Original subtitles

Drew: This is nicole and graham's forever home.

It was built in the '50s by nicole's grandfather

and has moved down from generation to generation,

but it's not working for nicole and graham's big family.

I came here when I was 10.

Now, we're living here as a family of five.

We're trying to make the same footprint

yeah. Work for us.

So they need us...

♪♪

you used probably

7,000 times more power than you needed to.

...To help them stay in the home they love.

Oh, my goodness!

This is incredible.

♪♪

♪ oh oh oh ♪

jonathan: A house is four walls.

Drew: A home, that's where memories are made.

[ laughter ]

that's what I'm talking about!

Oh! [ laughing ] oh, my...

This is "property brothers"...

"forever home."

♪♪

the impressive thing here?

This is a fourth- generation house.

Nicole's grandfather designed and built it.

-Wow. I see -oh!

A basketball game's goin'! -A basketball game.

You realize he's obsessed with basketball, right?

Can you dunk?

One more. Ready? 1, 2, 3!

Whah! Whhhh!

One more. Here goes!

Goin' for the dunk! -Whoa!

-Whoa-oa! -Pkkh!

Alright, grandma. Come on!

[ laughter ]

-nice to meet you guys. -Yeah. Nice to meet you, too.

This is like the coolest neighborhood.

I wanna hear some of the backstory.

Tell us all about the house.

Nicole: So, my grandfather

built the house in the '50s.

Yeah, I came here when I was 10

and it was country.

Actually, there was apple orchards behind here.

-Oh, wow. -And there was no trees here.

So we went down the ravine

and picked this very skinny little twig.

We planted it and --

that's that one?

-Yeah. It grew. -Look at it now.

-Oh, wow. -Wow. That's amazing.

And that's the kinda stuff, too,

like you can't find this kind of a story

or this kind of history in any other home.

Yeah. We're just lucky to have this property

on such a nice ravine

and in such a great neighborhood as well.

Sounds perfect. They don't need us, right?

-Yeah, alright. We'll see you later, guys. -Bye, guys.

[ laughter ] but there's stuff to be done.

I mean, I think the big thing is

is when my mum's family emily: Oh!

Built the house, they were a family of three.

Then, my mum moved in with our family

and we were a family of four.

And, now, we're living here as a family of five

that, we're trying to make the same footprint work for us,

but we just need to redo the space

to make it more functional for us.

Are you okay if we take a sledgehammer

to some of the work you may have done?

Uh...Sure.

[ laughter ] that's not too convincing.

Why don't you guys show us through?

Grandma: I'm gonna take the kids to the park.

I kinda wanna go to the park.

Alright. -Great.

I do love the character of the home already.

Whoa! Nicole: Come in.

I have never seen that before.

Fancy terrazzo. That's original. -That's original?

This is original, from the '50s.

So, my grandfather built totally unique floors

that I don't think we could ever replace.

Yeah. So, now, what was his trade?

We had a bronze and steel company.

So that's where things like our railings,

like that's what he did.

Every time I see them, it reminds me

of my grandfather. -Oh, wow.

That's one of the features we wanna preserve

to keep the history there.

I'm also noticing a trip hazard

-yep, that's for sure. -In here.

Actually, on both sides, too.

And it's deceiving over here

'cause you don't really see it on this side.

So, this is quite the kitchen.

You can tell that there have been updates done here

because this is not how these houses

were originally laid out.

That's right. This used to be a wall right here

and there used to be our dining room

that was right here and we removed the wall,

just to open this up so we can enjoy

the view at the back. -Which is amazing.

The only problem I see for the view is,

if you're drew and my height,

you can't see anything

if you're working here in the range.

I mean, it's probably fine for --

-it's good for us. -I have no problem.

I'm just right here, doing that.

You know what? That's why I stay away

from that area. -Yes. Good point.

There is so much potential in this kitchen,

but this is taking up a lot

of your perimeter footprint.

-Right. -Yeah, absolutely.

This is where we've had some big issues.

They're leaking in the wintertime.

So this whole setup here needs to change,

but what we love is we love the lighting.

If you wanted to get rid of obstructions,

like your vent hood, that's over here,

and kick it to the side,

one of the natural things would be...

To get rid of these old, leaky windows

and either replace them with new ones

and add some cabinetry storage underneath,

or we could go big and add a wall

of glass-folding doors

that would lead out to a front patio.

And that would actually allow you to have

an island, too.

