Original subtitles

- I love it up in these hills. - Mm-hmm.

It's just gorgeous.

Every property has this beautiful view.

Did you see the message, by the way, from Ted and Erin?

- No, what were they saying? - Let me read it to you.

"Hi, my partner and I could really use your help.

"We're currently renting and have been house hunting on

"and off for years with zero luck.

"We've literally seen over 100 houses.

"The market is nuts, bidding wars, bad flips.

"We've seen it all.

"We're fortunate to have recently inherited a home,

"but it's in really rough shape and comes with a lot of

complicated history."

- I don't know what that means, but-- - Hm...

"We could really use

"your expertise to help us decide what we should do.

Hope to hear from you, Erin and Ted."

I'm curious to see what this place looks like and how much

work it needs and what this mysterious history is.

This is-- this is it over here.

Oh, wow.

♪ ba-ba, ba, da, da ♪

♪ ba-ba, ba, da, da, ba-ba, ba, da, da ♪

- Nestled in the hills. - This is kind of cool.

It's like a little private oasis.

If you only had, like, little hobbit doors right here,

this would be great.

So are they wanting to sell this house,

or are they wanting to save it?

I don't think they know.

- Hello? - Come on down.

- Hey, come on in. - Hey, yes.

- Come on in. - How are you?

Come on down. Hi, I'm Erin.

- Jonathan. - Nice to meet you.

- Ted. - Nice to meet you.

- Drew, yeah. - Nice to meet you.

Uh, this is the place, wow.

This is it, welcome.

I actually love the style of the home, I love the view.

- This is, I mean, people are paying for this. - That's killer.

Looking out your back window, to the a 180-view.

When you're up here in the hills,

that is what you're paying for.

This is very much secondary inside the house.

How long have you had this house?

It's been in the family for 30-plus years.

- My parents bought this place. - Well, what's the plan?

We were talking about that outside.

I can tell just by looking at you that you have reservations,

or there's something... - Oh, I have big reservations

about moving into this place.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that he's had a life here,

and I wasn't a part of that life.

He's raised his kids here.

I feel like a guest in this house.

Right.

I kind of just wanted us to have a fresh start somewhere.

Eight years-- nine years?

I think we've been in our rental home

for about eight years now. - Yeah.

We've been looking for years for a house to start anew.

This is our first place together that we're buying.

Every time we tried to find a place,

somebody would buy it out from under us,

or, you know, we'd find things that were wrong with it.

So when this-- when this house came into the potential for us,

it-- it kind of spun everything around.

I lived in it for a long time with my kids,

and then when separated with my ex,

I moved out, and then my ex, she passed away.

I understand the financial implications

and how it would be smarter for us to go this direction

and fix up this home that we inherited.

But it's hard to get past all the memories that are there.

He lived a whole lifetime.

- He raised his kids there. - I kind of feel the same way.

I want to have a fresh start as well.

But financially, the fresh start would be,

let's fix up this house. - Yeah.

So right now, it's just about compromise.

We got to do something.

We're paying rent on our rental.

We're paying a mortgage on this house.

- We have to either sell it or renovate it or do something. - Right.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

And that's very relatable, by the way, we've had a lot

of clients that have said the same thing.

They've had their past lives, and they want to create

something new together for the next chapter.

What is your design style? What do you want to see?

For me, I like a home with character.

I love the Spanish style. I'm not a fan of modern.

- Yeah. - And mid-century modern is really not my thing either.

Like the beams, for example?

I would want to keep the beams

and do something special with that. - I love the beams.

Would you-- would you want to keep this or get rid of it?

You know, I love having a fireplace.

I know that's weird for California,

but I love the coziness that it brings.

It just, that seems like a monster.

There are ways to make that look like an amazing feature,

and not just an old, worn-down fireplace, right? - A giant-- yeah.

The kitchen is pretty much original, I think.

I mean, this house was built in the '50s,

like '52, I think, and it looks like it-- it's...

- This countertop is disgusting. - This has to go.

- See? We're starting the renovation today. - Gross, ugh!

Even the electrical here,

you can see that someone's arced the electrical here,

so I'm assuming this isn't grounded.

What is this cable right here?

You drilled for the microwave?

You just drilled through the front of your count-- your cabinet?

Whoever did it, yeah.

Not only that, to get rid of the ground,

they just put in a thing that eliminates

the ground so they could plug it into an ungrounded--

I can even hear it.

There are many fire hazards in this house.

Listen to that.

- You hear that? - It's so dangerous.

Have you had an appraisal done on this place?

- Yeah, yeah. - I'm guessing it's around 1.5.

- Yeah, that's about right. - Yeah.

And did you ever get a quote from a contractor

as to what the work would be? - A couple.

