Before & After

Resources

Tales From The Set

Letter From Debbie

Hello Everybody;

The virtues of recycling and reusing resources are well-founded and should be respected in all areas of our lives.

When you are pulling down and rebuilding rooms in an unrealistically short time frame, as we do on Facelift, it's not always easy to follow these rules.

However, I am proud to say that we do a good job of making the most of what's on hand.

The wainscoting in Shauna's basement could have been shipped off to the dump, but we cleaned it up and stuck it onto the new storage cabinets.

The freshly whitewashed strips add character and dimension to the inexpensive laminate cabinets, and cost nothing but a few hours of work. (This is when the friends and relatives come to the rescue and help us reach our deadline!)

The parquet floor was in good condition, but dated. Instead of replacing it, we transformed its appearance with paint and stick-on letters of the alphabet.

Due to the excessive heat and humidity, we were forced into overtime for the first time on the show. Fortunately, Rico was able to persuade Shauna to stay away for another 24 hours, which was just enough time for us to complete the room.

Rico's love and devotion for his family, and his enthusiasm throughout the Facelift despite the heat wave were a delight to behold. And the smiling faces on everyone from baby Nicole to their ninety-year-old grandfather was all the thanks we needed.

Love Debbie

Letter From Shauna

Dear Debbie;

When I arrived home from my trip to our trailer with my parents and daughter Nicole, and being four months pregnant, I was exhausted. Then I saw the basement and my first thought was how good could I look after camping, and second thought was wow, what a transformation.

You took the ugliest basement and made it a wonderful family room where Rico and I could relax, and our two-year-old daughter Nicole and soon-to-come baby could play. It was totally an outdated basement with tacky features like the stucco ceiling, wood paneling and that hideous bar. You made it a bright, modern and warm place for the family to be together with lots of storage. You also solved a huge problem as the second bedroom upstairs was my daughter's playroom, but with another baby on the way, it gave me a place to put the new nursery.

I was overwhelmed to see my family and your crew. There were so many people involved. My daughter absolutely loves her new basement, and to this day thinks there's a party down there -- all the commotion has been imprinted on her brain.

How did Rico pull this off without me knowing? He's such a sweetheart and I love him for everything. Afterward I told him he could have sent me to a spa so that I would have looked better on camera, but he said I would have gotten suspicious. And he's right.

Thank you Debbie and everyone involved. The room is a great success and if you want to come back and help me with the rest of the house you are most welcome.

Sincerely, Shauna