‘Home For Good’: Art Edmonds Talks Emotional New Makeover Show Honoring Everyday Heroes

Art Edmonds is no stranger to showing gratitude to United States soldiers through home renovations. He did it for more than a decade alongside Montel Williams on Military Makeover. Now he takes that experience into hosting the new series Home For Good, premiering across ABC stations nationwide starting April 4. The heartwarming series honors America’s everyday heroes including first responders, veterans, and community champions.

The 30-minute episodes chronicles the transformations deserving recipients who have overcome extraordinary challenges. Separating itself from other similar house makeover shows, the series also puts a focus on safety within these residences, specifically fire and carbon monoxide education. For Edmonds, it’s a meaningful addition to his already eclectic  resume that includes Built by Hand, Swamp Men, Planet Xtreme, Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Here the TV personality tells us why you might want to have some tissues nearby while watching.

How did the project come about? 

Art Edmonds: After more than a decade honoring our nation’s veterans, my producing partner Rick Fielding and I, who also worked on the other program, decided it was time to expand our scope and honor everyday heroes. People who wear uniforms, and people who don’t. What people don’t realize is a lot of these people, first responders, community people that help others, they have a drive that is engrained in them. They also have a lot of challenges in their life. What you’re finding on Home For Good is we’re telling stories who triumph over tragedy and put the community first in spite of their own personal hardships and challenges. 

Tell us about the stories to come. Ronnie Estep, a firefighter who lost his own home to a fire, sticks out to me. 

Can you imagine that? Being a firefighter and running into burning buildings and helping people in your community, and you’re the one who needs the help. It really was a turning point in that family’s life. Ronnie and his family, they are in their mid to late 20s. They are young people who are starting out and literally lost everything in that fire. Fortunately, they were not home. They have two children. One was born with a pretty serious birth defect in the brain that they have to have ongoing care for. There are a lot of things going on in their personal life. Ronnie gets up every day and puts the uniform on and serves his community. We want to honor and give back, and that’s what we do on Home For Good. We highlight these community heroes, tell their stories, they are relatable and emotional and authentic and the viewer can get a peek behind the curtain to how these folks have to go through in their personal life and put that all to the side to serve others. Our show highlights what they do and then we have a great little makeover part of the show that sort of rewards them for all their hard work. 

What can you say about the safety and educational component as well? 

I’m glad you brought that up because what good is a makeover if it just looks pretty and the home is not protected from carbon monoxide and smoke and fire. Our friends at Kidde, which has over 100 years in the fire protection industry, have stepped up to help bring these stories to light. We integrate all these fire safety tips and educate kids. It can be anything from how to get out of your own house with a fire escape plan. I didn’t even know how to get out of my own house in the middle of the night. I didn’t know you had to have a fire escape plan. It’s something you really don’t think of. They are at the forefront of providing technology and information. We bring that to the show. There is the educational and emotional part of the show. Then there is the best part of every makeover show that you’ve ever seen, which is the before and amazing after, which is really the wow factor these families come home too. 

What kind of challenges do you face tackling the renovations? 

We do these transformations over seven days pretty much across the board without exception. Maybe there is one we had to take a little longer. But in just seven days we’re going to go in, meet the family, and in real time, transform their kitchen or living or dining room area or in one of our stories. Makia Wallace tragically lost her one-year old son. She is a police officer. She worked overnights. We decided this person who serves the community, protecting and serving despite her personal tragedy needs a good place to have a spa like bedroom and bathroom. We don’t just transform one space. We leave them to believe it will be one space and do a little bit more. We have a great design and construction team, all female led, that really go in and have that sensibility of caring for these families. It’s multi-layered, but we get it done in seven days. It’s a pretty amazing process. 

You’ve been in this business for a while. How do you look at your career today? 

That’s a great question. I feel like Home For Good and being the co-creator, co-executive producer, and host of the show, it’s a culmination of all the things of all the experiences I’ve had in my career all in one place. Working on a show like this that has heart and a positive impact ,sure it’s entertaining, but it’s also educational and has emotional and intellectual value. It shows you good things are positive in the world, and there is more that pushes us together than brings us apart. This show is a perfect example of that. We’re highlighting who sacrificed and continue to wake up every day, putting two feet on the floor despite things going on in their own life. 

When we share these stories that can be very difficult for the person to talk about, I always say to these individuals that you might find it difficult to tell this story about yourself or you’re embarrassed or you are too humble to say, you never know who is on the other side of the TV who is feeling the same way you are. They may be feeling they are alone or lost or don’t have a reason to get up to do it every day. You never know what kind of impact you’re going to have by doing this program. It’s very rewarding for me and my production team. It has been a fantastic process seeing things come together to make a positive impact. 

What did you take from working with Montel? 

Well, he is an incredible guy. I learned a lot from him and from R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey, the host before him if you remember Gunnery from Full Metal Jacket. These guys both served and protected our country. They took an oath to the constitution. Once they took off the uniform and retired, they never stopped showing up to serve. That’s what I took from them every day. What can I do in my civilian life and television career that could not only be creative and fun and entertaining, but also have a positive impact on people? Yes, it’s a TV show and it’s educational and entertaining, but people can learn something about themselves and other people and see we are more connected than divided. 

How important is it for shows like this? 

It really is something that is necessary. It’s something that is uplifting and feels good. If you ask any family on a Saturday morning what they can put on and all watch together and get something across all age groups, it’s a show like Home For Good. It feels great to be a part of something that can be enjoyed by so many. I spent 11 years on the old show and on other projects I’ve been privileged to be a part of. The focus is on bringing these stories to life. Firefighters, police officers, people who served in the military but continue to show up in the community. 

There is a gentleman we are working on in the Atlanta, Georgia area right now he grew up homeless and never forgot where he came from. He lived on the streets as a 12-year-old, 13-year-old boy. He is the first to say he could have taken a very bad path and ended up joining the Marine Corps, and serving his country and then raising a family, four children, successfully in business and happily married. He is still known as the local legend because he helps the community and because he grew up homeless he never forgot where he came from. He still goes out with a nonprofit in the area called Covenant House and will go and sleep on the street. They call them sleepouts… to get these kids a different path they can take. It’s incredible to tell these stories in addition to animal rescue. Pets are family members too. We’re doing an animal rescue and highlighting the work this nonprofit does to get animals off the streets, out of the shelters and into forever homes. We like to say even pets deserve a home for good. 

What has been the best advice you received as a host? 

I worked with a lot of great people. You mention Montel and all the other people I’ve had the pleasure of encountering. The best advice I’ve received is to be a good host is it’s not about me. It’s about who I’m speaking to. There is a reason you have two ears and one mouth. You should be listening and speaking less as a host. That all transfers into everyday life too. Put yourself into someone else’s shoes and you’ll learn a lot. It’s a great career that I get to enjoy, but I also get to grow as an individual learning about other people and cultures and lifestyles and realize we have more in common than different. 

Home For Good, series premiere, April 4, ABC (Check Local Listings)