- Hey, I'm Kane.
A couple months ago, I helped Kristin from Ladylike
redecorate her desk.
You all seemed really into it.
After that, I helped Freddie redecorate her bedroom space
so she could spend more stress-free time in there.
I really do believe that we'd all be a little happier
if we had our own versions of an oasis
that we could go home to.
Today I'm meeting up with Melina,
who wanted help redesigning her living space
for her adult son who happens to have autism.
Come on, check it out!
This is your new living room.
- [Melina] Oh my goodness!
- She wanted help figuring out
how to make their space uniquely adult
and hopefully help them transition
into the new phases of their lives.
- My name is Melina Fernandez-Burn,
and I'm a mom, and I have two boys, 18 and 21.
As a mom, you think they're gonna be children forever.
Now that they really are adults,
it would be a great way to bring in the new phases
of adult life.
It is just a special time of coming into your own.
- What is autism?
- Autism is a neurological developmental disorder.
It doesn't mean they have low cognition.
It just means, if they're on the spectrum,
they're going to be impacted
on a social, communication level,
on an executive functioning level.
- What is the spectrum mean?
- The spectrum means somebody can be impacted minimally,
somebody can be impacted extensively.
- Where does Collin kind of fall on that?
- He's considered high-functioning.
But it's kind of a misnomer.
Even though they're high-functioning
and very able in certain areas,
they still may be challenged.
Maybe in an emergency, or to defend themselves,
or to express.
- How was Collin diagnosed with autism?
- When he was about two and a half
I took him to a state agency.
They only assessed him for delayed speech,
and as a new parent, that's the hardest,
most difficult path to be denied he even has a diagnosis.
And then the school district declined all services
because he did not have autism.
That was really a difficult time.
After a year, researched a lot,
and I noticed other behaviors.
Finally, took him to a psychologist
who did diagnose him at the age of four.
- [Kane] Why is it important to diagnose it earlier?
- When caught young, their brain is truly rewiring
on a minute by minute basis.
If you can use that momentum of growth
to remediate sensory processing issues,
eating issues, balance issues, motor skills,
those are things that are just a big challenge
for the autism community.
- Then Melina gave me a tour of her space
and I got to hang out with Collin a bit.
- This is where Collin really enjoys watching the Lakers
and the Dodger games.
- What kinds of things do you do in this area?
- I go on the iPad, and watch TV, I watch YouTube.
- What percentage of time do you think
Collin spends in this area. - Oh my,
I would say this is 85% of his day.
- Where's your favorite spot in this living room?
- The sofa right there.
I like how it's comfy. - Yeah.
- The minute he gets home from school,
is to take off the shoes and lay down.
- [Kane] What made you decide to have such a big sectional?
- Collin is almost six feet, he needs space.
- That's good to know.
- Well this table's interesting.
- Whoa. - It raises nicely.
And it also stores.
We don't quite need this table as much as we did
when they were younger.
The wall unit is your traditional piece
where all your CDs, and DVDs, and books go in.
This nook used to be where we would store bicycles.
- You see kind of-- - The bike tires.
And this space isn't that large either.
It would be great if it was used
for something in particular.
Its not been the easiest to figure it out.
- You said that you were into meditation
and things like that?
- I'm teaching him a little bit
of the stillness of the mind.
Using essential oils, I've seen really nice impact
on Collin.
I constantly have New Age and soothing music on.
This particular area is very challenging.
It's in between two doors, so you have a very small corner.
- [Kane] Are there any particular things in here
that you for sure wanna keep?
- [Melina] No (laughs).
- Okay.
- [Melina] Really enjoy, Collin and I,
playing in this room is Smash Ball.
We've gotten really good at it.
(rock music)
(laughing) Good job.
Try it one more time, Kane.
- Okay, one more time. - Nice and easy.
Good!
(laughing)
- [Kane] It's like ping pong kind of.
After getting a tour of the living room,
I wanted to see if I might be able to help
with Collin's bedroom.
- The space isn't too big.
I don't know quite where to put this bed
in terms of direction.
The blinds were here, they're fairly old.
They've been with us since we moved here.
Now that he's 21, trying to figure out
for an adult, what's the best for him.
- I like the color a lot. - Oh good.
- Of the wall.
What's your favorite color? - Blue.
- [Melina] He's great with blue, yeah, he chose it.
- It's very calming.
I'm taking some wide photos so I can draw on it.
When's the last time you redid this space?
- I would say about eight to 10 years ago.
The boys' taste, they're older now,
I would like to sort of inject their adult-ness
into the space.