-That's very interesting. -Absolutely.

-That would be amazing. -Good idea. Yeah.

When I was growing up, this is where we spent all of our time.

My sister and I used to dance around in the kitchen,

driving my mom crazy when she was making dinner,

so I love this space. It's all I know,

but I'd really be excited to have it modernized.

I think it is pretty amazing

that you have generations of memories

of holidays and birthdays and everything here.

Now, you guys can pass that on to your kids.

That's right. That would be amazing.

Now, what about this side of the house?

Tell us what you think here.

Yes, well the living room and dining room,

we love this space because it gets

a lot of awesome light coming in during the day,

but it's just it seems like

a bit of a missed opportunity.

We have a big couch here, which seems --

oh, this is big? I noticed it

from across the street.

Nicole: [ laughing ] it's like a black hole.

It's eating up the house.

I'd love to show you some configurations

that would make this a little bit more

of an elegant space, where you sit

and talk to each other as a family.

Absolutely.

Do you like the fireplace?

He hates it, but I love the fireplace

because, again, it goes back

to the history of the home.

Like that's my grandfather.

All of the masonry was what he did.

I think it can be easily improved and modernized.

The style of the brick is fine.

We could paint it out.

We could change the shelves.

There's a bunch of stuff that we could do

that would allow you to keep

the original fireplace, but give it a facelift.

Yeah, we'd definitely like that.

-Okay. -Is there a story with the hutch?

That's my grandfather on the other side,

his hutch, that we really would love to keep

and have that family heirloom in here.

Okay. I like that your parents

converted the garage into more livable space

and, now, you're using it as a family room/kids' space.

I do see a bit of a trip hazard over here.

Would you wanna get rid of that step?

Yeah, that would be nice, to not have

a tripping hazard like that.

Oh, wow. So your parents actually put the hardwood

in here, too. I love the herringbone pattern.

Yeah. You know what? That was something that my dad

and my mom were really passionate about on the floors,

is putting the herringbone in.

I would sand these floors all down

and just redo them, 'cause I love

the craftsmanship that went into the herringbone,

but, especially in the main area,

you have all these different levels.

-Yeah. -Yeah. -It would be so much nicer

for it to be the same flooring throughout.

For sure. I think that's the tough one for us

is like we like this flooring.

It could probably be a better color,

but in that room over there,

it's just so uneven.

-Yeah. -I have never seen

a converted garage with so much height.

Yeah. This is amazing.

It gives an illusion of it being

even more of a bigger space.

It would be amazing if that could happen

over there, in the other room.

We love the openness of this room,

but it definitely needs some design help.

Graham: This is a very well-used room in the house.

The kids love it in here.

This is where their toys are.

There's kind of stuff hidden everywhere.

This is the same sort of thing

that would be so easy to turn around

because you have the good bones to work with.

So what are you thinking for the aesthetic of the home?

I think, as much as I love some

of the old characters,

for me, I love modern design.

I like clean lines, open space.

Yeah. And I like the modern, too,

but I like it balanced with a little bit more comfort.

I can tell 'cause you're wearin' one of my shirts

and we like things a little more casual.

-That's right. -And you're wearin' one of my dresses

and I like things more put-together.

Perfect. We'll be a good team, then.

♪♪

this beautiful 1950s home

was built to last generation after generation.

Upstairs, there are two bedrooms for the kids,

while the master bedroom is in the renovated basement.

These are all a good size.

How is that fair? Emily, the youngest,

gets her own room and the boys have to share.

Boys are messy. [ laughs ]

I think I'll need to concentrate our efforts on the kitchen,

dining room, living room, and the converted garage.

What are you guys thinking of spending on the renovation?

We're looking at about $175,000.

-Yeah. -It's an amazing home

that already has the square footage that we need.

Now, it's all about the aesthetic

and then the function.

You got five people living in here.

This house in no other generation

had that many people living in it,

so let's make it work. Why don't we

put together some options.

I know you're gonna tour an inspiration home

with drew. That'll give me a lot

of the aesthetic finishes that you're looking for.

And then, we'll present it to you

and you guys can dictate

what direction you wanna go.

-Sounds good with me. -Yeah. That would be great.

♪♪

this home has so much history

built right into the original design.

It's gonna be a delicate dance

to marry the old with the new,

but we're definitely up for the challenge.

First, though, graham, nicole, and the kids

will have to pack up everything

so we can get this home ready for their family.

