A Holiday Story, Part 2

…when we had the privilege of donating a living room transformation to a deserving family that was nominated and chosen by K. Renee customers. Perhaps in last week’s blog, you had a chance to read the actual nomination letter… but if not, I’d like to share just a little about the family.

Suzanne and Cris have two beautiful daughters and a young son, Landon, who is fighting Stage IV neuroblastoma cancer. Since Landon can’t be out of the house much the family room has become the center of their world… and we were thrilled that we would be able to give them a beautiful room centered on their need of comfort and calm.

We wanted to surprise the whole family but because of the logistics we enlisted the help of Suzanne’s husband Cris and her sister Sara (who made the nomination) to at least surprise Suzanne! Two important facts unfolded… first, Suzanne would be out of the house the next day allowing us to visit the home to take pictures and measure the space.

And second, we discovered that Suzanne was planning on holiday shopping at Jordan Creek with one of her daughters for most of the afternoon on Sunday. Okay, you know we don’t mess around at K. Renee. But could we pull together a fantastic room in just two days? Heck, yes! Sunday was our only window of opportunity and we took it!

Comfort for this family was of the utmost importance. With that in mind, Kelli settled on a grey three cushion sofa that was big enough for long, cozy naps or to accommodate a houseful of kids. Since the family spends the majority of their time in this room, we wanted to make sure there was lots of seating which led us to choose two comfortable occasional chairs as well as a leather bench that serves as a cocktail table and additional seating.

With the major pieces selected, Kelli, Dana and Stacie selected a beautiful rug and a great pillow and accessory story to bring the room to a cozy and comfortable life.

On Sunday morning, our entire team gathered at the store to pull off this surprise transformation.

We only had about three hours to get in the house and get out, so each person had a specific and important role in our home transformation… from loading and unloading, moving furniture in and out, cleaning and organizing, and last but not least installing a beautiful room.

We added a layer of comfort with an 8 by 10 rug, installed new drapes and added lots of cozy layers for the family to enjoy. The room was beginning to come together with Kelli’s keen eye and creative direction.

One of the best surprises that happened during the two days of planning this wonderful transformation was a gift from our own team to Kelli, Jeff and I. Saturday night at our company Holiday party, we found out that each of our employees chipped in to purchase a flat screen TV, a Lego set for Landon and a meal for the family that evening. Pretty amazing, right?

Just two and a half hours after we arrived, the transformation was complete with the icing on the cake being the new TV and Lego play set with stools. Here is the before and after…

The smallest of details are just as important as the major pieces of furniture. We wanted this room to be a peaceful place to gather, relax and regroup.

Although we weren’t at the house when Suzanne got home from her day of shopping, we understand that Cris blindfolded her upon arrival home and led her into the room for a bit of much needed good cheer! Sara (who nominated Suzanne and the family) shot these amazing pictures of the reveal!

We only hope that Suzanne, Cris and all the kids get as much joy out of their new room as our team received creating it for them. We also thank each of you for your continued support and patronage of our business allowing us to support our goal of giving back to our community.

From our family to yours, we wish you all the best during this holiday season and the new year to come.