space for quiet time.
We love incorporating art that can be changed out as the boys grow. These cute prints of the PJ Masks from Etsy add a fun splash of color. As their interests change, the art can easily be adjusted to show off new favorite themes and characters. This beautiful (but older) bungalow home lacked storage, so we added a lot of clothing space with new dresser and closets donated by our Savvy Givers.
Indoor/outdoor rugs are great in kids spaces - low pile means lower allergens + easy to clean! The new dresser from Universal Furniture blends rustic boyish charm with storage solutions for growing kids.
Our incredible partners, Closet Art, have donated closets to all of the Savvy Giving Rooms we have installed to date. For this space, they transformed a single hanging rod with clunky wooden shelving, into an organized space with cubbies for toys and hats and enough room for color coded kids clothes. (Our favorite!)
These brothers love sharing a room and we loved these custom signs by our friend Seasoned With Love Co, so each boy has their own sense of space. Inspired by super heroes and comic book styling, these name plates add a perfect punch of color for some of our favorite little heroes. These twin beds from Crate&Kids tie in to our blue and white styling, with enough room for little boys to grow. There’s not much cuter than twin beds and color blocking in our design book.
We’re so thankful for all of our #SavvyGiving donors who make all of these rooms possible by donating bedding, lamps, pillows and accessories! We are so grateful to our other partners, who continue to support us. Painters on demand, for painting perfection; The Drapery Company, for room darkening shades and the cutest orange valance shades; Revolution Fabrics, who donated the fabrics; and Erwin Electric - who have donated electrical services to every Savvy Giving Tampa room to date. Thanks also to Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting, for a chic new fan with LED lighting.
Looking at these cute smiles makes our hearts sing! Even though we had to watch the room reveal from outside due to COVID-19, our hearts are full seeing the joy that these rooms bring. We can’t wait to work on our next Savvy Giving Room.