Oh, good. I wanna eat popcorn.

You wanna eat popcorn? We'll you know what?

When this kitchen's done,

we're gonna have a popcorn party.

How about that?

Yay! [ laughs ]

for us, we really wanna renovate the house

and make it a wonderful space, so that it's a house

that we can ultimately pass down to our kids,

and we hope that that can carry on

from generation to generation

and everybody puts their little spin on it.

It's gonna be a wonderful space for our family

and it's gonna take that history

to a whole new level going forward.

♪♪

graham: Oh, wow. Jonathan: We have a lot to do.

I originally was hoping we could do something kind of fun.

Somebody might want these

as sort of a retro kind of an idea,

but then, when we started looking

inside the cabinets themselves,

there's no salvaging those,

so, unfortunately, we won't be able

to donate those, but we'll pull it all out

and, hopefully, not have tears

from all the memories. -I'll do my best.

I'm assuming [ laughs ]

you don't like the wallpaper.

No, but you know what? That brings back memories.

When the fridge is removed, to see that there,

that was the wallpaper in the kitchen

when I grew up as a kid.

I've never even seen that wallpaper.

So that means you never cleaned behind the fridge.

Um...No.

[ laughter ] exactly.

So why don't we do this?

Gloves and glasses are over there.

Throw those on, and then we'll just start

pullin' things apart.

♪♪

-aaaaah! -So I'll just point out

you used probably

7,000 times more power than you needed to.

-[ laughing ] -you're just showin' off.

Nice! -Oh, I don't know about this.

♪♪

oh!

♪♪

bit of a weird process for me, just actually smashing it,

"don't touch the floors!

Don't ruin the cabinet!"

it feels good to kinda make some change

and we're actually physically doing it,

so, obviously,

we're leaving our mark on it

and sad to see it go, but,

on to better things.

Use this as like a therapy,

you know, working together.

Oh, actually, so that is interesting to see.

So look at how thick your hardwood is there.

You've got 3/4-inch here,

then you have your plywood underneath as well.

That's why you have this lip over here to the right.

So the trick is gonna be, for us,

we want this all to be one level,

but it makes me wonder why this is lifted up

and the only thing I can think of is

because this would originally have been a front porch.

I have a feeling that the slab on this front porch

is quite a bit higher.

So, when we pull our flooring over here,

we'll know if we're gonna have an issue

or if we're gonna have to try and chip something down

or have everything raised up.

But, in an ideal world, I'd love

to get down to that lower level.

Let's keep going.

[ thudding ]

what is this?

Oh, there's shady stuff goin' on here.

What is this?

Oh, there's shady stuff goin' on here.

What does that mean?

That's not how we cap a line.

What's above us right here?

-Attic. -It's all attic

on this side? -It's all attic, yeah.

So what would there be a vent here for, then?

Maybe it was actually a vent that was in this wall,

so a return or supply in this wall

and they just cut it off.

But this isn't really how we do it, anyway.

You'll have air still tricklin' out here.

-[ laughing ] -so, if we're gonna --

if we're gonna cap a line, we'll cap it right.

It's weird to find half a vent line open in the island

and I can tell you it's definitely not to code,

but, it's an easy fix

and we still have a lotta work to do here,

so, in order to help move this demo along,

I've called in my crew and rocco is gonna help me

tear out the rest of the kitchen and then rip up the flooring,

so we can figure out what's going on underneath.

Agh!

Yeah.

It might've been a return air, actually.

They've got the return and you've got

the electrical for the range coming up in the same cavity

as the venting. -Awesome.

I don't think you're allowed

to have them [ clap ] touching like that.

So we've got our 3/4-inch hardwood down there.

You know what?

This looks like asbestos tile right here.

Oh, yeah.

It does. It feels like it, too.

Maybe that's why they didn't go down.

Yeah. Because I thought it was because

maybe the porch was higher, but, that would make more sense.

Maybe they just went right over top of it

so they didn't have to do the abatement.

-Yeah. -That's too bad.

Ugh! Not the greatest news.

If this entire floor has asbestos tile underneath it,

it could cost us an extra couple of thousand dollars

to have it removed,

but there is a layer of plywood covering it right now,

so we can tear out the rest of the hardwood safely

and then we'll investigate what's underneath.

♪♪

both: Wow. That's a beautiful house.

Nice, big windows, too, right?

