‘This Previous House’ host Kevin O’Connor presents dwelling advancement ideas at Money Rework + Backyard garden Present
You can meet Kevin O'Connor, host of PBS' "This Aged Household," at the Dulles Expo Heart in Chantilly on Saturday.
WTOP's Jason Fraley chats with Kevin O'Connor of 'This Previous House' at Funds Remodel + Backyard garden Show (Portion 1)
The Capital Rework + Backyard garden Clearly show returns to Chantilly, Virginia, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
You can meet up with Kevin O’Connor, host of PBS’ “This Outdated House,” at the Dulles Expo Centre on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I’m on the lookout ahead to coming back,” O’Connor informed WTOP. “I’m speaking about two assignments, one now airing on PBS, a 1960s mid-century-modern day dwelling [in Massachusetts] that we renovated for a relatives with accessibility since they have a youthful son with muscular dystrophy. … I’ll also be chatting about our subsequent challenge in New Jersey — an 1887 Victorian that we are renovating for a household so they can have two generations residing in the exact same household.”
Raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, O’Connor grew up viewing “This Old House” with his father, a civil engineer. The well known property enhancement present released in 1979, this means it’s now celebrating its 45th year in 2024.
“Bob Vila was the initial host,” O’Connor claimed. “You never fail to remember the very first male who climbs Mount Everest. Again in 1979, this kind of display never ever existed … so he gets credit history for getting at the helm of this unbelievable strategy that very speedily took off, grew to become a national phenomenon and still takes place to be the most-watched, longest-working property enhancement present on Television set to this day. … He was also spectacularly gifted … these were being very long continual takes.”
From the start, Vila would job interview master carpenter Norm Abram, who also grew to become a house identify.
“He was up on scaffolding talking to Bob [and] the founder of the clearly show Russ Morash quietly claimed, ‘Somebody pin a microphone on Norm,'” O’Connor mentioned. “He was in no way hired to be on television, he was only hired to be a master craftsman, but his wisdom, patience and extraordinary ability graced our show for 40 years. He also did ‘New Yankee Workshop’ for more than 20 yrs. … He is the godfather of this type. … He cemented this clearly show in people’s minds.”
Abram remained a fixture even immediately after Vila was changed by Steve Thomas, who hosted from 1989 to 2003.
“Steve stepped into the sneakers of a big and he carried it nicely,” O’Connor claimed. “He replaced Bob Vila and experienced a 14-yr run, for a longer time than Bob’s, I consider he charmed the viewers, he was equipped to retain a juggernaut heading at that superior level, not an quick point to do. Failure often comes to the second string, if you will, the sophomore slump.”
O’Connor first appeared on the clearly show as a highlighted house owner, but he wowed the producers.
“When I acquired my very first dwelling with my wife when we were being a great deal youthful, we purchased a fixer-upper,” O’Connor explained. “They came and filmed a segment of the exhibit there 22 years in the past that turned into a request to be the host, so it was a fortuitous selection to get that aged property. … At the time, Steve Thomas had already announced to the team that he was leaving, so they had their eye out searching for a feasible replacement and I guess I caught their eye.”
He thinks his lack of expertise was in fact an asset, asking thoughtful inquiries to a workforce of industry experts, including typical contractor Tom Silva, grasp plumber and HVAC technician Richard Trethewey, landscaping and gardening experts Roger Cook and Jenn Nawada, and of study course master carpenter Abram, who retired in 2022.
“I think it was the reverse of recognizing what I was chatting about,” O’Connor claimed. “The host is form of the proxy for the viewer, the host has never ever been a experienced contractor but always performs beside expert contractors. In the quite beginning, Bob Vila would be asking Norm, ‘What do you strategy to do about this rotten soffit? How are we gonna hang these cabinets?’ … I think the producers … saw me as a superior proxy for the viewers.”
He urges viewers to check out their possess initiatives at household, insisting you really do not will need to be “handy” to attempt.
“It’s mainly getting inclined to try out,” O’Connor explained. “It’s unlikely that a wall is going to slide down or a roof is going to collapse. Usually, we tell people today to keep out of the electrical support panel, go away the plumbing to a experienced, but when it arrives to the carpentry, scraping, portray, [doing] drywall, hanging windows or residing, persons can take that stuff on if they have the fortitude. … There’s really a bit of honor and pleasure in functioning with your palms.”
Just don’t forget about to grunt like Tim Allen’s “Tool Time” on the smash ABC sitcom “Home Enhancement.”
“Imitation is the best kind of flattery,” O’Connor said. “They built no bones attempting to hide the simple fact that they had been absolutely imitating Bob and Norm. Those people ended up the two figures correct down to the purple-flannel pro chatting to the not-so-understanding host and getting excellent pleasurable with it. There’s an legendary photo that I have in my file someplace of Bob Vila standing upcoming to Tim Allen and Richard Karn. That was a parody of ‘This Old Dwelling.'”
WTOP's Jason Fraley chats with Kevin O'Connor of 'This Previous House' at Money Rework + Back garden Clearly show (Section 2)
Pay attention to our entire conversation on the podcast under:
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