OK-- and my guessing there is

the cheapest you came across is probably $300,000?

And it got even higher than that.

I personally would redo everything,

make sure things are done right, but you could save some money

by trying to keep those floors.

- Yeah. - It looks good, it's just dark.

I would have done something a little lighter

'cause otherwise it starts to feel dark in here all around. - Yeah.

The counters and everything in here, this is super dark, so...

When we moved in, this-- everything was dark.

I mean, the ceiling wasn't white.

We painted-- I mean, it was very '70s dark.

If we found a house that checked off all your boxes

and was everything that you want... - Yes!

...would you be open to just not tackling this

and moving to that? - Yes.

I-- I'm hesitant.

The houses we looked at in our price range,

which is the same value you're talking about,

1.5, 1.7, are not-- nothing has a view.

Other properties in the area have been selling

for over 2 million with a renovation.

If you're out of the hills, your dollar will stretch a lot

further looking at houses and other areas that

your majority payment is going towards that view.

So there are other houses out there, maybe even with more

function or charm for what you guys want or something that

makes you feel more at home. - Yeah.

- Let's look at the bedroom. - What else is here? Yeah.

So you have kitchen, living...

What is this?

I'm no longer in a residential home.

- I’m back in the college locker room. - What?

- What is this? - This is crazy.

I have never in all my life seen cubicles like this

in a residential.

Everything in here needs to go, for sure, no, having--

It's a huge bathroom, by the way, but it looks tiny.

When I'm looking at the scope of work for the kitchen

and the scope of work everywhere,

but especially rooms like this, the bathroom,

it adds up real fast.

I-- I-- I'm curious what you guys think.

I mean, how much should we spend?

It makes a huge difference. Do you want to stay?

Do you want to sell?

Because there may be some things to make your lives

the way you want it, that you would want to spend

more money on, but it's not worth spending

more money on if you're selling. - Right.

Yeah, that's-- that's a tough call, really.

Bedrooms are easy, 'cause you're not dealing

with fixtures, expensive appliances. - Yeah.

This is a really nice big room, too.

Well, that's just the mirrors.

This would be an easy fix-up. - I'd like to get outside.

I want to see the outdoor space, 'cause it looks like

there are two tiers out there?

I don't know about opening

this door, it's been a while.

Oh, my God. It's got-- I got an inch.

Hey, step aside, brother.

I'm gonna take the easy path.

Let's see here.

If it opens, 'cause Drew couldn't do it,

that's gonna be amazing.

- Oh, yeah! - Oh, look at that.

You got this, Jonathan.

- Hey, Erin, come here a sec. - Yeah.

Come out here.

You two are out of luck. We'll see you later.

Uh, excuse me, I've been trimming up.

I like the privacy up there.

I like that you don't see neighbors or anything like that,

it's just all view. - Yeah.

I think it'd be really nice having some raised gardens

and have your own produce and stuff. - Yeah.

You have a great location.

And you obviously have a house that's fallen into disrepair.

I know as well, I am a stepdad. And when I--

met Zooey, the kids, they were living in a house

that was not a house I had any memories in,

and I can appreciate how you feel.

We found another house,

and now they love that house, and it's totally fine.

You guys, the kids are out of the house.

- Yeah. - I'd still be open to looking at other places

and seeing what else is out there,

and do I really want to commit to doing this?

Looking at other houses, what's your criteria?

I mean, honestly, I would love the same kind of thing

with the three bedrooms, two bathrooms, open concept.

- She likes her fireplace. - I do like the fireplace.

- So dog friendly. - Dog friendly, definitely.

I love a walkable neighborhood and character.

And I think it will really help you looking at other

houses that aren't on the hill that have some different

features, and it'll show you what the value of those are

in comparison to this. - Yeah.

Do you mind if I just look around?

I haven't seen everything, and I want to make sure

- I really know the scope of what needs to... - Sure.

Just be careful, there's fire hazards everywhere.

- I'm not going to touch anything. - Yeah, OK, OK.

I get what Ted is saying, and he's right.

They already have the equity in this house, they would have

to basically go and repurchase something and then maybe

take on a renovation, and there's a lot more hassle

and legal fees and real estate fees, you name it.

So there's a tough conversation that they need to have.

This may not be the house.

There's a good chance this is not the house

because of the amount of work that has to happen.

Their budget's 1.7 million.

That's not gonna get them much up here in the hills,

so we need to look at some other neighborhoods

that can stretch that dollar.

But I don't wanna lift a hammer on this house

until Erin and Ted make the decision

of whether they're gonna stay or they're gonna go.

2 What was it about this house

that you thought Erin would specifically like?

