Today is the day to stop letting
your lack of square footage limit your vision,
because Mr. Cutie Pie himself, Nate Berkus--
[APPLAUSE]
--is back with the answers to all of your small space
dilemmas and what he calls the most challenging,
he said it now, I didn't say it, it's the most challenging
makeover in his career.
Don't you want to see what that would be?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
OK, OK, Joe, pull wide.
Let's get a wide shot here.
Here's the deal, Nate and I are standing
in a replica of my first guest's 250,
not 250,000, not 25,000, not 2000,
but 250 square foot apartment.
AUDIENCE: Oh!
This is it.
[LAUGHTER]
- Yep. - Just like this.
Back to-- Hi.
- Hi, how are you? - Hi, how are you?
How are you? - Working and sleeping.
- This is it. - Right.
I mean, where's the stove part?
Where do you-- where is the-- - There wasn't a stove.
OPRAH WINFREY: There wasn't a stove.
NATE BERKUS: No, no stove. - Really?
Yeah, that's the kitchen.
Oh, this is the representation--
Yeah.
OPRAH WINFREY: So the microwave counter--
NATE BERKUS: There's a toaster, a little refrigerator.
Yeah.
OPRAH WINFREY: Wow, OK.
It's a home so tiny that it's like living
in a one car garage.
It is.
That's exactly what it feels like.
So when we received this tape, we couldn't believe our eyes,
but this is it.
Oprah, I have to tell you.
I bought this place a year ago.
It's about 250 square feet, share it with two
cats, Louis and Prada.
[MEOWING]
It's a little small.
I'm right here in Midtown Manhattan.
I walk to work, I walk to visit my friends, restaurants, shops,
you name it.
Here's my bed slash sofa.
I love to read, so I keep my books by my bed.
Let me show you my library.
Martha's library.
Got to admit that it's creative.
And here's my closet, whoops, sorry about that.
I just don't have room to store the pillows.
Here's my study, my desk also doubles
as the cats' scratching posts. [MEOWING]
[LAUGHTER]
Since storage is a problem when you have small spaces,
I got these hat boxes, and in here
is where I put my lingerie.
Each hat box has a different item.
The kitchen, as you can see, I don't have an oven,
and I don't have a stove, because I don't have any space.
My refrigerator is the same size as the kitty litter bag.
[MEOWING]
Now for the bathroom.
Oprah, if I ever get a date and he's uncomfortable
sitting on my bed with me, he can always
come into the bathroom and sit on the toilet.
He'll be facing the kitty litter box, so help, Oprah, help,
I truly need your help.
[APPLAUSE]
Well, that would be a challenge.
Oh, it was crazy. OPRAH WINFREY: Crazy.
Yeah.
OPRAH WINFREY: Because Martha's space is so teeny,
we weren't sure if a makeover was even possible,
so who do we send?
Cutie Pie to check it out for himself,
and this is what happened when Nate arrived.
[KNOCKING]
Hi, Martha.
[SQUEALING]
[LAUGHTER]
How are you?
I can't believe it's you.
It's me. [LAUGHTER]
It's you.
It's so nice to meet you. OK, well it's tiny, right?
Come on in, now, it's small, so you have to shimmy in.
You're not lying, right? It's small.
I'm going in.
You have to shimmy in.
I'm shimmying in.
This is the smallest space I've ever been in, period, the end.
Touch this wall with your hand.
OK, here we are.
[LAUGHTER]
This is it, this is the house.
[LAUGHTER]
Close your eyes for me.
Now, talk to me about what you think
this place should feel like.
It feels warm.
I like color, and I like pattern.
NATE BERKUS: OK.
Are there colors that you don't like?
MARTHA BUCKNER: Can't do gray.
OK, I'm sitting here head to toe gray.
[LAUGHTER] Right?
Hope I'm the right guy for the job.
OK, so Martha, can we talk about this apartment?
Yes, I moved in New Year's Eve 14 months ago,
and I didn't have any money to move--
New Years move.
--to hire a mover, so I used the bus and I walked.
NATE BERKUS: You used the bus, and you
moved into this apartment by yourself?
MARTHA BUCKNER: Yep, I have suitcases in my closet.
NATE BERKUS: OK, how many times did
you have to go back and forth? MARTHA BUCKNER: Oh, several.
I slept on the floor for six weeks.
Did you not have the money to buy the bed right away?
No, at the closing, I was rolling pennies.
OPRAH WINFREY: Martha's home may be small,
but she says she is grateful for every single inch.
MARTHA BUCKNER: This apartment is a gift.
There isn't another place on this Earth
I would rather live in.
You've inspired me, really, because I love how full of life
and energy you are, and so you trust me
to do what I need to do here?
