Eva Longoria Gives Her Best Friend’s Home a Desperately Needed Makeover

When Eva Longoria moved to Hollywood to chase her dreams, she had to leave her family, including her three sisters, behind. Missing that sisterhood, Eva was in search of friends who could be like family. “And I found it,” she says of her best friend Bonnie, whom she met when they were both just 21 years old.

“I was here trying to be an actress, and Bonnie was the only friend that had a job in our group, and she was the only person who had a car, so she often would drive me to my auditions,” she continues. “I really would not have made it in Hollywood without Bonnie's love, support, money, dinners,” Eva laughs, recollecting those early days.

For over 25 years of friendship, the two pals have been by each other’s sides for their marriages, the births of their children and their careers. “We have a really unbreakable bond,” Eva says.

It is for that reason that Eva wants to gift her bestie the kitchen makeover of her dreams. She knows Bonnie would never let her do this otherwise, explaining, “If I told Bonnie I was going to redo her kitchen just as a gift, she would not allow it.”

Something tells us Bonnie will forgive Eva for this transgression.

At first glance, Bonnie’s kitchen looks perfectly adequate, but on closer inspection, you can see why Eva can’t wait to get her hands on it. The layout makes no sense, with the dishwasher located nowhere near the sink. And that dishwasher, by the way? It isn’t even installed.

The kitchen island has a dysfunctional, two-level countertop that makes what could be a spacious prepping and seating space a difficult-to-use disaster waiting to happen. Worst of all, Bonnie is a mom of twin boys, and the kitchen has very little storage.

“Whoever did this kitchen doesn’t like to cook,” Eva says, exasperated. “I feel her pain every time I’m in her kitchen.”

Bonnie’s family room is visible from the kitchen, and as Jonathan sees it, “This space is mostly going to be styling.” Meaning it will need to be given a refresh to match the sleek new kitchen, but it won’t need a major overhaul.

The plan for this space will be to separate the oversized room into two different zones: one area with a table for games, meals and entertaining, and a second area with a large sectional for the whole family to relax around.

While there’s nothing particularly wrong with the large dining room table floating in the middle of Bonnie’s open kitchen and living space, there’s nothing particularly right about it either. Drew and Jonathan have heard Eva say that Bonnie needs more storage, more function and more convenience for her busy family, so they want to propose a second island in place of the dining table.

“This could actually be a kitchen where you do kind of a double-island situation,” Jonathan explains. “Replace this island and then have another island over there so you can have seating on both sides with some additional storage.”

“I think a second island could be super useful,” Eva agrees.

True to her word that she wanted to have a hands-on role in transforming Bonnie’s kitchen, Eva wields her sledgehammer like a pro during the demo, smashing the kitchen to smithereens. “This is for you, Bonnie,” she says as she helps the brothers rip the island from the floor.

“I actually didn’t realize how easy it was to take apart a kitchen,” Eva says later, confessing that it was her first time doing a demolition.

Eva is very firm when it comes to the aesthetic that she wants for her best friend. At one point, when insisting on a lighter color for the range hood, Jonathan earnestly asks her, “Are you stubborn?”

“No, I’m just telling you why I’m right,” Eva answers.

“You’re not stubborn, you’re convincing,” he corrects himself. “Alright, we will go white.”

With the help of Bonnie’s husband, Eva was able to take over Bonnie’s house for several weeks while Bonnie was on the East Coast for work. When Bonnie returned home, Eva was waiting with the camera crew in tow.

“What’s going on here?” Bonnie asks suspiciously.

“I just came to get your mail so I can put it inside,” Eva casually tells her, and then elaborates further by saying that the camera crew was following along because she had to shoot “this day in the life” video. While Eva is a great actress, Bonnie looks highly suspicious as she follows Eva into her own home.

The double islands are the pièce de résistance of this kitchen, and Bonnie is clearly thrilled. “I have two islands!” she shrieks, proceeding to physically drape herself over one and squeal with delight. “My dream kitchen!”

Eva’s face breaks into a huge smile, as this is all she ever wanted for her best friend.

As self-described “sisters in another life,” Eva wanted to ensure that Bonnie’s family room, which is visible from the kitchen, flowed perfectly from space to space. As she shows off the room to Bonnie, Eva gives Jonathan and Drew all of the credit.

“Here's the thing that you guys were geniuses about … it was hard to redo the kitchen and not this space as well because it's just one big area.”

To give the two spaces a seamless flow, the brothers had wide-plank oak floors laid throughout the kitchen and family room and installed new sliding glass doors that open all of the spaces up to create that optimal indoor-outdoor California living.

The bond that Eva and Bonnie share is evident in the level of detail that Eva insisted on bringing to the kitchen renovation. An unused corner was turned into a custom cabinet that features a wine bar that faces into the family room on one side and a coffee station that faces into the kitchen on the other.

"No one else could have been better at doing this project than Eva. Like how connected we are and how well she knows me and the needs of my family,” Bonnie says, still in disbelief.