Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is a hit reality TV show for ABC in which a team of designers travels across the country building new homes for deserving families. The catch is that the team has only a week to tear down an existing home and have a brand new one waiting for the family to move into. Hunky carpenter Ty Pennington is the show's host and head designer.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition began in 2003. In each episode the design team travels by bus to the home of a family who needs a new house. The team discusses the family, showing video clips from their application to be on the show, and tosses around ideas for what they might need in their home.

The families involved in the show always have a moving story. Many of them have suffered hardships such as illnesses, injuries, recent deaths of a parent or child, job losses, and natural disasters. These stories are usually the reasons behind the need for a new home, as many families haven't been able to afford desperately needed renovations, or they need their homes to be accessible for disabled family members, or they have brought in so many children that they need more room to take care of them.

Each episode really gets started when lead designer Ty Pennington arrives at the house and calls out with his megaphone, "Good morning!" followed by the name of the family.

After Ty greets the family, they spend some time together to learn more about the current home and what improvements are needed. Then the family is sent on a week-long holiday while the designers set out to make plans for the new house.

Local construction teams donate their time, crews, and equipment to tear down the old home and build the new one. As the building is taking place viewers get to go one-on-one with the designers as they reveal their plans, go out in search of furniture and décor items, and visit with extended family and friends to get a better understanding of the home owners' needs.

It seems incredible that an entire new home, completely ready to move in to, could be finished in a week, but the Extreme Makeover crew almost always accomplished this feat. There have been only a handful of times when the new house wasn't ready due to weather conditions. In these few cases, the families were given an extra day or two of vacation time while the team finished the homes.

While there are a few design team members who come and go, most of them have stayed for the entire run of the series. Regular design team members include:

• Ty Pennington – Lead designer and carpenter. Ty creates one special project in each episode, which is usually the parents' bedroom, a playroom for the kids, or a home theater room.

• Paul DiMeo – Paul is a carpenter, and he's the most emotional member of the team. Numerous episodes end with the family and Paul weeping with joy over their new good fortune. He has a self-deprecating sense of humor.

• Paige Hemmis – Paige is a skilled carpenter and home builder. She stands out from the crowd with her long blond hair and pink builder's helmet. She often works on children's rooms and visits celebrities and sports figures to collect items to decorate her rooms with.

• Michael Moloney – Michael is a designer and has a keen eye for vintage and eclectic items to furnish a home with. He's got lots of energy and is frequently shown giving viewers a tour of what's happening with the home building in the early stages of construction.

• Ed Sanders – Ed started his career in London, England wanting to be an actor. At the urging of his father he learned the trade of carpentry so that he would have something to fall back on should acting not pan out. He adds charm and humor to the show and is often ribbed for his English accent.

• Eduardo Xol – Eduardo is a designer as well as a musician. You can find him singing and strumming a guitar in many episodes. He's known for creating beautiful art pieces that include symbols and words that inspire families and trigger memories of loved ones they have lost.

Visit the official Extreme Makeover: Home Edition website to learn more about the show and the designers, view photos, visit with the families, watch episodes online, and apply to be on the show yourself..

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