I trust you 1000%.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
OPRAH WINFREY: OK, so many of you
saw the show we did recently called "The Secret,"
and this is really in line with that,
because when Nate was saying about your positive attitude
and how, you know, the fact that you could sit
in that little small space--
this little small space and say, there's no place on Earth
I'd rather live, because I'm so grateful for it,
that is what drew him to you.
You get that, right? - Absolutely.
OPRAH WINFREY: That's how that happened.
Nate's vision was to transform Martha's
tiny little drab apartment into a jaw dropping
Jewel Box in the city, utilizing every inch
of her 250 square feet.
In just two and a half weeks, Nate and his team
created a one of a kind masterpiece.
I haven't seen this either, can't wait to see it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, we're outside of Martha's New
York City apartment, and this has
been an unbelievable makeover.
OPRAH WINFREY: Take another look at what Martha's
apartment used to look like.
All right, well, I think it's time to go in.
OK.
All right, I will let you open the door.
[SCREAMING]
Oh my goodness.
This looks like a palace.
NATE BERKUS: How'd I do [INAUDIBLE]..
MARTHA BUCKNER: Thank you so much.
Oh, it's so fabulous.
Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.
You're going to make me [INAUDIBLE]..
I can't breathe.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
NATE BERKUS: I'm so happy that you love this.
MARTHA BUCKNER: This is so creative.
OPRAH WINFREY: Nate gave the room lots of drama
with a tented ceiling.
NATE BERKUS: This is actually a very
traditional decorating design.
Really?
A tented room.
OPRAH WINFREY: Wall-to-wall floral curtains are
in Martha's favorite colors.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Wonderful chandelier.
NATE BERKUS: This, to me, makes the whole--
this makes the whole space feel so glamorous.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Regal.
OPRAH WINFREY: Martha has more storage
than she ever dreamed of with custom floor
to ceiling closets.
NATE BERKUS: Every square inch of this apartment
is utilized now. MARTHA BUCKNER: Oh, absolutely.
NATE BERKUS: Every wall either has some sort of system.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Absolutely.
NATE BERKUS: I mean, people living in small spaces
across the country can do this.
You can put fabric, you can come out 20 inches
and have all of the storage behind it.
OPRAH WINFREY: Nate says, in a small space,
everything must have its own place.
Lowe's did a closet made custom closet for you.
We counted all your bags, we counted your shoes.
I wanted everything to have a spot, jewelry.
MARTHA BUCKNER: My jewelry.
It's like a lady's boudoir.
- Yes. - You know?
I wanted you to have a place where you could sit down
like a princess and put your makeup
on and get ready for an evening out, so here's your new vanity.
Here, have a seat right here.
Thank you.
OPRAH WINFREY: Remember Martha's old library?
Your library is out from under the bed.
MARTHA BUCKNER: I have bookshelves.
I have a chair, so people don't have to sit on the toilet.
NATE BERKUS: Nope.
MARTHA BUCKNER: When they come over--
NATE BERKUS: You have two chairs, actually,
and that table lifts up to reveal more storage.
OPRAH WINFREY: Before, Martha had no oven, no stove
and a dorm sized fridge.
Now, she can cook up a storm in her new state
of the art kitchen.
Oh, I got a kitchen, and my little
bowls for Louie and Prada.
Martha, these appliances actually do double duty.
They're all from GE, and they're the Profile series.
The dishwasher is designed to fit under a sink.
You have an electric touch sensor cooktop,
and this is not a microwave, it's actually the Advantium
Oven, and it's got four things.
So it's a microwave, an oven, a toaster
and a warmer, all in one.
And of course, the Profile Stainless Steel Refrigerator.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Refrigerator.
NATE BERKUS: I know, you finally got a refrigerator.
MARTHA BUCKNER: A refrigerator.
NATE BERKUS: So Lowe's gave us the Shenandoah cabinets,
and here's the best, these all have like these pull outs
for storage.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Oh, cool.
OPRAH WINFREY: Martha's outdated bathroom
is now a luxurious little loo.
So Martha, your bath is still small, but I had
all of the fixtures re-glazed.
So the tub has been re-glazed, the sink,
a new beautiful mirror. MARTHA BUCKNER: New floor.
NATE BERKUS: Sorry, I forgot.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Thank you for the new floor.
- Absolutely. - I hated my other floor.
OPRAH WINFREY: Even Martha's cats
received the royal treatment.
NATE BERKUS: We didn't forget about Louis and Prada.
Remember where your litter box was before?
[LAUGHTER] MARTHA BUCKNER: Yes.
NATE BERKUS: Look at this. This is--
[LAUGHTER]
[INAUDIBLE]
[MEOWING]
So Martha, I hope you and Louis and Prada are going to be
really happy in this house.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Thank you.
Thank you so much, 1,000 times. NATE BERKUS: You're so welcome.
MARTHA BUCKNER: Thank you for Louis, thank you for Prada.
[APPLAUSE]