I think it's the fact that it's-- it's fully renovated

and the fact that it doesn't have history.

- Hello. - Welcome to the party.

- Hey. - Hey, there.

What's happening, guys?

- Oh, this is a cute-- - Welcome to .

Could you see yourself living down here?

- We put bids on places down here, so definitely. - Yeah.

The greatest difference between these two properties

is walkability, because you know,

in the hills, it is a challenge.

Here, sidewalks on both sides, tree-lined streets,

so it's really great. - Yeah.

- Yeah-- the walkable thing is really nice about it. - Oh, yeah.

I love it, walking the dogs.

This house was built in the '20s.

It's a three-bedroom, three-bathroom, plus the ADU.

The thing with this house is you don't need to renovate.

It's already done.

You could literally move in right away.

It's a fresh start.

Oh, wow.

Oh, this is really nice.

The height, the beams.

This wouldn't have been original, but now

it's really impressive. - Wow, this is great.

I mean, it's perfect for family gatherings.

I would love to start hosting Thanksgiving

and Christmas here. - Mm-hmm.

This is a huge island.

I do like how they've integrated the pendants

directly to the beams. That's nice.

Yeah, I like this backsplash, and I love the pot filler.

Looking at this, what you've seen so far, is this

the kind of house you would put an offer in on? - Yeah.

I love the way it's open.

You got to look at the rest of it.

Well, look over here for one sec.

In case you don't know, the toilet's here.

- It says it on the wall. - Oh.

I do want to show you guys one thing with this house

that's a little different than what the listing had said.

Does anyone really need a sign that looks like that to explain

this is a toilet? - Yeah, OK--

Hoo-ah!

- Oh, God, sorry. - Jeez, you scared--

I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.

This was a bedroom door.

- So this was the third bedroom. - Oh, my gosh.

They decided they wanted this to be a closet, but you can

open that to throw laundry in a basket. - Or terrify people.

It's perfect for Halloween. Come around.

That is so crazy.

I had to, I'm sorry.

- Come on through to the bedroom. - Oh, it's a nice space.

Nice wet room in there with your shower and tub.

- This is nice. - Have you wanted a-- a walk-in closet?

- This is really nice. - She wants a walk-in closet.

I definitely want a walk-in closet.

- That would be a dream. - They're listing this

as a three-bedroom, three-bathroom.

It's not, because this isn't an official bedroom anymore. - Oh, I see.

- So I would call this... - OK, so, .

...a two-bedroom, three-bathroom home.

If you wanted, we could always convert it back,

or you could keep it as a closet.

And maybe if you need that third bedroom, you could use

the ADU as the third space. - Yeah.

- Nice private yard. - The dogs would love it.

They really would. It's a perfect space.

They have the turf over on this side.

And you can see in here, it's a studio-style ADU.

How would you use this space?

- I think it would probably be a guest space. - Yeah.

His daughter comes down from Berkeley quite often,

so it'd be nice to have a space for her. - Yeah.

Seeing this compared to your family's home, pros, cons?

For me, there's a lot of pros.

Just something about starting over.

- A fresh start for both of us. - What are you thinking?

'Cause I can see the wheels spinning.

This is not a no.

I mean, I like the open concept, the high ceilings, the beams.

The walkability and all that is great.

It's not jumping out at me as "this is the place."

I would say there's probably not as much character here

as what you would probably be looking for.

- Yeah. - You say your budget's around 1.7, right?

- Yeah. - The list price for this house is 1.85 million.

I think we can negotiate the price down.

Comps in the area are going for 1.7 to 1.75.

But the thing is, it's all done.

- You don't have to spend even $100,000 on renovation. - Ah, yeah.

- It's ready to go. - That's the nice part.

Your house, you would end up spending $2-- $300,000

to try and make it something that you want.

- It is very tempting. Very, very tempting to-- - Yeah, and--

I like the ADU, that's nice.

Why don't we step out, be honest with each other

for a second about this place, what you think,

and then join us out front. We'll see you out front.

- All right, thanks, guys. - See you inside, yeah.

Yeah, I don't know, there's-- there's a lot about this house

that I really like, though.

Oof, I-- I mean, Erin is loving it.

She loves the area. She loves the house.

I get what Ted's saying.

It's not like the instant wow-factor,

instantly fell in love.

I mean, it's not, like I said, it's not--

I'm not getting the fireworks.

I think Ted's just too stuck on that house

that was his family home.

I think he feels he's going to lose out on all the equity

if they just move on.

In the same boat, I understand that Erin would want to have

a fresh start in a house that wasn't

from a past relationship.

I mean, there's gonna be pros and cons about

every situation, but it's nice to move into a place

that's pretty much done.

