Stephen Thomas (born 1952) is an American author, builder and television personality. He was the host of the PBS home renovation series ''

This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television netw ...

'' from 1989 to 2003 and of '' Renovation Nation'', on

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

's former

Planet Green Destination America is an American cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries programming focused on the culture of the United States—including food, lifestyles, an ...

channel, for two seasons (2008–2010) until its cancellation.

Biography

Thomas was born in 1952 in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, and is the eldest of six children. His interest in construction and renovation came from his father who used to buy and repair old houses to accommodate his growing family. The grandfather of Steve Thomas, Rooney Thomas was also a do-it-yourself guy and an Episcopal missionary in the Alaskan Arctic.

Education

Thomas received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from

The Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a p ...

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

. While at Evergreen, he supported himself as a licensed painting contractor and carpenter.

Sailing and construction

At the age of 13 Thomas decided he wanted to go sailing, so he bought his first sailboat. In 1977, Thomas worked as a carpenter on a ketch under construction in Antibes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He also logged many nautical miles sailing a wooden sloop from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, Galapagos Islands,

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. In the early 1980s inspired by an old dream he went on sailing across the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. This voyage led him to

Satawal Satawal is a solitary coral atoll of one island with about 500 people on just over 1 km2 located in the Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Satawal is th ...

where he met

Mau Piailug Pius "Mau" Piailug (pronounced ; 1932 – July 12, 2010) was a Micronesian navigator from the Carolinian island of Satawal, best known as a teacher of traditional, non-instrument wayfinding methods for open-ocean voyaging. Mau's Carolinian ...

and spent months learning the ancient technique of star path navigation. He moved to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in 1980.

Television

In 1989, Thomas returned to Satawal where he filmed the documentary ''The Last Navigator'' with Piailug for the PBS series ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

''. In 1989, while researching his next book, on his family's history in the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

, Thomas was approached by people from the PBS series ''

'' who had already screened more than 400 candidates. He was cast to replace Bob Vila and hosted the show from 1989 through 2003. Since leaving ''

'' Thomas has contributed to programming on

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

, hosting and producing the ''

Save Our History ''Save Our History'' is a television program sponsored by The History Channel. It is a national history education and preservation program that raises awareness and support for preserving local and national heritage. It partnered with Preserve Am ...

'' series, including one program showing

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's estate, and another in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

Habitat for Humanity International

Thomas first was involved with Habitat in the early 90s following their stories on This Old House and later partnered with them for a five-part series for ''Renovation Nation''. He currently is Spokesman and Ambassador for

Habitat for Humanity International Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

with special emphasis on Women Build, Builders Blitz, and ReStore.

Public speaking and personal appearances

Thomas is a popular speaker on green renovation for builders and homeowners. He is especially interested in green, energy efficient, and low maintenance technologies and materials. He has appeared on television shows such as ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...

'' on CBS, ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', and ''

Jon & Kate Plus 8 ''Jon & Kate Plus 8'', later known as ''Kate Plus 8'', is an American reality television series starring Kate Gosselin, Jon Gosselin, and their eight children, which ran from April 4, 2007 to July 24, 2017. History After the success of two on ...

''.

Renovation

In 1980, Thomas moved with his family to

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, where he renovated an 1836

Colonial revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

in a seaport north of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He now resides in St. George, Maine, with his wife and son Sam. He owns his own construction company, Steve Thomas Builders. A recent project involved renovating a cottage and building a timber-frame barn on Hupper island off the coast of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. This became a two-part special on '' Renovation Nation''. He recently renovated a 1,000 square foot adobe in Santa Fe, NM, which was the cover story in the January 2013 issue of Su Casa magazine. From 2013 to 2015, he renovated Sea Cove Cottage in the middle of a fishing village in

Awards

Thomas received the 1997–1998

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

of 'Outstanding Service Show Host' for ''This Old House'', plus nine nominations for the same category.

Books

* ''The Last Navigator : A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secret of the Sea'' (1987) * ''This Old House Kitchens: A Guide to Design and Renovation'' (1992) * ''This Old House Bathrooms: A Guide to Design and Renovation'' (1992) * ''This Old House Guide to American Houses'' (1999)

References

External links

Steve Thomas' official web site
*
Renovation Nation
' at PlanetGreen.Discovery.com * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Steve 1952 births Living people American television hosts Daytime Emmy Award winners Evergreen State College alumni People from Pomona, California People from Rockport, Maine People from St. George, Maine Television personalities from California Television personalities from Maine This Old House