As far as presents go, Olivia Munn has peaked.
For Mother’s Day, the actress surprised her mom Kim with a renovation to their Oklahoma home, which has belonged to the family since they first immigrated from Vietnam in 1975. “My mom loves entertaining,” Munn exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “Her house is where everyone comes to eat, whether it’s a Monday or Thanksgiving. I wanted to update the kitchen so she can use it to its full potential.
Enter the design website Houzz and My Houzz, the home makeover show, both of which helped bring Munn’s ideas for a “bright, open” space to fruition without completely overhauling the home.
“It’s a small area and we always pack it with so many people,” the X-Men star explains. “We’ve done well with that but I wanted to make the house feel airy and comfortable. We’re not the type of family who will have a nice living room that no one sits in. Everything has to be comfortable and everyone needs to be able to sit!”
Her main hurdle, however, was the stove. “I was like, ‘Mom, the whole point is to give you a real chef’s kitchen. Don’t you want a gas stove?’” she recalls. “But she said if she ever needs to carry an oxygen tank, a gas stove would blow her up! I promised if she ever needs one, I’ll change the stove back.”
The other upgrades will certainly stay, including the island made of calacatta marble, a steamer built into the counter, a pot filer closer to the stove and lower cabinets to help the petite matriarch grab anything with ease. “It’s those little things that are most exciting,” adds the model, 37. “It takes the kitchen to the next level.”
Simply put, the final result was perfect. “My mom was in awe and shock!” Munn tells Us. “I really wanted to thank her for being so supportive of my dreams over the years and this renovation was a way for me to give something meaningful to her.”
Munn’s full episode of My Houzz — produced by Ashton Kutcher — is now streaming on houzz.com/myhouzz.