Drew found this house, and I do think it's a very nice house,

especially with the fact that everything is done.

But, you know, we can show them more houses.

I've got a house, actually, that I want to show them.

It needs a little bit of work, but it's within their budget.

It's gonna look beautiful,

and I think it could be a winner for them.

Follow me.

So you can already see the reason you've got the steps

is 'cause you also have the view. - Oh, wow.

So unlike the last house,

you're right in the heart of the hills.

So you've got the view, you've got the elevation,

and some steps. - And some steps, definitely.

It's probably really nice with all the little houses

and the lights and, yeah. - Yeah, I'm sure it is.

One of the biggest perks you have with this location is

you can literally to the end of the street, and you probably

saw the park that's there as you were walking here.

- Yeah. - Yes, yeah.

Everyone goes there with their dogs.

Tons of room to run around.

So if you want somewhere to run the dogs around,

this is your spot. - There is good character inside.

- You wanted a Spanish style. - Yeah.

You got to be used to the stairs but why don't we get inside?

- Do you want to have a look? - OK.

- Yeah, definitely. - Sounds good.

Oh, yeah, wow!

- Oh, there's character. - Oh, my gosh.

- There is loads of character. - Oh, wow, yeah.

You said you wanted wow-factor when you walk into a house.

Yeah, definitely.

- Look at those beams. - This is definitely wow-factor.

All original, even the stenciling

and everything, that's all original.

I just love that you've got that character.

This is a 100-year-old house.

It's three bedrooms, two-and-a-half-bath,

over 2,000 square feet, built in '26.

I love the fireplace. I love the Spanish style.

This is way bigger than a lot of living rooms we would see

in your price point. - Yeah-- it is a nice room.

So I am seeing something that I did not see at the last house,

and that is a look of wonder and excitement.

You don't see a lot of homes like this-- you really don't.

So I think the character is really making me excited,

'cause it's unique.

It stands out from any other home that we've seen.

I love the non-smooth walls.

- I love the archway into the kitchen. - Yeah, yeah.

You could even improve your access to the landing

so you can get straight in here. Nice sized dining room.

Wow.

Some of the things that you'd see in more modern homes,

which I think can still be done to these houses and it feels

appropriate, maybe like opening this up a little more

to connect the dining space through to the kitchen.

What-- what's the asking price?

This is listed for 1.7.

We'd have to do a little work here.

- That's the key word, a little. - Yeah.

The place you currently have needs a lot.

No, no question about it.

Before we talk all the numbers and everything,

let's head upstairs.

Oh, wow. This is really cool.

I love the built-in bookshelves. Look at that.

Now, that could be a great loft office as well.

- That's actually a good point, yeah. - Yeah--

yeah, that's really nice.

And then you have decent sized bedrooms

and the big room over here.

The one thing that's cool about this room is you have

access directly to your own terrace out back here.

- OK. - And bathrooms just outside.

- OK, this is nice. - Yeah, it's really nice.

We're showing you this, because it's a home

with character that you will not find in any other

newer built home. - Mm-hmm.

But even though it's got character,

you can still adapt it to meet your needs.

Could this be a contender?

I mean, there's definitely things here that win me over.

I love the Spanish style and the character of the home.

From the outside, I wasn't a big fan just walking up,

because of the stairs and the proximity of the neighbors.

Once you walk in, I was impressed.

- And we hadn't seen houses like this. - Right.

Because you were hoping for that fresh start of something

of yours together. - Mm-hmm.

- This could be that house. - Yeah, definitely.

- God! - Are you ready to put in an offer?

They actually are leaning into this house, especially Erin.

She's really, really into this house.

It's up to them to decide--

But if they want to keep the family house, then I think

we just have to do everything we can to make that feel like

a fresh start for Erin. - Yeah.

- We can do that. - Yeah.

Boy, that would be a lot of work, , that house.

2 I personally think that this

Spanish house we just looked at is the top contender. - Yeah.

I just don't know if Erin's going to get on board

with the one in the hills. - Yeah.

- What are you doing tonight? - Date night with Linda.

- Oh, just the two of you? - Yeah, just the two of us.

We don't get enough time out to do things, and...

- It's Ted. - OK, great.

- Hey. - How's it going?

We literally just left you. What's up?

Oh, yeah? And what do you...?

That was very quick.

Yeah, Jonathan figured that you guys were sold on

the Spanish style home. - Oh, no.

Can you tell me what is your budget for the renovation?

OK, $250,000.

We're going to do everything we can to make it the amazing home

you already dreamed it could be.

- I'll talk to you guys soon. - OK.

Bye, guys.

- Thanks, have a good one. - All right, bye, guys.

I am just gonna put it on the record,

I have a bad feeling about this house

because you can tell there was illegal work done.