- Are there things you're afraid of?
- Protecting himself.
That has to be one of my biggest fears
is him being taken advantage.
You can teach them, but you can't be ensured.
Even though he has the most traditional forms of autism,
he's still so thoughtful.
- What are some of the best things
that you've learned from him?
- The most important thing he taught me
was what's important, sincerely.
- Which is? - It's all in the heart.
It's just so easy to get bummed out.
I mean, it's a devastating diagnosis for any parent.
He doesn't think so much about tomorrow.
He thinks a lot about now.
And the times and the years that I forgot,
he taught me how to bring it back to the heart.
If you didn't decide, instead of being devastated,
you're gonna shift into being thankful no matter what,
it really can be a journey of your own growth.
- What are some cool things about your mom?
- She's kind and helpful.
- Now that he's older, at a vocational school,
I'd like to transform this space.
More matches where he's at in life.
(upbeat music)
- After getting a tour of Melina's home,
taking a few photos, and getting a feel
for the family's vibe, and what they really needed,
and I got to work.
I usually like to draw out potential ideas
to see what I could do with a space.
The first thing you see when entering the living room
is a giant TV wall unit.
It's big, it's heavy, and very 90s.
My aunts and uncles totally had this
in their living room.
Feels very heavy.
I wanted an unassuming TV console,
just enough to hold their electronics
and found a great one in a darker wood tone
from Home Goods.
It features a unique, sliding barn door
that makes it stand out.
I wanted to mount the TV.
The TV was actually really light in weight
and the pros from Handy.com
hung it up securely on the wall.
Just like a piece of art work.
Since Collin clearly loves, loves, loves his couch,
I didn't want to swap it out
in case he didn't like how the new one felt.
But the shade of brown really made the couch feel
way older than it was.
So I wanted to change the color to gray with couch covers.
I found really great ones from Bed, Bath & Beyond.
They worked really well for two of the sectional pieces.
I didn't realize how extra long
the third sectional piece would be.
Uh oh.
- [Man] Uh oh, what's going on Kane?
- This is too small.
(upbeat music)
The coffee table they had felt really heavy,
kind of like a giant brick.
I wanted to swap it out for a sleeker one,
in a darker tone, with minimal compartments.
I found the perfect one at Z Gallerie.
It looks so good, and it's functional
with drawers for board games, art supplies,
and remote controls.
Only two pieces of furniture are in
and I'm already super excited.
The blinds also feel pretty outdated here.
So I'm gonna swap these out for a row of teal curtains
over a set of sheer, white curtains.
I found beautiful ones, along with sturdy curtain rods,
from T.J. Maxx.
Halfway through the day,
it dawned on me that none of the lamps
I had ordered online were here.
We can't find the six lamps.
They were supposed to be delivered.
They're all perfectly chosen for this space.
Otherwise I have to run out and go pick some lamps.
Somehow I thought that they still might arrive today.
So we just kept moving, hoping for the best.
For this little nook area,
Melina had no idea what she wanted to do with it.
After she mentioned her interest in meditation,
I knew right away I wanted to surprise her
with a little meditation area.
I wanted a little accent wall here.
It's the same wallpaper we used for Freddie's bedroom
from Chasing Paper.
I wanted to paint over all the bike tire marks
and scratches on the walls,
so the room could be reset and renewed.
At this point in the day,
I realized that none of the lamps would be coming.
I checked the tracking,
the lamps aren't coming 'till tomorrow.
If you know me, you know I love lamps.
And there was no way I was gonna reveal the living space
to the family without the proper lighting.
I decided to find brand new lamps from scratch.
So I explained as quickly as I could
what I wanted so they could work on it
while I was gone.
I don't usually panic, I'm not a panicker.
I'm slightly panicking right now.
I just want it to be perfect for them.
Somehow by a true miracle I found
all the lamps I wanted from T.J. Maxx.
I'm so happy, I feel better, I feel better,
I got lamps, I got lamps.
I also asked the Handy.com pros
to help put wallpaper above the couch wall.
I picked out a white wallpaper
with a soft, leaf design from Wayfair.com.
I wanted to brighten up the space while keeping it cute.
They helped me cut the pieces to the right sizes to put up.
They called me and said that the wallpaper
didn't have adhesive.
Which is different from the wallpaper that I used
for Freddie's bedroom and that was a lot easier
just to like peel off.
When I got back, we were down to the wire.
While I was out getting lamps,
I picked up a spray on adhesive
for the living room wallpaper.
(intense music)
While I was out, I found a giant,
nine by 14 feet, gray fabric sheet
for the long side of the sectional sofa.
