EXTREME MAKEOVER HOME EDITION - Special Civil War episode!

Here are the stats for this week’s episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition: 

# of hugs: 12

# of group hugs: 2

# of times Dave cried: 2

# of times Ty spoke much louder than necessary: 17
 

The EMHO bus traveled to Virginia to help out the Lucas family, whose father is serving in Iraq as a member of the Virginia National Guard. Patriots and Civil War history buffs, the Lucas family bought a historic piece of property that was once the site of the Chatham House, a significant Civil War locale. They began building their dream house on the property, but only got as far as the foundation and frames before the war interrupted and dad was sent overseas. The rest of the family had to live in a small run-down house while their building site rotted.

That’s where Ty, his team of super-enthusiastic designers, and the usual horde of volunteers step in and that’s when the hugging and Ty’s yelling starts.  Did he suffer inner ear damage when he was a kid or something?  Because the dude yells.  A lot.

I was actually more interested in the house than the family this time around, but that must just be because I’ve opened myself up to EMHO in the past and just ended up crying a lot. I’ve got a job to do, man, I can’t be crying while I watch TV. So although the Lucas family did pluck gently at my metaphorical heart strings, I found myself more involved with what the end product was going to be like. 

You can take a look at the house here on ABC.com, it’s excellent. BTW, every week some intern with EMHO uploads literally hundreds of photos of the homes on that week’s show. It’s a great resource and you can get some really cool ideas from all the interior shots of the house – go check it out. 

The new Lucas family house is a modern recreation of the Chatham House, incorporating 19^th century aesthetics into a state of the art structure with all kinds of neat appliances. The interior décor is all evocative of the Civil War era, from the floral wallpaper to the brick floor in the kitchen. The team stripped and refinished a set of French doors and a beautiful mantle piece that the Lucas’ had salvaged from the original house and worked them seamlessly into the design. You could tell the family was impressed and touched – and psyched! Their house is awesome! Pa Lucas even got an outbuilding as his own private museum of Civil War memorabilia as well as artifacts donated by generous history buffs.

The two Lucas boys each got their own custom rooms, the only places in the house that were free from the 19^th Century. The oldest boy is interested in oceanography and got a lavish undersea room (pictured below) that I would have absolutely loved as a boy. Those glowing bubble pillars alone would have sealed the deal for me. The youngest son Joe, who is on the autism spectrum, got a pirate-themed room with a treasure chest bed, bean bag chairs, and all manner of swashbuckling decorations. Again, Young Dave would have loved a pirate room, too. How come my parents never got me an over-the-top pirate room? If I had only brought home more As on my report card… 

Although I was really interested in the end result, the home, this week, it wouldn’t be Extreme Makeover Home Edition if I didn’t end up crying. You know what I’m a total sucker for? Military dads who surprise their kids. We’ve all seen the human interest pieces on the news where a serviceman comes home from overseas and surprises his kids at a school assembly or in their classroom. That’s good stuff, isn’t it? You’ve got to be made of stone if that doesn’t get you a little emotional. 

This week Ty and Co hid Pa Lucas on the bus when they first went to meet the Lucas family, and then he jumped off the bus to everyone’s surprise. I mean, I’m sure they knew he was coming home soon because of the show and all, but it’s still great to see the family receive such an unexpected and welcome surprise. I love stuff like that.
 

-- Dave Campbell

Comments

[Cheryl Kepple]

Really loved this home; by far my favorite; is it possible to obtain a floor plan? mainly the main or first floor; email awesomecheryl@hotmail.com

[Tyler]

Dave, I'm very concerned about the alarming amount of crying that you've been doing lately. I hope those phat ABC benefits include psych evals. I'm just sayin. It's not normal for a grown man to cry on a regular basis. I'm concerned.

[Karla]

can anyone tell me more about the brick floor in the kitchen area? is it old used brick, or perhaps, "new" brick that has been treated and sealed? If anyone has any ideas about it, that would be great, thank you! LOVED the house!

History Buff that I am...Karla

[J Chatham]

I enjoy the show but am very interested in knowing more about the historical Chatham House. Can anyone tell me where it was located and is it still standing? Was it owned by a Chatham or named for location. Interested in family history. thanks

[Abby]

I loved the pirate bedroom! Does anyone know where I can find a picture of the treasure chest bed? My husband is a carpenter and we would love to build one for our son! I am with you Dave...I can't stop crying either!!

[David D. Campbell]

Hey Abby, you can find a picture of the treasure chest bed on the EMHO page on ABC.com. Go to the photo gallery here:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=photos#t=33171

Click on the gallery for the episode that aired 03/02/2008. There are hundreds of photos of the house, and if you use the little down-arrows you can scroll through until you find a great picture of the treasure chest bed.

-Dave Campbell

[David D. Campbell]

Hi J Chatham,

I'd suggest touching base with a Virginia civil war history buff like at this site:

http://members.aol.com/jweaver300/grayson/vacwhp.htm

To my knowledge, the Chatham house was in or around Cullen, VA and was no longer standing. Good luck!

-DC