I'll head over there right away,

and we'll start tearing things out.

And that'll also help us explore and see what we're dealing with.

I think the challenge for us is Erin

still has one foot out the door.

It's all about personalizing the design.

I'm gonna meet up with them and try and get a better sense

of their style and design, maybe pick out some pieces.

We need to knock it out of the park to make her love it.

- Otherwise, I'd probably just sell it. - They’re just gonna turn

and sell, yeah. - Yeah, exactly.

- Come on in. - Thank you.

Oh, wow. Look at this.

- All right. - Quite the selection.

There's a lot to choose from.

So the whole point of this design is to get rid

of the ghosts of the past.

I think that there's a lot that can go into the aesthetic

that can help it feel fresh.

You have $250,000 for your budget,

and it sounds like a lot,

but we're doing a total new kitchen.

We have your bathroom.

We have a lot of areas of the house we're touching.

That money is gonna go fast, so I'm trying not to over-spend

anywhere possible. - Yeah.

We can keep your porcelain floors as-is,

they're in good shape.

We could do a beautiful built-in for the TV.

One thing with the fireplace, you weren't a big fan

of the look of that fireplace, because I know you don't

like mid-century. If you want to rip that out,

it's gonna cost about $10,000.

What do you think of the idea of just a simple plaster?

We'll apply a plaster compound directly over the existing

brick to introduce a Spanish-inspired finish.

This would be a fraction

of the cost of building something new.

We'll layer in both warmth and comfort with hand-selected

furniture choices and accent pieces

that will elevate the space.

Because this home is all about enjoying the view,

we'll extend the plaster finish to the exterior chimney

and add natural textural tones and outdoor elements

to soften things up.

Yeah, I would love to plant some vegetables out there.

Do you want to build some planter boxes?

Ooh, I would love to.

- OK, that would be fun, actually. - Yeah!

Yeah, because we could have a couple right out there,

and it will grow and add a little bit of depth

to that fireplace. - Yeah, that would be fun.

OK, nice. What are you gonna do?

I'm-- I'm gonna watch.

I know we're here for furniture,

but let's talk kitchen for a second,

because we need to start from scratch.

It-- it always has been kind of dark,

so something to lighten that up. - Oh, yeah, definitely.

We'll create better flow

and function by replacing the peninsula with an island.

Those old crumbling counters will be upgraded

with a low-maintenance stone.

We'll brighten up the space with a mosaic backsplash,

V-groove cream-color cabinetry, and add mixed-metal finishes

and two-tone counters

to bring eye-catching contrast to the space.

- That would be perfect. - Yeah.

Oh, my God, it's so-- I love it.

Are you OK with some dark still in there?

Because contrast would be an important part

of the design-- yeah. - Design-- design-wise is fine.

- Yeah. - I've been thinking about doing things for a long time

at that place. - Yeah.

Just, you know, we never had the money.

- I'm excited about it. - It's going to be amazing.

All that stuff out of the way, I want you to focus on the fun

of shopping for your living room.

Just look around.

Color, texture, style, anything that jumps out to you,

just let me know, because we can hone in

from there-- all right? - OK.

- Yeah. - Let's do it.

I wouldn't mind something like this, and it swivels.

Then you can be looking at the fireplace over here,

or you can turn and you can look at the TV. - Yeah.

Do you like that palette?

No, I don't like that color at all.

No, I think that's very '70s.

Oh, yes, back to the mid-century modern.

I got to throw a bunch at you,

and then I start to find out what you like.

Are you OK with something like a wood tone?

Like, what do you think of that there?

I do like the wood tones.

It might be, like, a nice idea for a coffee bar, too.

- This is what I'm talking about. - You need this in your life.

She's like, "Absolutely not."

Oh, OK.

- Oh. - I'll buy that one!

That's kind of nice.

That's a great color, actually.

I think if we go for the color here,

we shouldn't go for a colorful sofa.

- Right-- yeah. - Right?

I think I'm getting a bit better sense of style.

I need to get their head more wrapped around

what the furniture design could look like.

I just want them to have some fun.

- OK, so you like this. - Yeah, it's not bad.

Yeah, that's mid-century modern, just so you know.

OK, let's move on.

One, two, three.

As we're doing demo, I'm seeing more and more signs

that it's not gonna be good.

So when I left, I asked to make sure we have the electrician in,

the plumber in-- that way, when we come back,

we know 100% what we're dealing with.

Hello?

Come on into the kitchen, if you can find the kitchen.

Don't be afraid. Watch your step.

- What's your thought so far? - I'm just in shock, really.

I mean, I haven't seen it like this, ever.

Is it-- is it hard to see it like this?