I love the mix of the old and new,

the wood finishing on the modern house.

It's gorgeous. -It's beautiful.

You're gonna see a lot of that modern detail inside

that I know you like.

Nicole and graham love the idea

of a clean, modern aesthetic,

but also want to blend in the original features

of their 1950s home.

So I'm gonna take them to an uber modern house

to see what elements really stand out

and how we can incorporate them into their forever home.

Oh, wow. Wow!

Look at all the natural light.

That's gorgeous. -I mean, look at all

the detail that they have. Well?

-Wow. -I love. This is exactly what I love.

Yeah, this is awesome.

The natural light coming in is phenomenal.

I love the design.

It's that scandinavian feel -- clean, modern,

with the nice white walls

and I think it incorporates also what you like,

is that wooden warmth that it brings.

I really like the floors and I like the wider style.

I mean, ours is, the herringbone, a little bit thinner.

I think it's more modern to go wider.

Wider board is definitely more on trend,

but, right now, your floors are pretty dark.

So you like to have that lighter tone?

-Definitely. That nice -yeah.

And light and airy. It just gives

a real openness to the room.

I really like the height of the ceiling here.

I mean, that's something that I always wanted

to do in our house and so it just makes it

a lot more open and fresh.

Just keep in mind, though, vaulting a ceiling,

it looks gorgeous, but it does cost money.

Yeah, and we need to be conscious

of that. -Mm-hmm.

A kitchen is where you need function, though.

And that's where I'm willing to spend the money.

-Oh, really? -[ chuckle ]

-what do you think? -Oh, wow!

I really like the simplicity of it.

Both: Yeah. It's clean.

There's lots of storage space.

Amazing. -We could have

twice the cabinet space as this.

-Well, that would be awesome. -I really do like

this kitchen, how they've incorporated

the two tones. It really warms it up

and I think that's probably more along what you like.

A little more comfort, yeah.

Yeah, it's a good compromise between us.

Hey, if it's done right, it's a nice designer look.

I have two-tone in my kitchen as well.

So what do you guys think of the countertop

and the slab-style of the backsplash?

I like, actually, having a bit

of a different composition, right?

I like having a different pattern

on the backsplash and not having the same,

but I think it still looks beautiful.

Okay. We'll give you options

and we can put an island in

that's three times the size of this.

-Fantastic. -That really excites me.

Whatever excites you, excites me.

-Here we go. -Great.

And whatever excites both of you, excites me.

-[ laughter ] -why don't we go look at the family room?

Let's do it.

♪♪

this house is bigger than you think.

Yeah, it's beautiful.

Oh. Look at the glass.

-Yeah. That's really nice. -That's really neat.

Yeah, look at this room.

Again, the beautiful windows,

like what we have at our house,

to really open it up.

Your family room is way bigger than this,

but what sort of finishes do you want in there,

as opposed to your living room?

I like the modern feel, but I like

a little bit more comfort added in as well,

-yeah. -Not necessarily style.

Like if there's some way we can mix those two together.

Yeah. 100%. Mm-hmm.

Storage is gonna be key.

You don't wanna just have open shelves.

I mean, this looks gorgeous, but, for you guys,

with all the kids' stuff,

closed cabinets that can hide

the kids' things would be great.

-Yes, for sure. -Yeah.

Looking at this room, it also really

inspires me for our space because our space is so big

that, when you really lighten up the floors

and the room, it's gonna be beautiful.

I will take all this information,

give it to jonathan.

He'll come up with a couple of options,

but I think you're gonna like

the direction we're going.

I'm excited, a little anxious and nervous

to see, you know, all that history

we have in our house just --

how are you gonna handle this?

-I don't know! -Is it gonna be like

an oscar-winning moment of tears

or is it gonna be excitement?

I think more excitement.

-Oh, so you're the crier. Okay. -I'm the crier.

-[ laughing ] -yeah. Yeah, I thought so.

Nicole and graham really love the features of this house,

but it sounds like keeping things light and bright

is the number one priority on their list.

They love the light,

large-plank hardwood flooring throughout the house

and keeping it clean and simple in the kitchen

with two-tone, scandinavian-style cabinetry.

Storage for a family of five is also important in the kitchen,

and a large island for casual family dining.

In the family room, they wanna add a little more warmth,

with comfortable furniture for the kids,

but also, they need additional storage

to tuck away toys at the end of the day.

♪♪

make me some room!

