Coaster Partners With “Military Makeover” to Support the Thomas Family

At Coaster Furniture, we know that new furniture can be a new beginning. And for military families making a return to civilian life, a new beginning is exactly what they need.

American servicemen and women sacrifice their comfort, safety, time with loved ones, and so many of the other things we associate with home. They’re deployed thousands of miles away where they often experience unimaginable hardship.

When those men and women retire from military life, they deserve to be surrounded by all the comforts they’ve missed — the comforts of home. “Military Makeover With Montel” helps ease military veterans’ transition to civilian life by transforming their family homes into places of peace.

We partnered with “Military Makeover” for the fourth time to provide another deserving military family with furniture for their home makeover — and the results were heartwarming.

The Thomases’ Journey From the Military to “Military Makeover”

John Thomas joined the military when he was just 16 years old. He signed up for the Army National Guard his junior year of high school and attended basic training. His senior year of high school was 2001 — the year September 11th changed everything.

After John graduated, he was deployed. He would eventually serve four deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two purple hearts and a bronze star for valor in the process.

John earned his first purple heart during his very first deployment. While serving in Iraq, he was ambushed during a routine route clearance and hit with shrapnel as he escaped from his vehicle.

Shortly after this harrowing experience, he and his wife Natasha met online. They would go on to meet in person during John’s Christmas leave. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship that would lead to marriage and four children, but not before his next deployment to Afghanistan — and an assignment that nearly ended John’s life.

During John’s service in Afghanistan, he served as the Sergeant of the Guard. He was manning a guard tower when there were reports of a suicide bomber in the area. He saw the vehicle of the suicide bomber driving directly at his guard tower.

When he took aim and took out the driver, John saved the lives of the other men and women serving at his base. But when the driver died, it triggered a secondary detonator to set off the bomb. The shock waves from the bomb knocked John from the tower, seriously injuring his back and lodging a piece of shrapnel above his eye.

Despite his multiple traumas, John continued to serve as an instructor at Fort Benning for many more years — spending 16 years in the army in total. It wasn’t until he was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 that he retired.

John is now cancer free, but due to his back injuries, he’s unable to do projects around the house. And after everything their family has been through, John and Natasha want to use their time to focus on their children — and to let their kids be kids.

“Military Makeover” Makes Life Easier

The amazing people at “Military Makeover” heard the Thomas family’s story and knew they could make life easier for this military family.

“Military Makeover” is a special series on Lifetime TV hosted by talk show legend, veteran, and military advocate Montel Williams, along with co-host Art Edmonds.

The show’s mission is to improve life for military veterans. As part of that mission, they’ve remodeled homes for veterans from every branch of the military, including the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. But their mission goes beyond remodeling homes.

Their “Operation Career” series helps veterans who are transitioning to civilian jobs by highlighting career opportunities for retired military personnel. The show and its production company Brandstar will do anything they can to make life easier for military families. They partner with companies like ours to make it all possible.

We worked directly with the TV show’s home makeover team, which is led by designer Jennifer Bertrand. She knew what to do to create a space the Thomases would love, and we were happy to lend a helping hand by providing furniture that fit the family’s personalities.

Furnishing the Thomas Family Home

The Thomas Family wanted a home that was modern but would still make everyone feel welcome. And with four kids in the family, including three teenagers, there were plenty of personalities to consider.

Designer Jennifer Bertrand created a space that felt warm and welcoming by adding rustic decor and rich colors, and she turned each kids’ room into a reflection of their unique personality with fun and functional design.

Here’s a look at the furniture that helped complete the Thomas family’s home makeover.

The Living Room

There were a lot of upgrades in the Thomas Family living room — starting with the sofa. We added room for the whole family with a large sectional and filled the space with rustic wooden end tables and a farmhouse-style TV stand.

• 4-Piece Upholstered Modular Sectional: Since this sofa is modular, it’s available in multiple layouts, so “Military Makeover” team members were able to customize it to fit the family’s space. There’s plenty of seating, even for a family of six, and the dark gray performance fabric helps it stand up to everyday wear and tear.
• Round Pedestal Accent Table: This end table adds rustic style to the Thomas Family living room. Its white-wash finish looks timelessly worn in, and its sturdy build means guests won’t feel like the house is full of delicate furniture.
• Rectangular TV Console With 2 Sliding Doors: Another rustic element to complete the living room design, this TV stand features barn-style sliding doors that stylishly conceal any extra items that need storage.

The Man Cave

One of John’s favorite parts of the house was his man cave, but before the makeover, it was a hectic and disorganized space. Furniture that added comfort and offered ample room for organization helped transform it into a relaxing escape.

• Longport Upholstered Power Glide Recliner: Every man cave needs a recliner. This piece gives John a relaxing place to rest his back and kick up his feet after a long day.
• 2-Door TV Console With Adjustable Shelf: Even though the TV in John’s man cave is mounted on the wall, this TV console adds essential storage space, and the warm wood tones tie the room together with the rest of the house.

The Primary Bedroom

In John and Natasha’s bedroom, a large and outdated bed frame was taking up a lot of space without adding a lot of style. We fixed that problem with a modern but inviting upholstered bed and plenty of storage furniture to fill out the space.

• Charity Eastern King Upholstered Bed: The rich blue tones of this bed frame match the other moody blues found throughout the Thomases’ home, and the upholstered finish keeps the frame looking soft and welcoming.
• Mays 2-Drawer Nightstand in Walnut Brown With a Faux Marble Top: The mixed materials and clean lines on this nightstand give it a modern look, while the black pull handles and legs add a rustic touch that matches the rest of the family’s home.
• Mays 6-Drawer Dresser in Walnut Brown With a Faux Marble Top: A matching dresser completes the look and gives John and Natasha plenty of room to organize their space.

The Kids’ Bedrooms

Jennifer Bertrand designed each of the kids’ rooms around their personalities. But since their bedrooms were small, she used loft beds in two of the rooms to give the kids space underneath for their favorite hobbies.

• Parkview Full Workstation Loft Bed: This loft bed has a desk underneath that can serve as a homework station in one of the Thomases’ daughter’s rooms.
• Avalon Full Workstation Loft Bed: In the son’s room, this loft bed and desk made an exciting gaming station. 

Welcome Home, Thomas Family

When the Thomases walked through their renovated home, every member of the family found their own place of refuge. From Natasha’s office to John’s man cave to the kids’ bedrooms, everyone had a favorite space filled with comfortable furniture. The excitement on their faces is the reason we’re always excited to help deserving military families.

To watch the big reveal at the Thomas Family home, head to militarymakeover.tv where you’ll find full episodes of the family’s home renovation from demolition day to reveal day.

If you want to shop for the furniture you saw here, visit a Coaster Furniture partner near you. And to see more military family home makeovers, take a look at our past collaborations with “Military Makeover” — we’ve taken part in the show’s home renovations for the Clarke Family, the Ziegler Family, and the Stupar Family.

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