Monday, September 22, 2008
Opening the show, Oprah welcomed back favorite designer Nate Berkus as she greeted Dan from Utah on Skype. Dan wrote in to Oprah explaining how he and his wife were busy raising 5 boys under 5 and he wanted to do something special for her to give her the break she needs. Dan was hoping for some help to redesign their master bedroom so that his wife would have a retreat in their home. Oprah had Dan go get his wife Stephanie out of bed for the morning for their surprise. Since Nate was needed in Chicago, Oprah sent designer Thom Felicia to Dan and Stephanie's home in Utah to start the work on the room right then!
Thom's goal was to give Stephanie the retreat she needed and finish it by the end of the show - giving him just over an hour to completely redesign a room, paint and all. With an entire crew from Lowe's, Thom had Dan and Stephanie head outside so they could get started.
While Thom got to work, Nate and Oprah explained Fannie's story. Fannie was chosen in 2003 to go on the Oprah Show and be a 'Princess for a Day' where she was given a new van. It was in that van that Fannie and nearly a dozen of her relatives escaped hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since the hurricane, Fannie and her family had lived in a shelter and then a FEMA trailer outside of her destroyed home for over 18 months. When Oprah heard about Fannie in an update show, she decided to have Nate help Fannie finish the remodel of her damaged home.
The renovations were completed 3 months ago, but were just revealed to Oprah and the viewers during the show. While Nate worked on the house, Fannie and her family moved their things into storage and lived in a hotel so that they could say goodbye to the trailer. Finally after 3 years being out of her house, Fannie was welcomed back to a completed home. Nate walked Fannie and her husband with the cameras through the house, showing the new living room, kitchen, guest room/den, master suite, backyard and new laundry room.
Oprah explained that while Fannie and her family had been living in and enjoying the home, due to hurricane Gustav, the family had to evacuate their home in September of 2008 and had just been allowed back before the show. Via Skype, Fannie expressed just how grateful she was for everything that had been done for her and that it all keeps her grounded knowing that there is good and hope in the world.
Oprah wanted to continue making people's dreams come true, so she announced that someone in the audience would get to Take Home Nate to do a home project. Oprah told the story of Joan and Ken from New York who purchased their dream home in 2001 and had started work on it when Joan found out she had breast cancer in 2003. Joan wrote into the show saying how she really wanted to turn her basement into the workroom her husband always wanted and a family room for their 2 sons. The couple was thrilled to find out they would get to Take Home Nate!
Near the end of the show, Oprah and Nate checked in with Thom for one last time to see if he was finished with the room makeover. Thom succeeded in transforming Dan and Stephanie's room into a coral beach getaway. Thom started his plan by reorganizing the furniture to face the windows as well as changing the wall color. Adding in elements of the beach, Thom also added a rug to the floor and highlighted the windows with new treatments. With additional lighting and an added sitting area with shelving, a sanctuary for mom was completed.
