Extreme Heart

A huge cast of local contractors gives this Minnetonka family a new home for the holidays

By Suzy Feine

Photo by aaron holmberg

When Paul DiMeo, a designer for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, met with 11-year-old Tyler Lee prior to building the new Swenson-Lee home in
Minnetonka, he asked Tyler what he missed most in his recently uprooted life. “Hugs from my mom,” Tyler told him.

Two years ago, Tyler’s life, and those of his three siblings, changed forever. His mom, Teri Lee, and her boyfriend were murdered by her ex-boyfriend. Since the children’s father had died several years earlier in a car accident, Teri’s sister, Vicki Swenson, and Vicki’s husband, Erik, took in Tyler; Taylor, age 13; Trevor, age 9; and Tara, age 7. Adding Teri’s children to their own—10-year-old Samantha and 2-year-old twins, Stella and Olivia, plus newborn Eva Lynn—meant that Erik and Vicki’s small, three-bedroom Minnetonka home was literally overflowing. “We had dressers in the hallway, dressers at the top of the stairs, and mine and Erik’s room became a storage closet,” Vicki says. “The girls used to joke that they have ‘bed-rooms’ because there were only beds in every room.”

photo by Armida Ramos

Enter Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Vicki, a child psychology teacher and the head volleyball coach at Hopkins High School, and Erik, an advanced history teacher at Hopkins and the head football coach at The Blake School, were nominated for the program by Vicki’s high school volleyball team. “I was so touched that this group of high school kids took the time to make a video and wanted to do something nice for us,” Vicki says.

One month prior to the build, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition contacted Tom Budzynski, owner of Blaine-based TJB Homes, to gauge his interest in the project. “We knew we couldn’t replace the hugs from Tyler’s mother, but we could give the family a hug from the community,” says Budzynski, who spent the next three weeks making phone calls and asking countless local businesses and professionals to donate time, money, and supplies to the project.

photo by aaron holmberg

The community’s response to Minnesota’s first Extreme Makeover: Home Edition appearance was overwhelming. More than 2,000 volunteers signed up in two days, and nearly 4,000 local workers, volunteers, and vendors took part in the project, including more than 1,500 local contractors and subcontractors from 100 different trades. “These are companies that are heavy competitors on the street, but they all came together to build this house,” Budzynski says.

On the morning of August 21, 2007, Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team for the Swenson-Lee project—DiMeo, Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis, and Tracy Hutson—pulled up in front of the Swenson-Lee home, bullhorn in hand, to make the announcement. “The kids were screaming and jumping up and down,” Erik says. “The day was so surreal.”

photo by aaron holmberg

A week later, the family returned from a vacation at Disneyland to a new 5,600-square-foot, seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home. “A house like this is a seven-month project,” Budzynski says. “We did it in 99 hours.”

Entering the home, the nine Swenson-Lees were greeted by the New York loft-feel of the great room. “New York represents energy and vitality,” says Moloney, who designed the great room and the owners’ bedroom with much of the furnishings donated by HOM Furniture and Gabberts in the Galleria. “They’re a young, vibrant family, so that is the vibe we went for.” A New York cityscape scene embellishes an entire wall in the entryway, and the remaining soft gray walls are accented with rustic red brick on the fireplace and kitchen island. White-and-black checked chairs, a red leather couch, and white leather footstools get added kick from silver mirrors, candlesticks, and vases.

photo by Linda’s Photography

“Michael really wanted us to have an adult space because it’s so easy to let your life be consumed by kids,” says Vicki, who often dreamed of living in a New York-style loft. “So the main level is really an adult space, and the kids have their own level in the basement.”

photo by scott wyberg

The other adult space designed with Vicki and Erik in mind is the owners’ suite. “Vicki and Erik are a young couple who are very much in love, and they can close the doors to the master bedroom and have peace and quiet,” Moloney says. Shaded in granny apple green, mocha, and aqua, the vibrant palette of the walls coordinates with the floral-patterned velvet duvet on the bed. “The bedding was custom-made for them; it’s kind of a pop-art floral, not too feminine and not too masculine,” says Moloney, who handpicked the furniture for the room at Gabberts. “Dark, hardwood floors and a thick shag rug under the bed tie it all together.”

photo by aaron holmberg

The home’s kid-friendly spaces include the lower level, complete with a projection-screen television designed to look like a stage, giant beanbag chairs, play centers, and six custom-designed bedrooms, from an Elmo room to a Minnesota sports locker room. Otten Bros. Nursery & Landscaping, based in Long Lake, provided a beautiful outdoor space where the family can spend time together enjoying the volleyball court, waterfall, outdoor kitchen with a fireplace, hot tub, wooden swing set, lit walkways, and fire pit.

photo by aaron holmberg

Reflecting back on her whirlwind year, Vicki remains positive about the future. “With or without [Extreme Makeover], people have been so kind to us over the last year,” she says. “It’s such a powerful story and it really hit home with a lot of people. There’s so much good in the world, and this proves it.”

Suzy Feine is a freelance writer and editor from Elko.

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