On the morning of February 6th, 2012 Alpha House of Tampa was honored to be the morning starting point in Tampa for the ‘Walk in My Shoes’ by Lauren’s Kids Founder, CEO, and Sexual Abuse Survivor, Lauren Book. Lauren’s mission is to prevent sexual abuse through awareness and education, and to help survivors heal with guidance and support. The residents of Alpha House of Tampa were prepared weeks before Lauren’s arrival to walk with her to the next stop on Lauren’s journey from Key West to Tallahassee. 

 Lauren had the opportunity to tour the maternity residence to marvel at the newly designed bedrooms in the Room of Her Own project. An unexpected surprise lifted smiles from the staff, residents, and Lauren’s entire team when Lauren adopted the 20th and last bedroom remaining! Within just a few days, Room of Her Own designer and Co-Chair, Cynthia Keenan of CK Designs teamed up with Lauren to create the concept and budget for the room.     

Lauren had some very specific ideas for the room. Foremost was the use of her logo colors and Cynthia was able to create a cool palette using beautiful hues of turquoise, pink and purple. From there, the women collaborated by using Pinterest, a social media tool that allowed them to easily share ideas online through pictures. Lauren loved the idea of using colored chalkboard paint on the furniture and Cynthia was able to find a recipe to make the paint and custom match it to Lauren’s logo. Lauren also expressed that she wanted the room to stimulate the baby’s sensory development. To achieve this, Cynthia strategically placed the colors in contrasting values throughout the room. Shiny, mirrored butterflies also help by catching the light and creating interest. A bright area rug incorporates all of the colors on the floor and the placement of the colors throughout the space moves your eye up and around. As a finishing touch, Cynthia was able to use The Serenity Prayer, Lauren’s favorite quote, as a key design element in the room.

In addition to Lauren’s generous donation for the materials to complete this room, others, once again, joined in to help. All labor for this final room was donated by CK Designs, co-chair Scott Schershel of Interior Spaces, Kim Campbell and Cynthia’s dad, Roger Ierardi.