I wanna do a side table here
to create a small gap between the sectional pieces.
I found a cute, lightweight side table
to break up the giant sectional feel.
I wanna put a tall plant in the back corner,
one on the side table, and one on the coffee table.
I found really awesome fake plants
of all kinds at Marshalls.
I had no idea they even sold fake plants there.
You can tell how happy I was.
Just a tree.
I wanna put a giant rug here to help break up
all the tan carpeting.
It was kinda hard to find rugs at the size I wanted,
but eventually I found the perfect, light blue one.
I wanna put a tall lamp here and one on the side table
which will sit next to a Google Home
which I got from Best Buy.
For the couch pillows, I went with shades of blue.
I got the piece of artwork here from T.J. Maxx,
which, again, are different shades of blue and green
to emphasize the theme and to tie it all back together.
So for the rest of the meditation area,
I wanna put a big piece of artwork here.
I found one from T.J. Maxx
that reminded me so much of Melina.
I want the meditation area to have a bit of privacy,
so I want a curtain here.
I went with a white, sheer-ish curtain
with teal accents.
This way, the color would still match the living room
and the slightly more ornate design
would match the vibe of the mediation area.
For the rest of the mediation area
I wanted two, serene-looking lamps here,
fake plants on either side,
and a very soft rug.
I went with a few eclectic pillows
in burgundy, gold, and magenta.
So for this corner of the room,
Melina had no idea what she wanted to do with it.
I noticed that it was kind of the perfect place
to put a desk.
I found one that I really liked from The Container Store.
It was a darker tone and would match the coffee table
and TV console.
On it would be a lamp and a plant,
another plant on the floor to help fill up the space,
a piece of artwork here,
one with a message that, again,
reminded me so much of Melina.
Maybe a mirror here,
this way it would reflect the big sliding glass door
across the room to create an illusion
that maybe it could be an actual window.
- [Man] What are you looking forward to the most?
(laughs)
- We are looking forward to the transformation.
Are you anxious, honey, about what they might change it to?
- I'm just excited. - Yeah.
- So moving on to Collin's bedroom.
Melina really wanted to make it feel more adult.
Since the baby blue walls were so attention grabbing,
I didn't want to add too many other colors.
It would either clash or make it feel more childlike.
So I got this soft, light gray duvet cover,
fluffy pillows, and matching, gray pillow cases
from Bed, Bath & Beyond.
I wanna center the bed,
put two wooden night stands on either side,
lamps on top of the night stands,
plants on either side also.
I want maybe a headboard here.
I ended up getting a big sticker
with wood graphic on it for an illusion headboard.
And it ended up matching the nightstands really well.
Some kind of artwork here.
I got a thin, white mirror
'cause it just looked really peaceful.
And it paired well with some of the white pillows
on the bed.
Of course, I wanna remove the blinds here also.
Swapping it out for neutral, gray curtains
to match the gray bedding.
I also layered the gray curtains
over the row of sheer, white curtains.
And a very soft gray rug here.
This drawer I'm moving against the wall with the window
to open up the walkway a bit.
I wanna put a lamp here, and a plant,
leave up some of the trophies.
In all the lamps, I put in color-changing
Philips Hue light bulbs.
This way they can either control the lights on their phone
or they can control it through their voice
by the Google Home I picked up.
This corner's a little dark,
so I'm gonna put Philips Hue bloom
like a fancy restaurant or something.
Last minute, trying to put everything together.
Gonna start going into place.
Lastly, before the reveal to the family,
Collin has a few piles of books
and other knick knacks throughout his room
and I wanted a place for him to put it.
So I picked up two, sea foam colored,
storage ottomans for him to put books in.
And this way it could also double as seating for his room.
It's coming together.
It's looking good.
These guys are from Handy, good job, guys.
It looks amazing.
So after running around all day,
right now I'm about to reveal the living space
for the very first time to Melina
and her two sons, Collin and Brendan.
I really hope they like it.
Alright, come down. - Okay, guys?
- Come on, check it out!
- Wow.
- [Melina] (laughs) Oh my goodness!
- [Kane] This is your new living room.
- Wow Kane, I'm really impressed.
(upbeat music)
Kane! - Like this desk right here?
- Look at that corner over there.
It makes it seem like it's in another room entirely.
And even though you can use them for different things,
they belong in the same place.
It's really nice the way the flow is.
It's just really cool.
Can't wait to use the desk for all kinds of things.
- [Kane] This is a surprise.
This is like a meditation area.
- [Brendan] Yeah, feel these curtains.
