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3/10/2005
Sunburst Shutters Featured in Upcoming “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Country’s largest shutter manufacturer makes reality television debut
For Immediate Release
March 10, 2005
Media Contacts
John Barnes, Sunburst Shutters, 702-870-4488
jbarnes@sunburstshutters.com or
Shannon Hiller, Vanguard Media Group, 702-383-4002
shiller@vanmedia.com
Sunburst Shutters Featured in Upcoming “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
Country’s largest shutter manufacturer makes reality television debut
(LAS VEGAS, Nev.) March 10, 2005—When Sunburst Shutters executives took a shutter sample to the site of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition being filmed in North Las Vegas last Fall, they were confident that the company’s products would end up on an upcoming edition of ABC’s hit reality television show.
“We knew our shutters would enhance any house the show was working on,” said John Barnes, Vice President of Marketing at Sunburst Shutters. “Sunburst wanted a chance to be involved, so we brought our interior shutters on-location so the design team could see them first-hand.”
After several discussions with show executives, Sunburst was selected to provide the window treatments on the show’s next project. The company’s dedication to quality installation, its nation-wide network of stores, and its line of premium shutters made Sunburst the logical choice over other shutter manufacturers. Conveniently, the scheduled home makeover was located in New Orleans, one of the company’s 42 locations.
“This project never would have happened without lots of great companies like Sunburst Shutters who understand how important it is to do a good thing for a deserving family,” said Tom Forman, executive producer for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Unlike a typical Sunburst Shutters project, these shutters had to be made in advance before windows had even been built or installed in the house. The premium wood shutters that were chosen for the makeover were made at Sunburst Shutters’ Southern California facility. Measurements were sent before the house was even built so the shutters were ready to install during the seven-day makeover.
A wood shutter project of this size would normally take six to eight weeks to measure, build and install. But with the urgent deadlines that give the show its “extreme” name, the Southern California store built the shutters and shipped them to New Orleans in just two weeks.
“As the largest interior shutter manufacturer in the nation, we have the resources to make something like this happen,” said Barnes. “Every shutter we build is customized to exactly fit the window. With this project, our team worked with the show on every detail, from the coverage of the drywall to the type and thickness of texture treatment applied to the walls, as these factors affect the installation process. We also confirmed all building standards and validated measurements before building the shutters.”
The shutters used on the New Orleans project are from Sunburst’s Ovation line and are made of furniture-grade solid Basswood. All parts of the shutters are kiln-dried and water-sealed for moisture control to prevent warping and cracking. They are hand-made and come in 40 varieties of colors and wood stains. The color customization options allowed the show’s designers to find a stain that matched the kitchen cabinets almost perfectly.
“The shutters were one of last elements installed in the home,” said Barnes. “They were really the finishing touch that provided a clean, classic look for this family’s home. Once they were in, everyone on the set commented on their beauty and some even wanted them in their own homes – people loved them!”
The Sunburst Shutter team did more than just install shutters during the show – they were on-hand to build furniture, haul materials and help with clean-up. “We put in about 100 labor hours for the makeover, and about one-third of those were for non-shutter related activities,” said Barnes. “We wanted this family to have the best results possible when they saw their home for the first time.”
The episode featuring Sunburst Shutters is scheduled to air on Sunday, April 3.
About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman. The show airs Sundays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network.
About Sunburst Shutters
Sunburst Shutters has sold more than six million shutters in more than 25 years. Sunburst is the largest shutter company in the US with stores located in the following cities: ARIZONA--Phoenix, CALIFORNIA--Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento-Bay Area, CANADA—Vancouver BC, FLORIDA—Boca Raton, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Jacksonville, Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa Bay, HAWAII—Honolulu, ILLINOIS—Chicago, INDIANA—Indianapolis, LOUISIANA—New Orleans, MASSACHUSETTS—Boston, MICHIGAN—Detroit, MINNESOTA—Minneapolis, NEVADA—Las Vegas, NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY—New York, OHIO—Cleveland, TEXAS—Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, TENNESSEE—Nashville, VIRGINIA/DC /MARYLAND—Gaithersburg. For more information on Sunburst Shutters, visit www.sunburstshutters.com or call 702-870-4488.
