Cheryl Wagnon described the physical shortcomings of the space that 13 traveling nurses shared in a 1930s-era schoolhouse in Kennesaw.

"We patched the wall cracks with Band-Aids," she said.

Photos courtesy of (ENLARGE)

Cobb County school nurses Cheryl Wagnon (from left), Jackie Morgan, Marsha McNatt and Jill Turner get a look at their office makeover.

(ENLARGE)

Before

(ENLARGE)

After

When medically impaired preschoolers came in for evaluation, they struggled with walkers or oxygen tanks to navigate the nurses' cramped quarters.

The wheezing air-conditioning system could have used a slug of cough syrup.

"I shouted through a cardboard tube so people could hear me over the racket," Wagnon said.

Finally, she e-mailed the makeover specialists on the "Rachael Ray" TV show. Ray was looking for offices that needed a makeover.

On Oct. 3, Ray sent HGTV's "Design on a Dime" designer Kristan Cunningham and a camera crew to Kennesaw to tell the Cobb County school nurses they won a makeover.

"We were amazed," Wagnon said.

As the dust rose for six days and nights, curiosity mounted.

"We couldn't peek or squeeze any information out of anybody," Wagnon said.

On Oct. 9, the cameras were rolling as the blindfolded nurses were led back to their office for the big reveal.

"It was a sight to behold," Wagnon said.

Nobody could speak at first, she said. "We were trying to get our chins off the floor. Kristan had told us it would be a fabulous design, and, boy, she was right."

Cunningham's design inspiration was a vintage pediatrician's office. The makeover included a raised ceiling, new flooring, a new air-conditioning system, cubicles with built-in shelving, a computer at each desk, a new phone system, copiers and fax machines, office furniture and other supplies.

They had to close their eyes to remember when they had to turn sideways to reach their back-to-back desks covered with files and clutter in the 20-by-13-foot former classroom. The intravenous poles, feeding pumps, CPR dummies, catheter supplies and syringes that had been scattered about were tucked away in new storage areas.

The tattered, industrial-grade carpet, with its patched holes, disappeared. Secondhand, mismatched furniture was replaced with mahogany-finished desks. It is office heaven, the nurses say.

Seven of the nurses flew to New York for the taping of Ray's show that aired on Oct. 23.

To celebrate, the nurses watched the show at a party in their new digs.

BEFORE

HGTV's Kristan Cunningham aimed to create a look reminiscent of a vintage pediatrician's office when she redesigned the Cobb County office shared by school traveling nurses. Formerly cracked walls are painted a light blue-green with white trim. What was once "an absolute mess" is now jaw-droppingly gorgeous, the nurses said. Mahogany-finish desks and coordinating chairs complete the look. "It's unbelievable what they've done," said nurse Cheryl Wagnon, who entered the "Rachael Ray" TV show's office makeover contest. When the nurses' blindfolds came off, she said, "We were all just speechless."

— This article was reprinted from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.