Ty Pennington’s a graphic designer, model, handyman, designer and the ringmaster who yells “move that bus,” to reveal amazing feats of construction magic done each week by the volunteers of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
While his team conjures major “life improvement” projects on behalf of people who have lost everything or given much to others, Pennington is quick to remember his roots. It was the low- budget TLC show “Trading Spaces,” where entire rooms were made over from $1,000 or less, that gave this self-described carpenter-comedian his start.
Today at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Pennington speaks at the new Denver Home Show at the National Western Complex. He’ll dispense remodeling wisdom for ordinary people — who don’t have a cast of thousands ready to help. Discount tickets for the event are available at .
Q: How does the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team work so efficiently when most of us can’t do a single home project without going to the hardware store a dozen times?
A: Choreography kind of comes into play. We work with local builders, and these guys understand what has to happen, and we have to have enough subcontractors and enough volunteers to help in other ways. Even with all the volunteers, only a few are qualified to handle certain things we need done. And we have to have a rested crew waiting, just in case.
Q: So you parachute into a town and get a bunch of people to work together perfectly on the first try?
A: These are people who usually compete, who are working together to make a family’s life better. Egos have to take a break. On a regular job site, you might have people cussing and saying “You can’t do that job now.” But here, they put all that aside. The plumber gets the extra hour they need. I’ve never seen that in the building industry. People just bend over backward to get the job done.
Q: But seriously, you guys always have all the stuff you need to get the work done, even if you’re in a place as remote as Chapman, Kan.
A: We have runners. We make a list. It’s constant. But when you’re out in a town like that, it makes it difficult. So you also have to have a prepped hardware truck with (all the) nuts and bolts that you need. There’s a lot that goes into this thing.
Q: Are all the volunteers skilled?
A: (It’s) pretty much half and half. Tradesmen come to volunteer, then they go on radio and TV and say “we need help” and people come… We also have people who volunteer in one state, and then travel with us to another.
We have volunteers who can’t do anything but hand out water. But you know what? We also still need people at the end of it to help tidy up and get everything show-ready. (There’s) so much going on, on day seven, it would make your head spin.
Q: What you do on the show is pretty extraordinary. What insight can you offer a person who wants to do a simple home project?
A: The question is how do you make your home not only fit your needs, but be reflective of who you are. People have trouble figuring that out. Look in places like your closet: You dress yourself every day. So what are you comfortable in? If you don’t wear the dinner tux in public, don’t put it in your house. But adding a denim throw pillow to a khaki couch isn’t a bad idea. I look at it like that. The tie is like a throw pillow. It’s a pop of color. I know that, and I’m not even a metrosexual!
