When your child is ill and all you can do is wait and worry, you need a space that treats you kindly, lifts your spirit, and offers some welcome distraction. That’s exactly what Tracy Null Pipes ’03 had in mind when she re-designed the game room at Houston’s Ronald McDonald House. A member of Young Friends, an organization that supports the RM House with funds and volunteers, Tracy recently put her design skills to work for free.

The Young Friends had raised $50,000 to revamp the game room, and Pipes was chosen as both designer and contractor for the job. She produced illustration boards for two designs and was thrilled when the Young Friends board chose her favorite, which includes a custom-designed mural by Jon Flaming. Pipes used “cheerful bright colors” that would appeal to all ages throughout the room, and designed the Italian-inspired sofa herself.

“The RMH is a great cause, and it makes me so happy to see that the room is being used by teens and adults. They love the uplifting vibe from the room now,” she added. Diversions like air hockey, a juke box, arcade games, a pool table and cable TV “help take their minds off more serious matters.”