New Sheffield IKEA team revamp Bluebell Wood lounge into luxury pad

Bluebell Woods director of care Liz Webster with Courtney Allen and Emma Brocklebank

One of the young adults who unveiled the new lounge was 19 year old, Courtney Allen, who visits Bluebell Wood for short breaks. Courtney has a real artistic flair, so she loved having the chance to help design the space with her fellow teenagers.

Emma Brocklebank, Interior Design Manager at IKEA, said: “We wanted to give Courtney and the other young adults a real say in what the new lounge would look like. They wanted to give the room a young, modern feel, with a graffiti wall they could decorate, so we covered the wall in stickers they can play around with and added comfy sofas and mood lighting.”

The team of volunteers, who currently work in Leeds, will soon be heading up the long-awaited Sheffield IKEA store which is due to open near the Meadowhall Retail Park in July 2017.

Bluebell Wood provides care and support for children and young adults with life-shortening and life-threatening conditions; and their families. This includes end of life care, short breaks, music therapy, counselling, sibling support, home visits and more.

David Hall, Corporate Fundraiser at Bluebell Wood, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to IKEA for donating their time and money to create such a wonderful room for our teenagers to enjoy. At Bluebell Wood we look after children and young people up to the age of 25, so it’s great to be able to offer our teenagers a space that they can call their own, whenever they stay with us.”

Emma added: “It feels great knowing we’ve made a difference, and that the teenagers and young adults who come to the hospice will have a space where they belong. We try to get out in the community as much as we can and we hope this will be the start of a great relationship between IKEA and Bluebell Wood.”

If you’d like to find out more about volunteering for Bluebell Wood please get in touch on 01909 517360.

To find out how you can help Bluebell Wood make more memories for the 250 children they care for, both at the hospice and in the community, please visit www.bluebellwood.org.