It has been said, “Home is where is the heart is,” and that is exactly how local couple, Kansas and Danny Fergen feel.
Kansas and Danny are a family of 10, with four adopted children and four biological children. They both had a strong desire to adopt from the very beginning of the marriage and began adopting before having any biological children.
“God has just really grown our family,” said Kansas. “He has orchestrated it all.”
Their children range in age from three to 15 years old and are homeschooled, with the older children taking a few classes at Lennox High School and participating in basketball and wrestling.
The family had been living in Sioux Falls prior to 2021 but felt a strong desire to make a move to a smaller community.
“The Lord was calling us to a smaller community where our children could play and be kids,” Kansas explained. The couple felt a huge draw to the Lennox community, having roots already established.
When Kansas and Danny were engaged the couple attended a bible study at Lennox Ebenezer, 16 to 17 years ago, and for the first three years of their lives together they came to Lennox weekly.
“We both felt it was a really great place to set roots,” said Kansas. Friends quickly told them about a house for sale and soon, the Fergens’ offer was accepted. With everything falling into place the Fergens officially moved into their new home in Lennox in September of 2021.
“We loved the house and the bones,” said Kansas. “We knew we would have to make changes in order to better serve our family down the line, so we budgeted for that.”
Last winter, Kansas and the kids came home from a homeschooling event and her husband said, “I filled out a form to have our home renovated by a show.” Kansas said she remembers thinking, “What?”.
Danny saw a posting online and researched the opportunity and thought it would be a good way to get their renovations done.
“We knew the work would be done in 8-10 weeks instead of 8-10 months,” Kansas said.
Within hours of filling out the form, the show, HGTV’s Down Home Fab, reached back out and wanted to talk more.
The show’s hosts, Chelsea and Cole DeBoer, loved the family and soon it was a done deal. The family did zoom calls, and interviews and were asked to move out the week of Easter so the renovations could begin.
Home is very important to the Fergens, particularly since they homeschool their children. Kansas felt as if they were serving their home instead of their home serving their family.
The couple was looking to make changes in their living room, dining room, kitchen, and homeschool area. The house, which is 100 years old, featured smaller spaces not conducive for the family of ten.
When Chelsea and Cole came to the house for the first time, they did a walk through and the family shared with the hosts what they loved about the home and what wasn’t serving them well.
“Our living room felt small and was unable to fit a couch that would work for our family,” said Kansas. Kansas also said the homeschooling area was crowded and that the kitchen wasn’t serving their needs well. Everyone in the family loves to cook so they needed the space that would allow them to do that.
The Fergens also filled out a form telling the crew what they wanted and didn’t want. Kansas said they wanted a big, bright, space — one that would feel safe and calm.
“For us as parents we wanted it to feel like a home,” said Kansas. “A huge part of this was just for them [our kids].”
During the renovation process, the Fergens were not able to see their home, it was to be a surprise on reveal day.
“Everything was a surprise,” said Kansas, “But it wasn’t hard for me not to know. It was one of the most stress-free experiences.”
On reveal day, the Fergens were welcomed back into their home. Once they opened the front door and they saw the living room, Kansas remembers being speechless.
“There was so much to take in…we absolutely loved it,” said Kansas. The show’s hosts, Chelsea and Cole, were able to create a beautiful and functional space that worked perfectly for the family.
The Fergens were impressed with the thought and care that went into every aspect of the renovation. Kansas said the huge built-in, that was a focal point in the room, was specifically designed for their family from a couple in North Carolina.
For the Fergens, their home is where they create memories with their family and now the renovations have made their home even more functional and beautiful, and they wouldn’t change a thing.
Down Home Fab can be watched on HGTV or Discovery+. The Fergens are featured in episode 5.