No, it's not hard. It's crazy, though, you know?

As we were pulling back layers,

you see a lot of the stuff that was not done right.

- There was a ton. - Oh, wow, really, like what?

When we were initially walking through,

I pointed out pretty quick that this was ungrounded.

There were some issues.

There is so much illegal wiring done in this house.

And if it does end up sparking, your house burns down.

I mean, I raised my kids here.

- But you didn't know. - Yeah.

Now that we're updating,

we want to make sure everything's done right.

Included in the budget that we already talked about

was the rewiring of the kitchen, because we knew that

we to bring it up to today's code. - OK.

Discovering everything else the electrician has basically said,

and the city is going to require it,

the whole house has to be rewired.

To rewire the entire house is about $14,000,

over and above what's already budgeted.

- Oh, my God. - OK.

You know, that's not as bad as it sounded

when you started telling this whole thing, so 14 is-- - Oh, yeah.

- Well, I mean, it gets worse. - You know...

- That’s just the electrical. - OK, OK, that's just the electrical, OK.

We got a camera, and we scoped

several different parts of your plumbing.

Under the slab in the house is totally shot.

This is where the second major problem comes into play

because we would basically have to trench and break up

the concrete on an angle out to the clean out there

and from the bathroom over there on an angle this way.

So we would have to redo all of the flooring.

It's just hit after hit after hit.

We're now looking at $43,000

on top of what you're already paying. - Oh, my God.

I can tell as well that this is a difficult decision.

Yeah, it's overwhelming.

2 It's a lot more than I expected.

- It's oh-- sweetie, it's oh-- Sweetie, it's OK. - It's, , ugh.

For us, it's frustrating because we don't like

having to bring you this news,

but what would feel worse is if you end up

moving into this house and then realizing

there's something behind the walls.

Yeah, no, it has to be done.

- It has to be done right, so... - Yeah, yeah.

- Do you have money put aside for something like this? - It's, you know.

- We have some money set aside. - Yeah.

And I wasn't expecting this much and this added cost.

And, you know, it's like, it's already one foot out the door.

So this is just inching me closer towards that.

If we can find any kind of silver lining,

think about the flooring.

You could lighten up the flooring and have something

that feels a little brighter in the space.

- Yeah. - I have no doubt that this is

gonna be an amazing place, amazing kitchen.

- It's gonna look great. - OK.

It's already a big decision to move into this place

that doesn't necessarily feel like my home,

so now finding that there's so much to do

and so much cost added onto it, it just... it's hard.

It's hard to see that this is definitely worth it

and this is definitely my forever home kind of an idea.

It's a ton of money, and I know that Erin is very upset.

She barely wanted to renovate this place

or live in this place. When she says she’s

one foot out the door,

she's like three quarters of her body out the door.

If we can just bring some cohesion to the design

without any more big surprises, we can probably

get them to enjoy this house when we're done.

There's so much happening right now.

Electrical, plumbing is done, so the floors are patched up.

The fireplace has been redone and looks stunning.

Even though it's the same size as the original fireplace,

the finish is so much more tasteful.

The bathroom before was so weird, and so the new layout

feels like what you would get in a brand-new house.

Side-by-side sinks, massive shower.

It's gonna feel super spacious.

It obviously feels a little darker 'cause we reduced

the number of windows.

But I think once we have all our finishes done--

Well, that shower's three times as big as what it was.

Yeah-- and the tile is gonna look amazing.

That's our pattern for the floor.

Up here, do we want vertical, horizontal?

- I do like vertical. - Can I order that up?

, yes. Pick up at the next window.

No, pick up the window and bring it to this window.

, All right, picking up the window.

OK.

- Bang on. - Jeez, you're good.

Let's keep firing through on the floors.

OK, I'm gonna come around.

I'm glad we did the right fix with the plumbing,

and now the side benefit is they're gonna have way better

flooring when this is done.

If Erin is gonna fall in love with this place,

I think this is gonna be one of the biggest changes for her.

The only thing that's left that's old

is this post and beams.

How do you envision us finishing those?

I definitely want to get rid of the chocolate.

Just feels a little dated, but I do think the beams

need to still stand out as a feature.

So if we do, like, a slightly darker than

what the cabinets are for the beams and the posts,

that could be our palette.

I'm happy with how construction's going right now,

but my big concern with Ted and Erin is particularly Erin.

I just want to make sure all the work we're doing,

everything's moving in a direction where she can

actually, picture herself calling this home.

I keep having these worries that no matter what we do,

she's gonna have a hard time breaking down

that wall emotionally.

If we do all this work and then she doesn't

fall in love with it, it just seems like,

like, in my mind, it seems like a bit of a failure.