-Ah, samples! -I'll use this.

I have lots of goodies.

Would you have guessed

they want sort of a scandinavian design?

It's about as different as what they had before.

So they just wanna freshen everything up?

They definitely wanna freshen everything up.

Get the rest of this outta here.

Why don't we look at kitchen cabinets?

I like the modern take on a shake cabinet.

That's pretty cool.

They're looking at two-tone, but they like white,

so this could be the cabinet

for all the exterior cabinets.

Something like this for the island.

It's up to them. Like if they truly

wanna go scandinavian and keep it clean,

then they would probably wanna go with a lighter wood.

White kitchens are popular because they really create

that clean and timeless look that many homeowners want,

but going all-white with the cabinets and countertops

and backsplash can feel cold, so,

I love to introduce elements of wood on the island

or in the range hood to ground the space

and just make it feel less like a showroom kitchen

and more like a home.

If they are going super, super clean

and they wanna go white counters,

I would avoid doing

like a whitewash on the floors,

so that's where we can draw the warmth from.

You can see these two options

that I brought, they're very similar.

What's the difference?

Exactly. They love super thick,

so, if we can go for something

with a little bit more girth to it,

I think they're gonna like that.

Then we can match up

the existing herringbone to this,

but this is what we'll do in the whole main area.

Everything ties together and they get some warmth.

Well, it's a tribute to her dad and her grandpa,

because they both worked on it.

So we've talked about everything, except for

-backsplash. -Kitchen backsplash.

We shouldn't go too white

over here. -Yeah. Let's get a little color,

a little bit of warmth, even if we did something

like this. I love that pattern.

I like the thin, horizontal tiles

because it actually feels a little bit more modern,

clean lines as well.

I think they would go for that.

Everything will be clean.

This will be a beautiful palette

and we'll use the decor pieces in the art

to punch in a little color.

Pow!

Both: So. You all good with this?

Yeah. I think this will look fantastic

and, because I am a kind, considerate brother,

I will pack this away.

Could you be a kind, considerate brother

and help me with the toilet?

No. I'll take my bin.

I don't have gloves!

Have fun. Neither do I!

Rocco!

Have a look.

After you.

Come on in.

Surprise, surprise!

Graham: Oh, wow.

-Oh, my goodness! -This is incredible.

Graham: Oh, wow.

-Wow! -Oh, jeepers.

Oh, my goodness!

This is incredible. It's hard to visualize

what was actually here before now.

You had the vent hood

that was over here coming down.

It's amazing. I mean, this is a big change.

You can see right up to the attic.

-Yeah. -That's a lotta space up there. -That's crazy.

I do wanna talk to you about some

of the other stuff that we found.

Okay.

Discovered why the flooring

was raised up here.

-Okay. -Wow, okay.

Turns out there's an original tile

underneath here

and they just went right over it with new plywood

before they laid their new floors,

which usually means, if they encapsulated,

it means it's asbestos.

This size of tile,

99.9% of the time, is asbestos.

-Uh-oh. -We are 0.01% of the time,

because we tested it and it is not asbestos.

-Oh. -Amazing! -Whoo! Yeah.

-Thank god. -Which is actually

a great thing. -That's good news.

So, your subfloor, that's level

with the rest of the room,

actually goes all the way out to the window.

There is no bump-up where the porch was,

or anything like that. It's all one level,

which means we can get your flooring

to one level.

-Nice! -Amazing.

-That's great news. -That's so good.

It's sad to see that nice flooring go,

but, I'm starting to imagine

the possibilities here.

Well, we have a couple of options,

but I think you're gonna have a hard time choosing

between option 1 and option 2.

Oh, no. [ laughs ]

bring it on. Let's see.

Alright. Option 1...

We'll give you the updated floors you have always wanted.

Then, we'll address one of your biggest concerns --

those leaky front windows.

We'll create a dormer, so you can replace the old windows

with high-efficiency ones.

You'll still have all that natural light you love

and gain space underneath

for the additional storage your family needs.

We'll continue those cabinets around the entire wall,

add beautiful quartz counters,

and finish off the space with a large island

with a place to eat casual family meals together.

In the living room, we'll modernize

the original fireplace grandpa built

with a new, solid-wood mantle.

Then, we'll say bye-bye to your massive sectional

and add new, comfy furniture that actually fits.

This will be the perfect place for family and friends

to hang out by the fire.