This is a really cozy spot.
(Melina laughing)
- [Kane] You can put your incense and aromatherapy in there.
- [Brendan] That's cool.
- Buddy, wasn't this great? - Yeah.
- [Melina] This is like a lair's den!
- [Brendan] You can just close the curtains
and chill right here.
- A lot of people want a space
that is cozy and yet not very stimulating.
- [Kane] I know that you have tons of books in your rooms.
This could be like a little reading corner,
more meditation.
- [Melina] Brendan, you can come just lay down and read.
- See how it's pink now? - Oh!
- Oh dang. - Look at that!
What do you think Collin?
Look at the pink lights behind you.
Isn't that neat? - Yes.
- [Brendan] The pattern right here on the wall, the leaves.
That's pretty cool.
Can I lay down?
- Yeah.
This is your new living room (laughs).
- [Melina] This is great, Kane.
- What's your favorite spot?
- The sofa. - Yeah?
- Yes. - That's your favorite corner
over there so I wanted to make sure
I kept it the same.
- [Brendan] The desk is level with the sofa,
I like that. - Yeah.
- [Kane] A little more light with the bottom cleared.
- You got the dimensions perfectly.
- [Brendan] Got the TV right here.
I like the wall set up.
- [Melina] And the colors are perfectly stimulating
and very, very soothing.
- [Kane] You guys like blue a lot,
so I wanted to go off that color tone.
- [Melina] And I love the artwork.
You got it just right.
- [Kane] And then some of these artworks, too,
they reminded me a lot of what you said
during the interview.
I wanted to create a comfortable space
for you to maybe play board games again--
- Cards. - Spend more
family time together.
- Play in the yard and come in and just relax.
You really used everything that was here
and you made it functional.
- Let's go check out Collin's room.
- Yeah. - We still have more to see.
- [Melina] Oh my goodness.
- Oh wow.
(Melina laughing)
I'm jealous.
- [Melina] This is another transformation!
The blue now really stands out,
because you have the perfect colors of white and brown.
How do you like it Col?
- [Collin] It's good.
- [Melina] It's great, huh?
- [Collin] Yeah.
- This is a very small room
and you made it look like a master almost.
And I love the way you can walk all around
and there's not that big dresser that was in the way.
- Put it there in the corner,
get a walk way right here.
- [Kane] Yeah, what do you feel?
- I feel glad!
- [Melina] You know how to put this together, mister.
- [Kane] Yeah, there's more storage space
in the ottomans and the nightstands, too.
- [Melina] Wonderful items here.
- [Brendan] Yeah the plants, too.
- And the lighting, it warms up the spot.
- [Kane] And this one is also controllable
so you can change it to different colors,
whatever you're feeling.
- [Brendan] The transparent curtains.
- [Kane] He can cover it completely if he wanted to
or just like have a little bit
of light coming through.
- Different vibe.
How do the curtains make you feel, honey?
- Good.
- [Kane] The rug is very soft, too.
- Yeah wow, I think it looks comfortable.
- [Kane] Feel these pillows, Collin.
They're so soft.
- [Brendan] That's soft.
- [Melina] Almost like a cottage.
- [Kane] Yeah, and the wood's like
a little bit more mature.
- [Melina] I love this headboard, Kane.
- [Kane] And it's sticker.
(Melina laughing)
But you can't even tell.
- The mirror up there,
boy does it perfectly compliments the bed.
Really balances, this is just right.
- Yeah. - Are you gonna spend
more time in here? - Yes.
- Alright, I'd like to see that.
Brendan graduating and Collin will be going to vocation,
and our whole lives are really kinda going into adulthood.
And yet, we wanna be together.
So you've given us a great, developed, mature space
so thank you for all your hard work.
I so appreciate it.
Thank all of you.
- Thank you, Collin. - Good seeing you.
- Thank you so much.
What do you hope for 20 to 30 years from now?
- What I hope for for Collin in his future
is the same that I hope for my neurotypical son.
I want him to feel confident in seeking out his own path.
No one has a perfect life,
but that's something that's very meaningful to me.
Is that he gets to choose the same way we all get to choose.
I just wanna keep equipping him in that way.
- I think we all put in a lot of sweat,
and energy, and muscle.
Honestly, just seeing Collin excited
and jumping on his rug,
really made it all worth it.
The family seemed so excited, feeling renewed,
and that's always the goal at home.
You're trying to recharge.
Can't wait to see how they experience it
throughout the week, and months, and years.
- Really have impacted our life here.
- Until next time.
Rest well, you deserve it.
(electronic music)