Hollister native Stephanie LaPray needed a comforting place of her own to just get away from time to time, even for a few minutes - understandable considering she recently had a second pair of twins and raises five young children with her husband in Utah.
Husband Dan LaPray thought she needed an upgrade to her bedroom so that she could have that special sanctuary to herself. In January, he e-mailed "The Oprah Winfrey Show" telling Stephanie's story. Two weeks ago, the TV mogul answered his wish.
Oprah sent a crew to the house and taped a home makeover of sorts for a segment scheduled to air Monday. Oprah, with help from designer and author Thom Filicia, had the workers paint walls, replace the bed frame and dresser, bring in what she called "beautiful" side tables with lamps and install a chandelier, said Stephanie LaPray, formerly Stephanie Dabo.
And they did it all within a 45-minute time slot during the show's taping. LaPray described to the Free Lance in a phone interview how her husband had woken her up that morning for the surprise renovation.
"As I walked into the office that morning, Oprah says 'Good morning, Stephanie,'" said LaPray, a 1992 graduate of San Benito High School, who described how the TV show sent a Web camera to the house. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening to me.'"
For an expanded version of this story, see Tuesday's Free Lance. The Oprah Winfrey Show airs at 4 p.m. on KSBW.
Kollin Kosmicki Kollin Kosmicki is editor of the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 337 or editor@freelancenews.com.
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