And, since you have such a gorgeous view

outside the back window,

let's take advantage of it

by moving your dining table here.

Now, you can enjoy your beautiful backyard

at every meal.

-Wow. -Sounds pretty great.

Yeah. Number one, I think it'd be great

to get rid of the tripping hazard here

in the flooring and clean that up a bit.

It'd also be great to have

kind of a nice, flowing kitchen

with seating for everybody to enjoy.

Yeah. The other change --

in the playroom, we'll keep the herringbone floors

and refinish them to match the new hardwood in the main space.

Then, we'll freshen up the rest of the room

with new lighting and kid-friendly furniture.

Because this is the most-used space in the house,

you'll need tons of storage for all the toys,

books, and school supplies.

Now, you'll have room to tuck all the clutter away

when the kids go to bed or when guests are over.

Sounds nice.

Sounds pretty clean and open.

It'll be so great for our family,

our kids to be running around in.

One thing we also wanna make sure we're doing --

you're gonna have this beautiful, new space,

but we wanna cherish all the stuff that your dad did

and that your grandpa did, so, the fireplace;

the terrazzo in the front;

the hardwood, the herringbone in the family room,

these are all things that are a way

to pay tribute to what your family did.

Yeah. And, for me -- and you, too --

that's the best, is to be able to mix the old and new.

We're so excited to do that. -Yeah.

So, option 1 would take 8 weeks

and it would cost $160,000.

-Okay. -So, not your max.

It's a lotta money, I think, but,

I think it'll do the family really well --

I mean, look at her, smiling already.

-[ laughing ] -new kitchen.

-I know. -So what's the other option?

Oh, straight to business.

-You bet. -Alright. [ clap ]

option 2 would have the same

beautiful, big kitchen,

same new window on the front.

In fact, a lot of the aesthetic is the same,

including those hardwood floors.

The biggest difference is...

With the extra room we discovered above,

we can raise the ceiling by two feet

all throughout this main space

and create that gorgeous tray ceiling graham loves.

Then, in the kitchen, we'll give a nod

to those original terrazzo floors in the hallway

and install a custom terrazzo countertop

in a complementary design.

We'll keep the same modern cabinets as option 1,

but reduce the size of the island

to make room for a new, super-sized dining table.

Wow, that sounds great.

I think that's a really cool idea,

of incorporating the terrazzo floor there

onto the counter.

But it comes at a cost, right?

It does come at a cost.

Option 2 would take the same 8 weeks,

but option 2 would come in

a little bit higher,

at $175,000.

It would be pretty expensive

to vault the ceiling in here

and then also, the custom work for the terrazzo

and the backsplash is expensive, too.

So, mainly your living room and dining room

that would swap places.

Okay. I do like the idea

of having a huge dining room table.

We are a family of five.

We bring family over all the time.

Yeah, and the height would be amazing.

You know, I've always wanted

to be able to have a higher --

more space in here

and have more elevated ceilings,

so that's a compelling option for me as well.

What do you think?

I don't know.

You look like frozen.

You look like a deer in the headlights.

"aah! What do I do?"

"I don't wanna make the decision."

"well, I don't wanna make the decision."

maybe we should call her mom and she gets a vote, too.

[ laughter ]

I think I would go with option 1,

mainly because it's, you know,

fits in our budget. It's a little bit cheaper,

but it also gets a lot of the things that we're looking for.

Yeah. I like the idea,

if we put our dining room over in the back,

we can have a bigger kitchen, which is really

where we spend most of our time

in this area, is in the kitchen.

Yeah. And we still get to maintain the history

of the home and we still get

a big room there for the kids and the family.

So it feels to me like you're both on the same page,

so let's hear it. What's it gonna be?

Well, I think we're goin' with option 1.

Option 1! Okay!

Both were beautiful options.

I honestly think you're gonna love what we do with the house.

For my entire life, the house has stayed the exact same,

so now that pretty much everything has gone in there,

it makes some of the things that were left behind

even more special, like the fireplace,

the terrazzo floors,

those elements that really have family history to us.

♪♪

alright, salvaging.

Okay.

This is what I could salvage

from all the old herringbone.

Yeah, that's fine, 'cause I was thinking of doing --

oh, hold on. Hold on, hold on.

I think I know what you are planning on doing.

Are you planning on using the old hardwood

to frame out the old wallpaper?

Correct. During demolition,

when she looked at this, I saw how nicole lit up.

