Iyanla's new fix

TV host Iyanla Vanzant was pretty much homeless at the start of the year. Yes, she was living in a cavernous 7,500-square-foot house in Upper Marlboro. But the home amounted to four walls and a roof. There was no reflection of her in it. It was an empty shell.

When her boss Oprah Winfrey, head of the OWN Network that broadcasts Vanzant's "Fix My Life" show, heard about it, she decided to transform the interior of Vanzant's home with all the dcorative bells and whistles.

The metamorphosis was a Christmas, birthday, and anniversary gift all rolled into one, Winfrey said. The makeover was so spectacular that Winfrey created a prime-time special centered on the reveal. "Oprah Prime: Iyanla I'll Fix Your House," chronicles the changes made to the Prince George's County estate with the help of celebrity interior designer Nate Berkus.

"This is a gift on behalf of every wonderful thing you have done for others," Winfrey said on the show, which airs Nov. 29 on OWN. "Your home should be your sanctuary."

Berkus scoured the globe to find products that would incorporate Vanzant's Afro-centric roots, deep faith and vibrancy that has won millions of fans for the life coach guru and best-selling author. He found African textiles online; furniture and accent pieces from a vintage homeware emporium in Los Angeles; stone from Italy; tile from France; and locally sourced items such as wood from an old barn near Vanzant's home.

"Even in a very condensed amount of time, the home feels very layered," Berkus said. "It wasn't a bad house. It just was a bit outdated."

Berkus' efforts worked. Five months later, the end result was a home that left Vanzant speechless, tearful and extremely grateful.

"Everyone is just amazed at the way that Nate was able to capture my spirit," Vanzant, 61, said. "The house looks like me. You would expect that I had done the original design."

Vanzant's new home caps off what has been a remarkable year as she embarked on a nationwide tour with Oprah for "Oprah's The Life You Want Weekend" events. On Dec. 4, she will visit Baltimore for "An Evening with Iyanla Vanzant" at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

More than a decade ago, Vanzant was making regular appearances on The Oprah Show to the delight of millions of fans, but her life was spinning out of control. Following a series of setbacks that included the death of her daughter, Gemmia; a divorce from her husband and a falling out with Winfrey over the direction of Vanzant's career, she eventually lost her television gig and filed for bankruptcy, which resulted in the bank repossessing her home.

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Iyanla's new fix