Ashton Kutcher Brings His Mom to Tears
Ashton Kutcher has been a Hollywood star for years
Kutcher has been a Hollywood staple for decades, with his first big break being the role of Michael Kelso on That 70s Show. Shortly after that, he created his own TV prank show Punk'd which had him messing with some of show business's biggest and best.
Now he's married to his fellow That 70s Show alum, Mila Kunis, and with their two kids, they're the perfect celebrity family.
But he spent his early years growing up as a Midwestern boy in Iowa.
Despite the glitz and glamor of his current life, Kutcher actually came from much more humble beginnings. Originally from the midwest, Ashton spent his young years in a fairly typical family from Iowa.
He had a few run-ins with the law as a teenager, but for the most part, he was your typical teenager from a small town in the midwest.
His mother and stepfather still live in his childhood home.
While Ashton may have moved on to a big life in Hollywood, the rest of the family is still enjoying the simple life back in Iowa. He may be far from his roots, but he still knows how important home is.
“I think everybody has a place in their life that they call home… and no matter where you go in the world or what you see or what you do, when you think of the word ‘home’ you’re drawn to a specific place in your mind.”
It’s a home that Ashton actually helped to build.
You enjoy things more when you work for them, and that's exactly what happened with Kutcher and his childhood home. Despite just being a teenager, he actually helped his stepdad, Mark, with the construction.
His homebuilding days may be behind him, but it's clear that Kutcher took the lessons he learned way back then to heart.
He and his siblings may have moved away years ago…
These days, the home is much emptier than it was when Ashton was growing up. His mother and stepfather still live there, but he and his siblings have all grown up and moved on.
He, his sister Tausha, and his twin brother Michael all share a close bond with one another, and they have a lot of love for the people who raised them.
...But the home’s basement has been unchanged for almost 20 years.
It may always hold a special place in Ashton's heart, but it's clear that the Kutcher homestead had seen better days. His mom, Diane, and stepdad, Mark, are not interior design people and it definitely shows!
In particular, the home's basement hadn't been touched in almost 20 years. It was a great space, but it really needed some TLC.
It was filled with all sorts of pictures and objects from Ashton’s childhood.
Like a lot of families, Ashton's parents didn't immediately claim the space for themselves once he and his siblings moved out.
The basement definitely held a lot of important memories for the family, but it had turned into a bizarre, outdated museum of Kutcher's childhood—complete with all sorts of toys and awards from when he was growing up.
But it also started to get pretty cluttered and outdated.
Family mementos are one thing, but those weren't the only thing clogging up space in the basement. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of things.
From workout equipment to general clutter, Ashton's stepdad and mother were using the basement to basically house everything that didn't have anywhere else to go.
Not to mention the ridiculous amount of John Wayne memorabilia.
And did we mention the John Wayne memorabilia? There was plenty of that stuff down there too! Mark is a big fan of The Duke, and he basically turned the basement into a shrine for the cowboy legend.
Having a collection is one thing, but this might have been a bit of overkill! You couldn't turn anywhere without being accosted by the image of John Wayne.
Kutcher knew that the basement was more than overdue for a renovation.
Even though he didn't live there anymore, Ashton knew that the basement needed a serious pick me up. He wanted his parents to enjoy their home to the fullest extent.
So, he hatched a plan to get his mom the basement of her dreams. She had no idea what was going on, but she was in for the surprise of a lifetime!
He wanted to use it as an opportunity to say thanks to his mom for all her hard work.
All those years in Hollywood had no effect on Ashton's personality because he was still so invested in making his mom happy with this basement renovation. He really wanted to give her something incredible.
He had lots of good things to say about her, stating, "There are a lot of reasons to go home and do something special like this. But really at the end of the day, it’s my way of saying thank you to my mom. My mom has been the greatest influence in my life.”
He started planning the whole thing with his stepdad, Mark.
So, he got to work planning the perfect basement renovation for his mom. He even asked Mark for help. They already built something amazing once, so why not do it again, right?
With a little help from an interior designer, the two were certain that they could make things work and give Diane a basement she would never forget.
Mark was enthusiastic about the project, but he had some reservations about his recliners.
Mark was all on board for the project because he thought his wife was just as deserving as Ashton did. There was only one problem though—he wasn't ready to give up his basement recliners.
So, Ashton put it all to a vote in an online poll. Thankfully for Mark, the recliners won! They might be modernizing the basement, but the recliners would live to fight another day.
Ashton had lots of big ideas for his parents’ new basement.
This was not going to be some simple, one-day project. Ashton wasn't thinking of just putting up a new coat of paint and some new decor—he wanted to make the new basement a completely new space.
"Our plan is to completely reimagine the basement from the ground up by knocking down walls, lifting the dropped ceiling, and adding lots of natural light throughout." That's a job that will take some serious manpower!
But the biggest issue was keeping his mom from learning about the big surprise.