So, what if we did something, you know,

kinda along the lines of like this,

but then actually build up around it as well?

Oh, you're creating almost like a bit

of a herringbone look

-yeah. -To the frame.

I want it to be a nod to the herringbone,

but I also want it to just be a cool piece of wall art.

And then, once I sand it down...

That's really cool.

...Clean it up, and have probably the clock

right in the middle of that,

I think it would be a throwback cool piece of decor.

-Well played. -Huh?

You know what? I think,

when you get married, one day,

doing little things like this

is gonna make you the husband of the year.

-Brownie points. Brownie points. -In the meantime,

I get brownie points from the homeowners.

I love preserving as much history from a house as we can.

All these features tell a story

about the people who lived here before

and I think nicole will especially appreciate

that this is a piece of her childhood

we're putting in her new kitchen.

I think it's a great idea.

I mean, linda and I, in our house,

we took pictures of the old wallpaper

and then printed fabric with that pattern

and created throw pillows for linda's craft room.

It's still one of her favorite features.

Although some areas of this home

have been renovated since it was built in the '50s,

there are other areas that have yet to be updated,

including all the electrical.

Drew and I are gonna focus on updating

the original fireplace feature.

We don't wanna get rid of the charm,

but we wanna modernize it a little,

so that it works with the rest of the space.

Alright! I'm thinkin', which will be kinda cool,

because they don't want these shelves anymore,

we're gonna push them in,

I'm gonna cut these off so I can salvage them.

We'll chip out the hole where the brick is

and then I'll literally sink that inside.

Oh, wow. Actually, that saves us

trying to find a matching stone.

[ chuckle ] -exactly.

I love that we're keeping this

because there's sentimental value here.

I just feel that

there's nothing about this trip hazard,

even if grandpa did it, that we wanna keep.

Once this old concrete step is out of the way,

we can lay our subfloor

and prep for the new hardwood flooring.

We wanna level it out so it matches seamlessly

to the herringbone floors we're preserving in the playroom.

Three perfectly salvaged shelves.

Yeah!

♪♪

hey, hey.

I'm actually very excited that we are movin' ahead,

opening this up completely, because,

having this raised,

having a bigger window, this is gonna be awesome.

The engineer said we can put the beam

right on top of the veneer here

and then, we'll just run our ceiling joist

right out of this beam here.

Yeah. So, basically, we would have this angle right here

and it would go straight across right to the window.

That's right. I'm excited to open it up.

-Is that your excited face? -Yes.

-Yeah? -[ laughs ]

♪♪

whah!

Whoa. Oh.

That's a wood soffit underneath.

-What a difference. -Huge.

So even just seeing it come back this far is nice,

but we know we're gonna keep going beyond this.

This is gonna be fantastic.

This is a fun project.

If I had to do these fun things with anybody,

I'd wanna do it with you.

Thank you.

♪♪

alright!

You know what I love?

Not only has this home been

in nicole's family for so long,

but so has this furniture.

Breathing a little bit of fresh life into this

is gonna be perfect. -Yeah. And it's actually

-it's nice. -A cool style, too.

So, what do you wanna do for color?

I was hopin' to do something kinda bold,

maybe like a graphite.

And I actually have to sand down the door, too,

so, maybe, if you do this, I'll do the door.

-Oh, okay. Perfect. -Ha! I took the good sander.

Ah! I got the bigger sander.

It is so much fun to refinish furniture.

You can have something that looks beautiful,

but it all comes down to the preparation.

You're gonna restain, you wanna sand off any lacquer,

get right down to the wood,

and make sure you understand what was on there before.

Was it an oil-based stain?

Careful putting latex on top of that,

'cause it could bleed right through.

Have a great primer, have the surface sanded,

so there's a bond between the primer and the original wood,

and then, it'll look like a million bucks.

Now, a whole extra generation can enjoy this.

In fact while you're at it, why don't you do the door, too?

Actually, you know, I can do your grays.

Yeah, no, I'm good. I don't need it. I'm good.

It's all hands on deck.

The crew is finishing up framing the new dormer

that's replacing the current leaky window system

in the kitchen.

It was completely inefficient

the old structure jutted out past the roof line,

taking up the entire wall.

Now, with the extended roof line,

we can install new, high-efficiency windows

and run extra cabinets underneath.

Inside, the subfloor has been leveled out

and the new, wide-plank hardwood is going in.

