Guest Room 307 at Ronald McDonald House – Stanford
by Alden Miller | July 8, 2015 | Design Lab, Noteworthy, RMH Stanford - "Where Hope Has a Home"
“When the expansion is complete in December of 2015, it will be the largest Ronald McDonald House in the world, providing invaluable shelter, support and community to the families of critically ill children being treated at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital on the Stanford campus.” — RMDH Where Hope Has a Home Website
This expansion includes 65 new guest rooms, eliminating the current waiting list of 40-50 families.
Earlier this week I wrote about the design for Laundry Room 356 as part of my contribution to the Ronald McDonald House project: Where Hope Has a Home. Alden Miller Interiors will also be contributing the design for Guest Suite 307. We have been gathering ideas for both rooms on Pinterest as a way to develop the designs and acknowledge the gifts that are given towards our portion of this great project. We are giving thoughtful design to this project, but we have also pledged to fully furnish these two rooms. This post outlines the design concepts for the guest suite. You can check out the images gathered for this design on our Guest Room 307 and Guest Bath 307 Pinterest boards and read more about the concepts below.
Families at RMDH are experiencing raw and stressful periods in their lives. I believe that a room designed with intention can help them both physically and emotionally in these times. To make rooms more than simply a place to lay their head, these rooms present a range of design challenges. I will focus on three design concepts that address the main ones. How can this single room be flexible for a range of ‘family groups’? How can a single decor meet the diversity of cultural needs for the families that flow through? How can a room feel like a home independent of the length of stay?
One Room One Family – Flexibility and Individuality
At some point the guests who are staying in a room may be just the parents, or sometimes the mom and two siblings will live there while dad stays home and works. There are many types of ‘family groups’ and our room has been designed with flexibility in mind. The queen bed has a pull-out trundle, and the arm chair in the corner transforms to become a twin bed. Because many people are sharing one room, we sought to define small spaces within the larger space. The divider curtain separates the twin bed alcove and a play rug can establish a space for kid play. Lights and seats around the room create define spaces through illumination instead of walls. By adding pin-up boards, display shelves and customizable cubby bins, arriving residents can make the room their home.
All Walks of Life May Land Here
Families staying in this room will come from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds and this room needs to feel comfortable to all. Core materials in this room act as a warm durable backdrop while the character selections provide more depth, which can easily change with the resident and with current trends. Permanent elements are selected in neutral tones. With the color palette and the wood tones, the room will have a soft warmth that speaks to humanity. Although soothing, the room colors and textures have depth so the materials, along with the shelter bed, feel like they are giving you a hug.
One Thing Matters More Than All Else
All residents, no matter race, age or socioeconomic background have a unifying factor: the love for their children. Parents are experiencing heart wrenching sorrow and at the same time, are the most in touch with their deepest values and spiritual selves. Because families will be in close quarters while in the guest rooms, it is important children are given a place to be children and for parents to see them being kids. With cubby storage that can store toys in addition to clothes, and a play corner with a comforting small area rug, our design for Guest Room 307 makes spaces in the room for children. This connection to their children is what gives parents the most joy during rough times.
To contribute to our portion of the Ronald McDonald House project at Stanford go to Alden Miller Interiors’ Donation page.
