Sweet Home Alabama

Of all the homes Nate has redecorated for The Oprah Winfrey Show, this is the first he's seen without a kitchen. Why didn't Colette live with an ugly kitchen...instead of no kitchen at all?

She says that during renovations, she and her husband knocked down a wall that separated the kitchen from the family room. With the wall gone, the space was more open and the rooms were more conducive to entertaining. There was one problem—that wall housed their oven.

Down in the basement, Colette and Lee hide their secret solution—a makeshift kitchen complete with a refrigerator, microwave and hot plate. Lee uses this area to prepare breakfast in the mornings. But, Nate points out, there's no sink. So where do Colette and Lee wash dishes? Upstairs in the bathtub, of course!

Nate has seen enough. It's time to get down to business. "We promised only to put in a new kitchen," he confides. "What they don't know is that we're also redoing the foyer, living room, dining room, and den—so it's going to be a big surprise."