2 I love that you're excited to take on a project.

Oh, my god. What is this?

This is-- you said you want to grow your own vegetables.

I do, I do.

I'm very excited about growing them.

And you have so much room over here.

It looks great. I love the way that turned out.

I think it'll be nice to break up

that surface at the back of the fireplace.

- Oh, that's a good idea. - With a couple of planter boxes.

So this is a raised bed planter.

Cedar is a great material to work with, too.

You don't want to use something like pressure-treated wood

because the chemicals can leach into your soil.

Oh, interesting.

And then you don't put the cedar all the way across

on the bottom 'cause you need the water to go through. - Drainage.

- Yeah, exactly. - Clever.

I mean, this is pretty easy. You'll notice as well,

if you look, we don't want any screw holes showing,

if we can help it - OK.

So everything's been affixed from the inside.

So once we put up our fabric,

you'll have this beautiful, clean aesthetic.

You can fill it with soil, put whatever plants in you want.

- You're good to go. - OK.

If you're cool with it, 'cause you said you want

to learn, I'll show you how we built this one... - Yeah.

...and then you can build the second one.

- Great. - We start with the frame.

33 inches tall on our legs, so we'll cut those first.

- OK. - Show me what you got.

- OK, so 33. - 33 inch, yeah.

- Go ahead and line that up. - Just like that, like, is that OK?

- Or should I...? - That looks-- looks pretty great.

- Yeah, so hold really good and strong here. - OK.

There we go.

- Literally perfect. - Yes.

So these will be the exact same size.

Look at that, perfect.

I mean, if you went to the store and bought these

at this size, you'd be spending almost 300 bucks each.

This is custom sized just for exactly what you want,

and all-in, the materials are 150 bucks.

So a little sweat equity, and you've got something

that's customized for you. - That's great, I love it.

I already have all of these cut to exactly the thickness

you need, so you'll just have to cut them for length

and then assemble. - Oh, perfect.

Hey, I think I got them all in.

Not too bad. Look at that!

I'm glad we're changing these doors.

But this is great, I think that Erin is gonna be blown away,

especially this island.

The amount of people that can sit here, plus the peninsula.

You want to see the countertop?

- Yeah, just a little peek? - Yeah.

- Ahh! - Look at that.

- Beautiful. - That's gorgeous.

This is the area where you want to get a little contrast,

do something dramatic... - Yeah.

...because all of this stays light and airy.

I mean, this turned out fantastic.

If they want to sell, they'll sell fast,

but they won't get back as much as what they would want to

because we've spent extra dollars just to make this

customized for them.

All right, let's cover this up.

- Keep the secrets. - Yes.

- So good. - Right.

We were planning on buying a house.

We've been looking for a while now.

I mean, there was one house we bid on.

There were 40 bids, and I think the house went for

a million dollars over the asking price.

There was one house we bid on,

and we actually had the highest bid,

and we lost the house to someone who

matched us and paid all cash.

- I mean, we can't compete with that. - No.

I'm like, "That's it. Let's take a break.

I can't do this anymore." We took a break for two years.

We're thinking, "OK, let's let prices drop a little bit,

and then we'll get back in."

With the economy the way it is, it just doesn't go down.

Now we have this house.

To me, that's still a space for his family.

I definitely feel what she's feeling about new starts.

That's why I kind of think Jonathan and Drew

are gonna push it over the edge.

It’ll be special. It’ll make it our place.

It's amazing to think of how transformational it is to just

change the surface aesthetic. - Yeah.

It's way better. This is a total focal point.

This looks like something you would see in a beautiful,

beautiful hotel.

♪ I'm ready to start over ♪

♪ Take the world right into my hands ♪

♪ Living my life the best that I can ♪

♪ I can... ♪

What do you think of this hutch, by the way?

They picked this out. I took them shopping,

and they love this piece.

Perfect, perfect color. Perfect match.

I love how it contrasts the lightness of the cabinets.

Erin picking a piece.

We're putting all the little things she wants

to make this feel like home.

- If Erin doesn't want to stay here... - I will stay here.

I will buy this house.

OK. I can hear Ted's heart beating.

- Dun, dun, dun. - What about yourself?

I mean, you've had,

what is it, 40 years you've known this house?

We've been talking about doing things to this house since

my mom had it.

You were very adamant that if it doesn't feel like a fresh

start for you, if this feels like Ted's family home,

that you just want to move on. - Yeah, exactly.

It's very different inside. Very different.

- Very different. - Good.

- OK. - But all of the things that I think you pointed out

that you love are obviously still here.

- So, fingers crossed. - All right.

- Yay! - Close your eyes.

And we'll carefully take you down here.

- No peeking. - OK.

