10.27.06: It's Ty time

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BY PATTI VANNOY / Lincoln Journal Star

In May 2005, the Journal Star's Patti Vannoy talked with Ty Pennington, the man behind "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition".

 “Ty” must be short for time-crazed.

Most celebrities keep busy, bent on using their 15 minutes of fame to full advantage, but TV host and carpenter Ty Pennington’s schedule is a bit ridiculous.

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Pennington

Pennington

“I’ve been a busy beaver since day one,” he said during a phone interview late last month.

A former model for such outlets as J.Crew, Swatch, Body Glove and Land’s End, as well as owner and designer of the Los Angeles-based Furniture Unlimited, Pennington describes himself as a creative type with a passion for design.

“I would have never guessed it would lead me to such a fulfilling job,” he said.

Make that jobs.

His first onscreen creative outlet was “Trading Spaces,” the home improvement show that rocketed to popularity on TLC (Time Warner cable channel 45) in 2000 and has since inspired several spin-offs.

That’s where the public got its first glimpse of the boisterous, goofy ball of energy that is Ty. On that show, he was one of two carpenters that raced against the clock to deliver handmade furniture to interior designers while sticking to a strict budget and cracking a joke at every turn.

Ever since “Trading Spaces,” Pennington said, he’s been trying to figure out how to outdo himself over and over, ever faster and faster.

First there was “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which debuted on ABC in 2003. Pennington is the star and leader of the crew that drastically remodels/rebuilds one house each week for a hard-luck family in need.

For example, he mentioned a family grateful just to be outfitted with running water, a blind man whose life was made easier by home modifications and a seriously ill girl whose white blood cell count rebounded after her family’s home was overhauled with color.

“It changes your life when you spend your weeks really altering people’s lives and making things better,” he said. “It’s good. I’ve got the greatest job in America, man — I get to be Santa Claus to so many people.”

The show’s emotional aspect is what the host credits with launching it into ABC’s top five.

 “Our show’s not so much about the home improvement, as much about family improvement and human improvement,” he said, going on to add “life improvement” to his list.

“I think it gives a lot of people hope, you know?” he said.

As if Pennington didn’t have his hands full with two hourlong network TV shows, he’s also recently launched a line of home products available at Sears.

And he traveled to Chicago the first week in May 2005 to present two brightly colored, coordinated dorm decor packages to Lincoln East High School seniors Bethany and Britney Wekesser, who were featured May 9 on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” as part of an episode in which viewers’ wildest dreams came true.

He also told the twins that Alltel Corp. had agreed to pay four years of tuition and room and board for them to attend Baylor University, a dream of theirs that had been a looming financial hardship for their family.

Pennington is also lending his name and face and boundless enthusiasm to an Alltel sweepstakes — the reason for the Journal Star’s interview, which was conducted at 5:55 a.m. California time — that will award one winner $1 million and Pennington’s design consulting services to build his or her dream home.

The great thing about the contest, he said, is that it gives him a chance to connect with someone that might not meet the requirements for help on his television shows.

“People say all the time, ‘When are you gonna come do my house?’ The answer is, ‘As soon as you’ve got a really sad luck story,’” he said.

Not true with the ALLTEL contest, which runs through early July. Just about anyone with a cell phone could win, he said.

And, like a true spokesperson, Pennington went on to extol the virtues of the text messaging technology at the center of the contest.

At work, he uses his cell phone constantly to keep in contact with all the parties in that week’s home renovation: the family, the builders, the designers and the film crews. But he can’t have it ringing while cameras are rolling, he said, so text messaging has become almost as important a tool as the ones in his belt.

With all these projects underway at once, Pennington admittedly doesn’t have much time for his own home projects. But he makes time, in a sideways fashion, to outfit his house with self-designed, handcrafted furniture (which can now be seen in the May issue of InStyle magazine).

How does he do that? By incorporating it into his work. Pennington insists on personally designing and building at least one piece for every episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” — and while he’s at it, he makes a copy for himself, too.

Sure, he could go out and buy furniture, he said, but, “That’s not me. I always try to put a little bit of me in everything we do” — which is a lot.

Oprah probably put it best, when thanking Pennington for appearing on her show: “You’re the busiest guy in TV.”

Reach Patti Vannoy at 473-7254 or jspvannp@journalstar.com.