For Iyanla Vanzant, a new home helps mark a new life

TV host Iyanla Vanzant says she 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, Md. 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 decorative 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 aired 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 bestselling author.

"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 It just was a bit outdated."

His 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.

More than a decade ago, Vanzant was making regular appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey 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, 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 bank repossession of her home.

Fast-forward to 2013, when Vanzant was back to being booked again for public speaking engagements and was on speaking terms with Winfrey and working with her again. Vanzant was amid her comeback and was trying to rent a home because she didn't think that she would qualify to purchase one.

"When you have a bankruptcy on your home, that is the kiss of death," she said.

Finding the Upper Marlboro house was an accident, Vanzant said, explaining that she wrote down the wrong address for a home that she wanted to lease. But once she saw this house, which she describes as "beautiful" and a "big, stately broad," she fell in love.

Vanzant knows the value of having a home.

"For everybody, home is the place where you get to feel safe and secure," she said. "It is the springboard to do work in the world. Home is a reflection of your deepest soul. And the place that you get nourished and the place that you get fed.

"I've lived in several homes over the years and have still been homeless."

Vanzant has named her new home Villa Nova because the home represents a "new vision" and "new horizon," she said.