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" Last night, Cindy and Steve Ambers&amp;#039; three young children were running around the kitchen island in their Los Angeles home. &amp;quot;They must have done about 100 laps, each time high-fiving me at the sink.&amp;quot; Cindy Ambers told us. &amp;quot;The room was filled with pure laughter and joy \u2014 they were having an incredible time in their home.&amp;quot;  It sounds like a simple scene. But two years after the Ambers lost their Los Angeles house to a fire \u2014 and endured the heartache and rebuilding that followed \u2014 it&amp;#039;s the type of moment they&amp;#039;ll never take for granted. *** It was the sixth night of Hanukkah, and the Ambers family\u2014newly larger with the birth of their daughter just three months earlier \u2014 had just lit the menorah in the kitchen, said the Hanukkah prayer, and went to the next room to open presents. As they settled in with their two toddlers, baby, and Steve Ambers&amp;#039; 80-year-old mother, suddenly their oldest son cried out. &amp;quot;Mommy, the kitchen&amp;#039;s on fire!&amp;quot; Steve and Cindy tried to put it out but it was soon clear that it was too big. They knew they had to get out. Steve&amp;#039;s mother took both boys by the hands, Cindy ran out with the baby, and Steve tore through the house to try and save their five animals \u2014 all of which, like the family, thankfully survived. A neighbor across the street ushered them in and they watched through the window as the fire trucks came in and the fire took over.  At 6am the next morning, Cindy thought she&amp;#039;d get supplies from the house but it turned out that everything was gone. If it hadn&amp;#039;t burned in the fire, it was all smoke and water. Since the fire got into the structure of the house, it was ruined. Steve went to Target to pick up necessities \u2014 toothbrushes, shoes, diapers. The vet came to pick up the animals. &amp;quot;I said, &amp;#039;I can do this, I can solve this,&amp;#039; Cindy tells us, &amp;quot;&amp;#039;but I needed a place.&amp;#039;&amp;quot; They stayed with friends. They stayed in a hotel. Meanwhile, her oldest son developed serious fears, and felt guilty for not noticing the fire earlier. All three of the children struggled with asthma, all while they moved six times over the next two years.  But there were silver linings, too. The community rallied in an incredible way. &amp;quot;Every day, trucks brought pots, pans, silverware, glasses...insurance companies don&amp;#039;t rent cribs so someone donated one. People started a meal train for us,&amp;quot; says Cindy. &amp;quot;They were amazing.&amp;quot; And then there was Robin Wilson. When Wilson, an interior designer and long-time friend of Steve&amp;#039;s, found out about the disaster, she sprang into action. She quickly mobilized colleagues, companies, and charitable partners to start the project of building a new home for the Ambers in the spot where their home had once stood \u2014 but one that was eco-friendly, fire-safe, and non-toxic. She managed to get over $250,000 in labor, services, and products donated, not only from her own brand of services and textiles, but brands such as Kohler, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Hinkley Lighting, and Cosentino, to what would become known as the Eco Bungalow. &amp;quot;Robin shepherded us and guided us through the process of designing the home \u2014 but she also helped me find the confidence to trust my instincts. I&amp;#039;d never taken on a project like this and she helped me make the new space not just an incredible house...but &amp;#039;my&amp;#039; house,&amp;quot; says Cindy.  During the difficult times of moving around and trying to piece their lives back together, Steve handled the insurance and Cindy took on the emotional well-being of the children. &amp;quot;I told them we were on a grand adventure, and that as long as we were together, we could do anything,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;And it&amp;#039;s been tre \u2014 in a weird way, it brought our family closer together and that&amp;#039;s the best thing that could have happened out of all this.&amp;quot; A week ago, the Ambers unpacked their last box in the finished house and set in, finally, for a permanent home. The kids are no longer too scared to sleep outside of their parents&amp;#039; bed. What&amp;#039;s more, they&amp;#039;ve been cleaning up after themselves \u2014 they&amp;#039;re house proud.&amp;quot;  While it seemed to Cindy that the ordeal would never end, the whole family now feels transformed. And when they experience moments like the one last night \u2014 the laughter, the unbridled joy, the warmth of the home\u2014they&amp;#039;re able to sit back and enjoy that moment. Thanks to a incredible amount of kindness from the community, and their own resilience.   The Ambers&amp;#039; kitchen, now. Photo by Matt Armendariz. Click through to see more photos of the new home This article originally appeared on ELLEDECOR.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a1871/robin-wilson-ambers-family-fire-elledecor/>