Tearing down walls is one thing, but the most important task in this project was keeping his mom in the dark about the whole thing. Ashton wanted her to be genuinely surprised by the renovation.
Thankfully, this ended up being an easy task. Ashton and his wife, Mila, had recently had a new child and they asked Diane to come out to Hollywood for a few days to help them out. She was none the wiser!
What happened if she hated the renovation?
At one point in the process, Ashton was having second thoughts. What if his mom didn't appreciate the surprise and hated the newly renovated basement? It is her home, after all!
"My mom is the master of the domain. So to actually take over control of her house and do things to it without her permission is a very very scary thing. We’ll see what she thinks."
But the plan was already in motion.
It was too late for second thoughts, though! Once they started tearing down walls and installing new windows, there was no going back.
The basement was going to be majorly changed whether Diane liked it or not. It was a big gamble, but the crew just pushed through.
Ashton and his stepdad Mark even pitched in.
Kutcher and his stepdad weren't content to just stand around and let everyone else do all the hard work, so they even helped to pitch in to get the project complete.
Now, neither one of them are experts at bringing down walls or constructing new ones, but they were more than happy to help with the heavy lifting and grunt work. Not every celebrity would be that chill about manual labor!
Then it was finally time for the big reveal.
Finally, all the hard work was over. The renovation was complete and things look absolutely fabulous. Ashton did a great job at designing a basement his mom would love...even if she hadn't seen it yet!
There was only one thing left to do: bring Diane back home and see what she thought of the changes. Needless to say, nerves were very high on the big day.
At first, Ashton’s mom couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Coming home to a completely new basement is a shock, to say the least. So, it came as no surprise that Diane was at a loss for words at first.
She even burst into tears at one point, but thankfully, they were all tears of joy at what a good job her son and husband had done with the renovation.
The basement was almost unrecognizable from its original state.
The basement was basically a brand new room after all the incredible changes they had made. This was no longer the basement with 20 years of junk accumulating in it!
Diane was still too shocked to say much, but judging from how many times she kept repeating, "It's so beautiful!" we're pretty sure she loved the results!
Diane finally had a place for all her family heirlooms.
One of the biggest changes to the basement was adding lots of space for Diane to showcase family heirlooms and other important objects. They no longer had to be packed away!
This was one of the most important things for Ashton, who said, "The home is like the DNA of a family. It is your history. And all of these pictures and antiques and things like that, they’re memories. And being able to put them on display in a way that they can be shared… that’s where the value is."
And a place where the whole family could make new memories.
Just as importantly, the renovated basement gave Mark and Diane a place where they could make new memories with their children and their grandchildren.
The space just looked so much bigger and brighter after the renovation. It was no longer a dreary, dark basement—it was a place where people actually wanted to hang out.
But Ashton wasn’t finished surprising his mom yet.
Diane might have thought she had seen in all, but there were more surprises in store for her! Another big change was relocating the windowless basement bedroom to an area where natural light could get in.
This big reveal led to another round of tears from Diane. And try as he might, Ashton couldn't help but crack a joke, saying, "Come on mom, we don’t have to cry in every room."
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Diane was so pleased with the surprise that she cried enough for twenty basement renovations! But she wasn't the only one who couldn't help but get emotional at the moment.
Even old Mark got a little misty-eyed, saying, "I love my wife Diane, I love my kids, so anytime they’re happy, it’s wonderful."
Ashton had thought of everything down to the last detail.
Ashton Kutcher may have played a dumb jock on TV, but he was no dummy. He made sure that this basement renovation would be perfect down to the last detail.
He thought of literally everything—including adorable night lights for the bunk beds that the grandkids could sleep in.
He even made a space for Mark's recliners.
The basement was basically a brand new room, but Ashton made room for everything—even Mark's recliners! However, these weren't the old, beaten up ones.
Instead, Ashton replaced them with new "classy" recliners for the small nook area he created for Diane and Mark to spend time in. Everybody wins!
And a hilarious custom-made John Wayne poster.
There's no doubt that the John Wayne memorabilia didn't have as much of a prominent place in the basement after the renovation, but it wasn't gone completely either.
In fact, Ashton added to the collection with a hilarious custom-made poster featuring Mark in his recliner as "The Good, The Bad, and The Comfy"!
Overall, the renovation was a resounding success.
To say that this renovation was a complete success would be an understatement. Diane loved it, Mark loved it, Ashton loved it—the whole family couldn't get enough of this gorgeous new room.
Ashton finished off the big reveal with a toast "to everything that makes a house a home, which is friends and family and love and care and kindness."
And Ashton showed the world what a genuinely good son he is.
Not every Hollywood celebrity would fly halfway across the country to do construction on their parents' basement, but Ashton Kutcher is different. He may have a high-profile life now, but it's clear his mom and stepdad raised him right.
This renovation was one for the books, and Diane was more than thrilled. She said, "I'll be blubbering for months," and we believe her! It was a great gift from an even greater son!