Chip Wade - Expert Craftsman

It’s been about 6 months since I started building the newest addition to our house—my workshop! I am happy to say it is progressing and it should be done in no time. I am so excited that I am finally constructing the best little custom fabrication shop I could imagine.

The slab is poured and polished and it looks beautiful. The structure is framed, clad, and sided. The green metal roof is installed, along with the gutters. Painting is about eighty percent complete and I’ve installed all of the cedar accents. They really set off the architecture perfectly. I am making preparations to get the HVAC installed and pour the driveway all the way up to the custom, Spanish cedar carriage door gracing the front entrance. This all adds up to one heck of a man cave! 1,500 sq. ft. of workshop filled with the best and baddest of every tool you could think of—what more could a guy want?!? I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, it won’t be long before I’m churning out custom pieces!

Since appearing on Oprah, the question people ask me the most is, “what is Oprah really like?” To be transparent, I didn’t really know what to expect. I travel a lot and I rarely get a chance to watch TV—not to mention the Oprah show! But, from the little I knew about her, she is just like I imagined she would be. She is a very smart and successful business woman. She was personable and nice during the show and afterwards when we got a chance to chat for a few minutes. Oprah was quite lighthearted at times, actually cracking some jokes about herself and members of the audience. But, when it came to keeping the show moving, she had plenty of assertiveness to go around. Surprisingly, I wasn’t that nervous when I met her—it just seemed surreal! Everything is a bit of a blur now but, hopefully I’ll get a chance to appear on the show again.

The episode of HGTV Showdown that I starred in finally aired. Seeing it on TV took me back to just how intense the show actually was! The premise of the show is that two teams comprised of two HGTV personalities compete in both the design and execution of a makeover in just five hours. I was chosen as the team captain and my partner was Lauren Lake, from Spice Up My Kitchen. We were up against Gary Gragg, from Superscapes, and Frank Fontana, from Design on a Dime, in a front yard makeover. Let the battle of the landscapers begin! 

The most stressful part of participating on the show was the camera crews chasing us around the entire time. They would interrupt us in the middle of the project to do spontaneous interviews. The whole time I was thinking, “I don’t have time for this! I need to keep working!” Lauren and I butted heads when it came to the paint colors and it was a mad dash at the end, but everything came together beautifully. Although we didn’t get to finish everything I had envisioned, I was really proud of the final product. And, so was the homeowner—we won the competition!

You can check out clips or the entire episode at: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-showdown/show/index.html

New color, inexpensive materials and a few design tricks all add up to a well-staged home.

Too Much House
Pete Canalichio is ready to sell his spacious suburban Atlanta home to move closer to the city and his girlfriend. The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home is just too much for one person. Unfortunately, it might be a tough sale. The home is stuck in the 80s and it lacks the charm and updates needed in today’s competitive housing market.

Host Rachel Reenstra meets real estate expert Tonya Williams to take a tour of the home. Standing in the driveway, Williams says she loves the home’s traditional Cape-Cod style and big front porch. Inside, Williams refuses to call the master bathroom a master bathroom because it is cramped and outdated. Williams finds the guest bedroom monotonous and dull, but not without potential. The backyard is a great space with mature trees and privacy. However, Williams thinks it needs a focal point, new sod and a lot of raking.

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