Inside The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Raleigh Home

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Build a brand new house to meet a modern family’s needs while respecting the home’s location in an old and historic neighborhood. That was the challenge set before ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition team and HomeLife Communities when the Riggins’ family home in Raleigh’s Mordecai district was chosen for a makeover.

The results of the December build were revealed in the show’s January 21st episode. The Riggins family was driven in a limo to HomeLife’s viewing party at the Hilton, where they were joined by some of the hundreds of locals who made it all happen. While Don Mead, HomeLife’s Raleigh Division president, got face time on the broadcast, he was quick to point out that more than 128 local businesses contributed everything from stones to donuts to keep the work – and the workers – going.

By the time the shouts of “Move that bus!” erupted, hundreds of volunteers had torn down the dilapidated two-bedroom, one-bath wooden bungalow that had stood on Poplar Street for 80 years. In its place, they had built a two-story stone cottage with gas lanterns, Tudor windows and custom copper gutters and downspouts that looked as if it had always been there.

It began a month earlier with the ABC design team, Mead says. They quickly realized the challenge ahead, toured the neighborhood and took pictures of other houses in the area. Then, they went to the drawing board and planned a new home that would incorporate elements of the surrounding historic properties.

“If you had put a modern house there, it would have been out of place,” Mead said. “That’s the reason for the reverse gables, arched doors and Bucks County rubble stone façade. The concept from the beginning was to build a house that would fit the neighborhood as well as address the family’s needs.”

The interior elements are also in keeping with the period. Dark wood floors, curtain rods, raised-panel doors, beams, crown moulding, chair and hand rails, window and door trim make the house look as if were merely renovated rather than built from scratch. Much of the trim and four authentic hand-turned columns in the living room came from Mark Rutter’s East Coast Millwork in Maryland. Rutter, also an aircraft pilot, flew down to make a special delivery when designers, who loved the trim, decided to use more of it than anticipated.

    he living room, which features a dark-wood built-in china display like many older homes of the era, also boasts a big-screen TV in an armoire with Art Deco lines that looks as if it might have been a family heirloom. It is actually a new piece from the Martha Stewart Collection, according to Dean Thompson, marketing director for the Hendricks Furniture Group. It, along with the rest of the interior furnishings, were hand-picked by designer Tracy Hudson and donated by Boyles Furniture.

 Boyles provided a pair of wing chairs in a linen fabric for the living room along with a pale green-blue modern sofa in a linen-look fabric. The room’s light blue patterned wallpaper and area rug and cream-colored drapes make the room a cozy place for the family to gather on Friday nights and watch a movie.

The spacious new kitchen has all the modern conveniences, the benefits of which have not been wasted on Mead who has been to supper at the Riggins home and declares Linda “a wonderful cook.” Likewise, Mead has also been treated to a little ice cream, courtesy of Ben and Jerry’s. The sublime ice cream maker had been asked to provide snacks for workers, and the local shop stocking the cooler installed one at the Riggins’ home as well, promising the family a sweet 12 months of treats. The corporate office heard about the gift and donated a year’s supply of ice cream to every family featured on the show this year.

When, it’s “upstairs” to the bedrooms – via the new elevator.  “The elevator was a cool idea,” Mead says, “but also a necessity because all of the bedrooms are on the second floor and Linda’s mobility is limited by a severely arthritic hip.”

The luxurious master suite features an ebony four-poster bed against a bright yellow accent wall rising to a high, white tray ceiling with recessed lighting. The room was personally decorated by host Ty Pennington, who went so far as to repaint the factory-stained bed a darker more dramatic color. Thompson says the company loved what he did to the bed. Pennington also chose for the room black and white linens, white drapes with deep black borders and a gray patterned wallpaper for the remaining three walls. A nearby gray and white sitting room features a restored Eastlake Victorian loveseat from the couple’s former home now recovered in bright yellow fabric. The room also features black and white prints of the children and a modern ivory dresser outfitted as a desk for Linda.

The master bath, now the largest room in the house, is a breathtaking modern marvel with all the bells and whistles. A spout in the ceiling fills the rectangular jetted tub tiled in stone and flanked by a privacy wall hung with framed art prints. On the flip side those frames hold mirrors over his-and-her stainless steel sinks in a hard maple vanity with a Cappuccino onyx countertop. A walk-in shower is in the corner opposite a dressing area with floor-to-ceiling custom cabinetry. The bathroom walls are tiled in vertical stripes of white, cream and shades of gray.

The children’s rooms are brightly colored and packed with new toys. The girls, who used to sleep in the dining room, have separate bedrooms tucked up under the eaves in the house. The rooms were designed by ABC Extreme team members Paul DiMeo and Tracy Hudson, who decided on themes after talking to each of them. For Christa Marie, 4, who loves to play dress-up, DiMeo pulled together a shades-of-pink striped room with white daybed, vanity and armoire from Stanley Furniture’s Youth Collection. Also in the collection is a floor-to-ceiling hand-crafted castle façade that leads into a large, walk-in closet full of frilly princess and fairy costumes along with all the accessories.

For Earlene, 3, who loves playing with baby dolls, Tracy created a pastel pink and white room filled with dozens and dozens of dolls in every size and manner of dress. In addition to the baskets, carriages, strollers and cribs that hold dolls, custom shelves take up an entire closet to house some of Earlene’s precious new collection. Her white painted single bed, dresser and nightstand are also from Stanley Furniture. The girls share a bath that reflects their passion for pink with deep pink ceramic fixtures and a double vanity topped with Praline marble.

William Jr.’s sports-themed bedroom is filled with Legos and is Don Mead’s favorite room in the house. “William used to sleep in a shed off the back of the house,” he said. “Two days after we saw the application video, we went to see the house. When I saw that room, I told my team that even if this family isn’t selected, we are going to do this house. His new room is beautiful.”

William now sleeps in a bed marked off like a football field with a goalpost rising from the headboard. His bedside table is filled with Legos. His desk and chair, along with much of the artwork in his room, are made from Legos. And, just in case he still doesn’t have enough, there are Lego dispensers mounted on one wall.

While the new home, at more than 3,000 square feet, is nearly double the size of the former home, that isn’t evident from the street. The narrow, deep lot appears to hold a house just like any other on the street. Downstairs, just beyond the kitchen and garden room is a covered porch where Linda can sit and watch the children at play in their new fenced-in back yard. A door off the porch leads to William Sr.’s workshop.

William, who was a tailor until he lost his eyesight to disease in 1985, works as an assembler at Lions Club Industries. “He is very focused on doing what he can to help his family,” Mead said. “We were very happy to build him this space.” Not only did so many people come together to build the Riggins a new house, but they collected money and paid off all outstanding medical bills and the old mortgage – about $150,000, Mead said. College funds have also been set up for the children.

In addition to the home, workers also painted and landscaped Building Together Ministries, a community center across the street from the Riggins’ home where the couple has worked for the past 15 years. The non-profit organization helps disadvantaged parents and their children.

The relationship between the community center and the builders is ongoing, Mead said. In January, the community center got a new HVAC system. HomeLife employees now serve as mentors to children in the after-school program. Painting parties are sprucing up other rooms in the center. And, HomeLife has launched a program to provide job opportunities for center youth interested in getting into the construction trades.

Mead credits Linda Riggins for the inspiration. “Even in the face of adversity she does for others first, whether it’s for her husband, or her children or her community. She has an unbelievable drive to do good for others. Linda Riggins is a true American hero.”

Jane Shealy is a Freelance Writer