Fixer to Fabulous rebuilds tornado-damaged home for local family in the Season 8 premiere

In the shadow of a fierce tornado that swept through Bentonville, Arkansas, last spring, the Kettner family's home lay in ruins, its walls breached and its safety shattered.

Dave and Jenny Marrs, hosts of Fixer to Fabulous, stepped forward to rebuild this very house for Nicole Kettner, who had taught preschool to one of their own children.

The Season 8 premiere of Fixer to Fabulous captures this labor from the first sifting of debris to the final reveal.

Fixer to Fabulous: From debris to dwelling

Word of the tornado's wrath reached Jenny Marrs through a message from the school community, prompting her and the children to rush to the site amid the chaos.

Neighbors, parents, and even sports teams converged on the scene, hands busy with the rubble. Jenny recalls,

"Everyone just came together. There was this instinctive pull to help however we could."​

This communal surge forms the bedrock of the Fixer to Fabulous episode, where the Marrs confront a structure teetering on collapse.

Dave Marrs prioritized stabilization, installing a watertight roof and bolstering the walls to shield the family from further harm.

Lacking during the storm, protection now anchors the design: a storm shelter embedded within the home's frame.​

The Kettner household shelters five children, whose needs shaped the rebuild's core. Jenny Marrs crafted the girls' room in soft, whimsical tones, built to endure as they grow.

For the boys, space proved the puzzle—three beds, storage, and work areas fitted into confines through Dave's hand-built furnishings, ensuring longevity amid daily clamor.​

Trauma lingered in every beam, yet the Marrs pressed on, weaving security into each corner. Jenny said,

"Home should feel safe. We wanted them to walk back in and feel a sense of peace."

Their aim stretched beyond mere repair, toward a haven where fresh days could dawn unburdened.​

Fixer to Fabulous: Community threads woven anew

Northwest Arkansas knows tornadoes as frequent visitors, their winds carving paths of dread through familiar streets.

Nine such storms ravaged the region that fateful night, with the Kettners' neighborhood bearing the brunt.

Dave Marrs notes the personal tie: Nicole's role in their son's early years made this more than a project—it echoed through their own lives.​

Early efforts focused on salvage, and the Marrs were among the first to comb through wreckage under open skies.

This hands-on aid led to the fuller restoration, where Fixer to Fabulous unfolds the transformation step by deliberate step. Underscoring the pull beyond blueprints, Jenny reflects, 

"It felt like something we were called to be part of." 

Bedrooms emerged as sanctuaries amid the storm's echo. The girls' space blooms with gentle hues and patterns that whisper rather than shout, adaptable through the years of childhood's swift changes.

Dave's craftsmanship fills the boys' quarters: custom lofts and shelves maximize every inch, turning necessity into nurture.​

Safety's lesson, harshly taught, now resides in concrete form. The storm shelter stands ready, a silent guardian against the skies' caprice.

Such measures reflect the region's rhythm, where homes must withstand nature's tempests.​

Jenny Marrs speaks to the heart of the endeavor: 

"We wanted them to come back and for it to feel like home. We really wanted it to be like this special so that they knew, like, this is home, and we're going to create new happy memories here."

Giving them a place to come back to felt incredibly important, she adds.​

Fixer to Fabulous: Echoes of renewal

The premiere of Fixer to Fabulous sets a course marked by such tales, where local bonds fuel the forge of renewal. Dave describes the circle closing: 

"It was a truly fulfilling, full-circle experience for us to restore a space that had endured so much trauma while also bringing back something they were eager to see. It was a wonderful project inspired by community spirit."​

Viewers witness the Marrs navigate these waters, their five children woven into the fabric of Bentonville life.

The show, now in its eighth season on HGTV, draws from this wellspring—historic homes revived, families steadied.​

Tornadoes struck hard in spring 2025, with winds that felled roofs and scattered lives across Arkansas. 

The Kettners endured among them, emerging to face a landscape remade by force.​

Rebuilds like this one in Fixer to Fabulous carry forward, blending craft with care.

Dave's steady hand on hammer and saw pairs with Jenny's eye for spaces that hold memory gently. Together, they turn ruin toward refuge.​

The episode closes with the family crossing the threshold, the storm shelter's promise underscoring each step. Fixer to Fabulous thus begins its season, rooted in Bentonville's resilient soil.

Stay tuned for more updates.