Recently our Yeager Design & Interiors team was challenged with a single room design makeover for a family fighting to save their son’s life. Christian Walroth is a 24-year-old young man who spent nearly 30 weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of several local hospitals soon after his birth — and has faced medical challenges ever since. The following is an excerpt from the #ChristianStrong Facebook page written by his mother, Lori Walroth.
Christian Walroth and his mom, Lori. Christians new room, designed by YDI showcases his interests and personality in a way that works with his physical limitations.
Christian was born with Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, Arnold Chiari Malformation, Severe Scoliosis, etc. He is paralyzed from the waist down and is only ambulatory via his wheelchair. Christian receives his nutrition through a feeding tube… He does not verbalize much because of his trach, but he definitely communicates well through texting devices, social media, and through his amazing smile. Christian has had over 50 surgeries since birth. When he was an infant, the family was told that he would probably only live two years and that he would never smile, laugh, or have quality of life. Those who know Christian, obviously know the doctors got that prediction wrong. Doctors started calling him their “miracle baby” very early on… He is friends with anyone who crosses his path and he loves everyone! Above all else, Christian has an amazing will to live and is such a fighter. He is what we call #CHRISTIANSTRONG!
Lori went on to detail his most recent, life-threatening medical struggles which landed him back in the ICU for many months and prompted near-heroic efforts to get him well enough to come home again.
On one of her rare moments to herself, Lori stopped in to our store one afternoon. She mentioned that she would love to give Christian’s room a makeover because he had been away for so long and it would be nice for him to come home to something brand new and special. Our YDI staff had heard about Christian through Facebook and as soon as we met Lori, we knew we wanted to be involved. After scheduling a home consultation and finding out the things that Christian was passionate about in his life, our team spent many hours researching fun ways to incorporate country music and playing cards into his new space.
Over Christians bed, the steer head and wooden pallets create a Western-themed focal point that does not interfere with the bed function
Surprisingly, choosing window treatments that would complement a country music theme was a little difficult. We didn’t want to pick anything that would look juvenile or primitive, so we ended up choosing a fabric that was Western-inspired in the pattern and masculine in feel with a bold tone-on-tone navy colorway. The bedding was also an area that wasn’t as easy as we anticipated. Christian has a twin size bed but it is also convertible. It has no headboard and needs to be able to raise and lower. We had to choose fabric for a custom bed skirt that wouldn’t slip off of the base of the bed when Christian would want to raise it to sit up. Our talented seamstress and window treatment provider, Jamie Mallory, whipped the fabric for both the windows and the bed skirt into the perfect installation for Christian’s new room.
We also couldn’t rely on the staples of a standard bed to help bring the theme in: no headboard, fewer pillows, and the added challenge of having a bed with mechanisms. We decided to create a headboard by installing pallet wood on the drywall area behind his bed. We provided the pallet wood and the Walroth family jumped right in and installed the planks like professionals! This created an anchor of sorts that would not interfere with the raising and lowering of his bed but would still have the feel of a headboard (with the added bonus of being an amazing focal point in the room!)
We chose a buffalo plaid for the comforter that incorporated navy, red, grey, and white that again embraced the masculine feel we wanted while incorporating the Western theme. Additionally we had his pillow cases monogrammed “CHRISTIAN” to add another layer of personalization and warmth for him. Since Christian has a lot of visitors and when he is able to get up and move around, he does so with a wheelchair, we had to figure out other ways to incorporate the layers of design that we typically use in our clients’ spaces. We were unable to use a rug because it would have made it more difficult to get around. He needed to have a clear path so we couldn’t use any large floor accessories.
Christian’s mother had recently been out of town and found some pretty amazing accessories: a chrome steer head, a few oversized wooden dice, a hook for one of his many treasured hats. She asked if we wouldn’t mind incorporating them into our design along with a guest chair that she had purchased in grey with a steer head print.
The window treatments were challenging, but YDI ended up with navy patterned drpes that offer a masculine feel and complement the other Western-themed touches in his new room.
Christian also had some pretty incredible memorabilia from country music stars like Toby Keith and W.Va.’s own Brad Paisley that had been signed and sent to Christian. We wanted to make sure to display them for Christian to see and for all of his visitors to see, as well. Most incredibly though, Brad Paisley sent a hand written note to Christian along with a backstage pass that invited him to come and see him on stage the next time Brad was in town for a concert. Toby Keith also sent Christian an autographed copy of his latest album with words of encouragement. These pieces needed to be on display but still accessible so Christian could use them. We decided to have these put in black shadow boxes for accessibility and the other pieces matted and framed in matching black casement.
These personal touches, along with some other accessories we found were put together in a design wall that would face Christian’s bed to make a gallery wall that he could enjoy every day. To make the wall interesting and three dimensional, we found some unfinished apple baskets and painted and distressed them using graphite chalk paint. When hung on the wall, they served as shelving inside as well as on top to place Christian’s collections of pictures and memorabilia. We also designed a lasso inspired rope art that spelled out his name and was mounted to a beautiful reclaimed wood piece.
A separate pair of bookshelves were filled to the brim with all of the certificates Christian has been awarded for his strength and perseverance through the years, including having a day named after him and his very own key to the city of Hurricane, West Virginia. His family has saved every single card and letter that anyone has ever sent to Christian and put them in binders that they will lovingly leaf through from time to time to remember the support of their community. This “job” turned out to be a lesson for all of us at YDI. We were honored and blessed to have been asked to be a part of this room transformation and not only did we get our usual feeling of accomplishment for a job well done, but we also were fortunate enough to witness the strength of a family who is the definition of grace under fire. We hope that Christian and his family are able to come home soon and that they can all be together under one roof and enjoy the space that we have designed for them.
If you feel so inclined, please visit the #ChristianStrong page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/christianstrong4christianwalroth) and learn more about this amazing young man and how you can help and share in their journey.
– To see more pictures of the projects featured in this article:
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