OK, take a couple more steps down.

All right, are you guys ready?

All right, take a deep breath. Let it out.

Open your eyes.

Oh, my God!

2 Open your eyes.

Oh, my god!

- Holy. - Oh, my God!

It looks so different.

- How inviting does this feel? - Oh my Gosh.

- Wow. - Remember your fear that the fireplace was still just

going to be a beast in your face?

- Yeah, look at the fireplace. - That looks amazing.

The lighter beams.

I can't even believe this is our house!

And, Erin, come on around here, grab your chair.

You said, because there will be a fireplace as a focal point

and a TV as a focal point, you need something

for those chairs. - Yeah-- right, to swivel.

- Swivel, TV, swivel, fireplace. - That's great.

Yeah.

- Yeah-- it's just perfect. - And it's the color you pointed out that you like too, yeah.

Yeah, no, it's great.

Let's head in your dining room.

- Get right in here. - Wow!

- Look at the number of people you can fit around the table... - This is so great.

...the view that you have with this beautiful big window. - I know.

- I can't wait to live here. - Wait, wa-- wa-- what?

You can't wait to live here? Yes!

Wait, Ted, how does that make you feel to know

that the love of your life

actually could see herself in this home?

No, it's amazing. This is all amazing.

You guys.

Um, no, I mean, just, it's unbelievable.

It's freaking unbelievable.

Um, yeah.

Come on, right here, we're going to go into the kitchen.

But I know this is a lot to take in.

- How transformed does this feel? - Oh, my god!

By pulling this back, you're not trapped

'cause it's not a peninsula.

You can walk all the way around.

Yeah, I just can't wait to start cooking, wow.

You guys, as well, have great taste.

That's the one you picked out.

Yeah, that's the one that I picked out.

Oh, my God.

- Look at these floors, too. - Right?

I was waiting to see how long it was gonna be before

you noticed the floors. - This turned out really nice.

Wow.

Yeah, it was almost like a blessing in disguise

because we had to rip up the old floors.

Yeah, it's perfect. It is perfect.

And we haven't even looked at your bedroom and bathroom yet.

- Oh, my gosh, that's right. - Yeah, there's more.

- Come on down. - After you guys.

Oh, my God, wow!

- Wow, wow, wow. - Holy...

- Oh, my! - Oh, my God. Look at how different it is.

Wow, I just can't believe this is the same space.

- This is a bathroom that we-- uh, I-- yeah, it's... - I cannot believe it.

Obviously, a huge shower. Every tile here is hand-fired.

That's why they're all different thicknesses,

shapes, sizes, but that... - That's amazing.

And I think that irregularity makes it even more beautiful.

- It does. - Oh, like, it's huge.

- It's like a fancy hotel. - I know, it really is.

Step into your brand-new, beautiful bedroom.

- Oh, my God. - OK.

Oh, wow.

Oh, look at this space!

I love the light, how pretty!

Do you think this is a room you could

kick back and recharge?

- Oh, definitely. - Oh, God.

And there's enough room for some dog beds

all around here, too. - Oh, yeah.

- Tons and tons of storage. - Oh, wonderful.

To save some money, we kept the original floors

because they were in great shape here.

No need to replace them.

But the dark tone down there is really beautiful,

complementing the lighter tones up here.

- Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah.

This whole thing about staying here, loving this property,

the main reason this property is so great

is because of that view.

I would like to point out the best craftsmanship

in this whole process. - Ohh!

- Thank you, thank you. - We brought in a special team.

Do you know which one was yours?

- That one, definitely. - This is right, this is yours.

- Yep, that looks much better than that one. - That's great.

It does, hands down.

This was a hack, whoever put this together.

We had a big test with this house.

- Yes. - You had a pact.

You guys agreed that if you are not happy and it doesn't feel

like home, you will sell and you will move on.

- What do you feel? - I feel so happy.

I can't wait to move in officially.

- I love it, I really love it. - That's great.

'Cause I'm moving in.

I think we should take off, let you enjoy your new home.

- Enjoy your rosemary. - Thank you, guys.

Yeah, oh, my gosh.

- Enjoy. - Thanks for the fun.

Are you available if I need you to build any more of these?

Yeah, yeah, just call me anytime.

We'll call you, yeah. All the best.

The house looks completely different, so yeah,

just walking into the space, it-- it does feel like I just

bought this house as opposed to it's a house

that he's always had.

The change is something that I've been

wanting for a long time.

That's where the emotion came from.

Well, now it's just about making new memories.

- Yeah. - It's just that kind of next chapter for us,

and I mean, it's a great way to start out.

Wow, this is amazing.

- Oh, it's great. - Did you bring the suitcases?

Let's move in today.