The Story
Meet Isla, a joyful six-year-old with a big personality and even bigger energy! Three years ago, Isla was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor on her kidney. After chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, Isla is now officially in remission and ready to play, climb, create, and just be a kid.
When Make-A-Wish Georgia reached out to Sunshine on a Ranney Day to help grant Isla’s wish, we knew this one was going to be extra fun: a Barbie-inspired therapy room filled with equipment for Isla and her brothers to climb, play, and get all that energy out.
We couldn’t wait to bring her dream to life and turn an ordinary room into Isla’s very own Barbie dream house!
Isla’s basement gave us the perfect blank canvas to create something extra special. Our designer, Clareece designed a fun, girly space filled with playful Barbie touches that feel perfect for Isla now, while still being easy to update as she grows. The room was also designed with her two younger brothers in mind, so the space can easily evolve with their interests over the years too.
Clareece originally dreamed up a slide for Isla’s playhouse — because what Barbie Dream House is complete withoutone? But instead, she chose custom monkey bars from Therapy Gyms so the space could grow with Isla and continue to challenge her as she gets older. Therapy Gyms also custom printed the background for the climbing wall to match the theme and it is safe to say that Isla loves it! She didn’t even look around when she walked in the room, she immediately started climbing the wall.
We built the entire Barbie playhouse structure from scratch using real homebuilding techniques, complete with framing, wallboard, siding, and flooring. Safe to say, this Barbie house is built to last!
A huge thank you to Randall Brothers & Brock Supply House in Jasper, GA for providing the building materials and Comfort Research for the cozy beanbags that helped make the space complete.
The room is filled with so many special custom touches, but one of our absolute favorites is the beautiful cabinetry and desk designed by Clareece and brought to life by our amazing friends at Bell Cabinetry. We truly couldn’t have imagined anything better! Now Isla has her very own spot to draw, create, do homework, and let her imagination run wild.
Thank you to all our amazing sponsors who made Isla’s Make-A-Wish happen for Isla! And a big thank you to Make-A-Wish Georgia for trusting us with such a fun project!
