Read an Excerpt: 'Good Design Can Change Your Life'

Sept. 16, 2008 — -- Television viewers know Ty Pennington as the always-enthusiatic host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Now he has released a new book called "Good Design Can Change Your Life: Beautiful Rooms, Inspiring Stories." He aims to help homeowners redesign their lives and houses one room at a time.

The celebrity designer also has teamed up with an ADHD support company to host the 10th annual ADHD Experts on Call, which happens Wednesday. Pennington will talk about his experiences with ADHD — having been diagnosed as a teenager — and people will be able to have experts answer their questions. To learn more check out www.ADHDExpertsOnCall.com. To read an excerpt of Pennington's book, see below.

Imagine that one day you inexplicably find yourself living in an extremely bad situation. Your house is in shambles, run-down inside and out, the yard choked with weeds. You've tried to fix things up, but, frankly, you've got more pressing things on your mind, including a young daughter battling cancer, a wedding ring pawned to help pay her medical expenses, and long hours at a grocery store job trying to make ends meet. Then, just as it seems almost too much to bear, you hear a very loud and annoying voice yelling your family's name through a megaphone. The next thing you know, you and your family are being whisked away for a much-needed week's vacation, while a group of TV people stick around to spruce up your house. "Cool," you think, "it'll be nice to have a room or two redecorated."

Well, not exactly.

That family -- featured on the very first episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -- was more than a little surprised to come home to a whole new house, not just a few revamped rooms. Now, of course, people know what to expect when they hear me shouting "Good morning!" outside their door. But that initial makeover was a revelation to everyone involved, including me -- and I'm not talking just about the sheer amount of people power that went into the job (though that was pretty amazing, too). While I'd been crafting furniture, designing rooms, and renovating homes for years, until I began my job as team leader on EMHE, I don't think I realized how much difference having a comfortable, well-designed, and beautiful place to live can make in someone's life. Sure, I've always been passionate about houses, but the experience of creating warm, inviting sanctuaries for families who really need them has made me a true believer in the power of positive rethinking. If you want to inject light, energy, and optimism into your life, making over your home -- or even just a single room -- is a good place to start.

I know for sure that the instant that first EMHE family walked into their new house, their lives had changed for the better. I don't think any of us, including all the neighbors and community members who had come out to help us, were quite prepared for how dramatic and emotional that moment would be. When the first show aired, my brother called. "Dude," he said, "there's not a dry eye in America right now." I was crying, too, even though I was seeing the episode a second time, so the conversation was a little awkward. How, I was wondering, did I get lucky enough to get this job, the greatest, most rewarding experience of my life? And who would have thought years ago, when I was a kid drawing on the walls, breaking furniture, and pretty much destroying my family's home, that I would someday be destroying and rebuilding strangers' homes and being thanked rather than sent to my room.

You don't need to have had bad luck or a tragedy in your life to be in need of a big or even a little change on the home front. We all need change. Change is good, and that's especially true when it comes to the rooms where you've spent a good portion of your life. I'll even go as far as to say that making changes in your home can completely change your life. Think about it. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you see when you open your eyes is your bedroom. Does that make you happy or does it only remind you of how much crap you've got piled up and need to find a place for? Either way, it's got to affect your outlook for the day. How ready will you be to tackle the day's challenges if your first sight reminds you of how you've neglected your house? And how cheery are you going to be when you step out to greet your kids, your significant other, your dog, or whoever if the state of your living quarters has already put you in a bad mood?

2. You can't open the door of the closet because you've shoved so many things into it.

3. You're using plastic storage bins as dresser drawers and milk crates as furniture.

4. You've made shelving out of cinderblocks and 1 x 12s.

5. Your clothes are in garbage bags or in boxes still labeled "Closet."

6. You're sleeping on the floor with the moving blanket that you still have from when you first moved in.

7. There's absolutely no artwork up except pizza boxes.

8. There are no blinds on your window, and the first thing that hits you in the morning is the bright sun, shining like a laser.

9. You're lying in bed, a bus goes by, and your whole house rattles and rolls, then a little bit of drywall falls off the ceiling and hits you on the head. (I speak from experience.)

10. It's the holidays, the family is coming to visit, and your mother-in-law or stepmom or grandparents walk in and the first thing they say is, "You know, we think we'll get a hotel room."

Copyright © 2008 by Furniture Unlimited, Inc.