How'd They Do That? Leslie Family

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
How’d They Do That? The Leslie Family
Recap By J.G. Bird
4-5-05

Robin and Doug Leslie loved their long-term plans to make “home” for their 4 sons be a plantation-era home which they had purchased 5 years earlier. ABC and Home Makeover become involved in this story when Robin’s sister-in-law nominates the Leslie family after tragedy strikes. Just over a year ago, Robin’s husband and oldest son died in a car accident. This mom has had to put on a happy face for her young sons. She’s working as a school counselor and raising 3 boys under the age of 7 on her own now – it’s easy to acknowledge her ability to be strong.

A stone’s throw from the Mississippi River, this home in Braithwaite, Louisiana was once part of the large Stella Plantation. Larry LeBlanc is an architect interviewed on the show who noted the home was once closer to the levee, and then moved to its present location. The close-knit communities of the area, Dalcour, Plaquemines Parish, Braithwaite of course brim with neighbors, friends and on-lookers eager to spread the word on national television about the comforts of the South. They are also called upon throughout this episode to highlight that it’s the people-reason for the outpouring of caring and hard-work, not simply to accomplish fabulous design achievements. Quite simply, one on-looker just says, “Do a good job!”

Paul gets a little harassed during this week by a bit of voodoo-style hijinks from Preston, but before that grumpy look creeps into Paul’s look, we get to see him enjoying the scenery. Paul notes that the look of the black mud, the fish and boats on the Mississippi remind him of Tom Sawyer – he seems like he would enjoy the idle life of the famous storybook character.

The family is seen enjoying the hand-demolition of their home over laptop sent video images. They sure look cozy in the lodge of the Fairmont Hotel and Banff ski resort. The boys were all into Ty’s broad use of a sledgehammer. (Let’s hope they didn’t leave those boys too many Craftsman tools to tear apart the house!) They’ve already got a good idea of how that works, even without heavy machinery.

Preston and Paige go over items they specifically want to keep for the reveal, and/or restore to place in the redesigned surroundings. Remember, except for the occasional ugly couch, nothing of the family’s is just trashed along with the home. A whole team of professional movers come in to pack up all the belongings. The design team just needs to designate what should be kept for easy retrieval once the new stuff is moved in to the completed house.

The team notes Demo day was “odd.” It’s hard to imagine Preston not having a clue about Mardi Gras festivities, but Paul being into it! Producer Forman wants the Demo segment to come off as a signature welcome to “The Big Easy.” The New Orleans’s Mardi Gras procession to carry in the volunteer crew includes a local high school brass band playing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Apparently they keep the music going during demolition. Ty is out in the crowd among “Ty-groupies.” It’s cute to see one teen girl sneak a little surreptitious pat on Ty’s hair as he’s bent over to sign an autograph.

The house is taken down to its bones. The giant canvas that is hoisted by enormous crane to protect the home from the week’s expected rain was especially fabricated for this project. Pete Vicari mentions that it may be the first of its kind for a restoration of this size. I guess that’s why they couldn’t replace it. Remember the rain still comes, and turns the grounds into a mud bath. Ty teases Eduardo about his plans for “dryscape” in his landscape plan.

Despite the rain, Pete Vicari General Contractors, Inc. is certainly careful and professional about making sure nothing that became saturated is just worked with or built upon. It’s a priority to him that it has to be done right. Water and the land are more than inhibitors to the work-in-progress; they are also inspiring and symbolic. Eduardo reuses some old sugar kettles, large metal basins left on the property from long ago, and with these he fabricates an homage to the family and the father and son that have passed. It becomes a rustic fountain placed at the center of a garden area.

A gracious “Ms. Lynn” shows Paige Hemmis the Stella Plantation and welcomes her to Plaquemines Parish – Paige is touring around this large, historic farm to get inspiration of the twin’s room. Stables for beds and the open-wide doors on the “toy barn” really worked well. Paige worked a lot of time, something like 15 straight hours, inside the room piecing together her plans. Most of it was too big too just build outside and move in to the room.

Ty’s secret room was apparently a bit of a struggle this time. Robin Leslie came across as still a bit guarded in her interactions, and perhaps, this kept Ty from having a clear idea of what design features would please her. Ty goes straight to some of Robin’s friends to get an opinion on two of the “looks” he’s considering. He seems relieved when they both agree on the one he would have picked himself. A mocha and chocolate wallpaper pattern that calls upon the polygonal design some vintage tiling in a Nineteenth century home would have. In addition, Ty reuses materials from the original home and incorporates the families many portraits. Ty demonstrates how he mitered porch planks to make large picture frames. Window seats at each of the interior nooks created by the second story gables are built out of huge beams. Ty carries through further natural elements by salvaging drift wood that he uses decoratively and duplicates the use of big beams for Robin’s bed. They looked like 6x6 inch beams encircling the box spring mattress.

On this same theme of pulling back into the house much of the past materials and history - The dining room table was built out of “barge board,” wood from turn of the century watercraft which was dismantled to build part of the original house. Paul and Preston carefully and thoroughly planed the old wood then distressed it, using every trick in the book – butane torch on the surface, hitting the surface with heavy chains. At some point, while Preston and Paul were collaborating, Preston drew a “Paul Doll” cut it out and made a spectacle of Paul. Only my daughter caught that Preston was wagging the doll in the air and Paul, off in the distance, is wagging back and forth as he works. Other than seeing more of the boys hamming for the camera and a reveal of the excellent landscape out back, I still had the feeling by the end of this How’d They Do That? that we hadn’t seen everything. (I missed Michael, particularly.) I guess that’s what happens when the cast and crew get bogged by rain and take it down to the wire on the deadline – As Ty states, “Even I don’t remember everything that went on this week.”