COEUR d'ALENE - Up to a few days ago, the playroom at Children's Village was not overwhelming with welcome.

Children temporarily separated from their parents would toddle in to see fading images of carousel horses on the walls, and little else, in the spartan 15-by-16 foot room.

"Toys were here, but you wouldn't have known," said Janie Givas, Children's Village foundation director. "They were in toy boxes, so you could only see what was in the first layer."

Not anymore.

Staff from Berg Manufacturing provided final touches on Thursday to transform the room from worn space to sanctuary, the result of a company effort to engage in do-goodery that saw months of personal contributions.

On Thursday morning, the walls of the room gleamed a vivid blue, dotted with murals of flags and clouds painted by Berg employee Niki Deboer. Nick Aguilar, another employee, pointed to inviting clown and animal paintings he had created himself, hung around the room. Staff member Liz Edal had sewn red-striped awnings that hung like circus tent tops around the room. Adding to that, a child-sized circus tent beckoned at the side of the room. Toys peeked out from tidy rows of cabinets and shelves, a new play table sitting in the center of the room on a new rainbow-hued rug.

"They did everything by hand. To me, that was one of the most important things," Givas said. "It all came from the heart."

The Washington-based manufacturing company had simply called up the nonprofit and asked to help, she added.

"It was time for something new. They showed up at just the right time," Givas said.

A play room is a crucial piece to a nonprofit like Children's Village, she said, which provides temporary housing for children whose parents aren't able to care for them because of issues like financial constraints or serving jail time.

Diversion and a feeling of safety are important to provide for the 12 children currently living in the nonprofit's facilities, she said. Ages range from infants to high school students.

"What I've already noticed is the excitement in the kids' eyes when they first walk through the door. It's so different from what they've been exposed to," Givas said. "Some just like standing in the doorway and looking in."

Julie Cuchessi, a Berg receptionist who spent months shopping for items for the project, said the company wanted to target philanthropy toward a nonprofit associated with children.

"They always need help," she noted of Children's Village.

Reek Kasun, a longtime Berg employee, added that the improvements were valued around $1,500.

Aguilar's boys, 10-year-old Joseph and 4-year-old Michael, helped test out the play table on Thursday where they had pieced together a train set.

Michael seemed to find the setup acceptable, as he supplied vrooming noises for a toy helicopter he passed over the pieces.

"There's a giant monster," he said of its mission.

Joseph said he thought the additions were appropriately kid friendly.

"I like how they did the room," he said, glancing at the murals.

Givas said she expects to see children at the nonprofit show as much imagination as Michael in the playroom.

"Like all kids, they have to be constantly busy," she said. "It's a great outlet for them."