This year’s season finale, which aired May 17, focused on a single father of three sons whose Indianapolis home had deteriorated to the point of being unsafe. When ABC needed a furnishings sponsor for the episode, Jeff Day and his family business, TLS by Design, stepped up to the challenge.
Based near Indianapolis, TLS by Design provides custom wood furniture (casegoods) and upholstery to interior designers and wholesalers. With just four days’ notice, Day and his crew produced 40 pieces of furniture and all the custom upholstery—worth nearly $50,000 retail—for the show.
“In every episode of the show up until this one, when the house is revealed, the family has run straight for the house to check it out,” says Day, whose son, J.P., and daughter, Grafton, are also Vanderbilt graduates. “But in this one, the father ran back into the crowd of neighbors and volunteers and spent 15 minutes personally thanking, hugging and high-fiving as many people as he could.
“I still choke up talking about it. The family was so gracious—it was just an awesome experience.”
Find out more: www.tlsbydesign.com
—Phillip B. Tucker