The new flooring will match perfectly

with the color we're staining

the original herringbone floor in the playroom.

The kitchen cabinets have arrived and are going in today.

Nicole is gonna be so happy

when she sees how these modern cabinets

really elevate this massive space

and make it look even lighter and brighter.

What are you doing? -Alright.

Read the sign. It's meant to scare you away.

If we get dirty contractor boots

stepping on these hardwood floors

[ raising voice ] after I went and sanded the whole thing,

I will be very mad.

-They do look really nice. -They do look good.

I love the fact that we were able to salvage

all of the floors. -Yeah, no, it's nice.

I mean, it gives a little differentiation

between the two spaces.

I thought we could also take the new boards

and we could make ourselves

a mantel outta that.

So reuse the leftover hardwood pieces?

Exactly. So, if we miter the edges

and make it super, super tight,

we can box it all the way around,

I bet you we can make it look

like a big chunk of wood.

That would be amazing.

That end?

We love repurposing extra materials

to use in a different way

or in a different area of the house.

It can really tie rooms together

and create a cohesive design flow.

Plus, it also gives purpose to a material

that otherwise would've been thrown away.

Yeah, and it saves money, so,

I think that's a win/win/win.

So, probably about this height here?

That's perfect. So we'll trim it down

to like, what, five, six feet?

And then, the front face will maybe have...

Yeah, 5.5 inches?

-Yeah. That's gonna look great. -Honestly, it's gonna look

literally like one, giant chunk of wood.

It's the perfect touch of traditional

and adding to the style.

♪♪

we are in the last leg of the race.

The roofers are installing the sheeting

and shingles on the new dormers,

so it's watertight and ready for any weather.

Inside, the new, gorgeous quartz counters and sink

have arrived and they're being installed

and that means it's time to start thinking

about dressing the new space.

Erin, from my design team, is here to help me pick out

some key pieces for this growing family of five.

It looks great in here!

What do you think? First impression?

Yeah, it looks amazing

with all these new finishes.

Once everything is cleaned up,

it's gonna look so airy. -Mm-hmm.

We'll have all the light coming in

-yep. -...From the window at the front.

-Great. -It's gonna be beautiful.

-Amazing. -But, we need furniture,

especially for the family room.

We do. So you were saying

sectional would be best for that room,

so, I think something like this.

It's really deep. It's oversized.

It'll help fill the space.

And it passes my number one rule, which is

sofas need to be so comfy that you would sleep on it.

And you can get away with some darker pieces too

because it's such a big room. So let's grab that.

And then what about some of the accent seating?

It's a family room. It's a casual space.

-Yeah. -Sometimes you just want

like fun accent seating, so these are pretty cool.

Something like this storage ottoman,

I think could work.

I think it speaks to the true

retro kind of character of the house.

Can have like a flapper dress. [ laughter ]

it's definitely making a statement.

-Great. -Yeah. No, it's cool.

And then, I guess, in there, we're gonna need some lighting.

So I think we have such high ceilings

in that room, and so much functional lighting,

that I think we have the opportunity

to bring in something that's a little more oversized,

a little more dramatic.

I think this will look great.

Yeah, 'cause, if you went with something undersized

in that space, with the height of those ceilings,

all of a sudden, it would feel weird, so,

we can go grand. We can be big.

So something like that is gonna be great.

And, actually, the curve, too, just kinda ties in.

For sure. So I think that'll fill the space nicely.

Yeah, alright. Let's grab that.

So I think that means we're in pretty good shape.

-Great. -Alright. Next step,

stain the floors.

-Good luck. -Sure you don't wanna jump in

and do a little flooring? -I'm okay.

-Yeah. [ chuckle ] -thank you.

♪♪

drew's hard work, sanding these floors,

really paid off.

With the stain on to match the new hardwood

in the kitchen and living room, these floors look as good as new

and really add an extra element of class to this family space.

Perfect timing.

Got some backsplash.

Look at that. Huh? -Showin' off your 32-pack.

Yeah. I think that's perfect.

You know they love that [ airily ] scandinavian style,

but they didn't wanna go all-white everywhere,

so I think the color of this countertop

and the color of that backsplash is gorgeous.

You prefer horizontal, like that;

or do you prefer vertical, like that?

-Ooh. What do you think? -I like the vertical.

Oh, yeah? I like that. Go vertical with it, yeah.

I just can't believe what a huge transformation this kitchen is.

With this massive window here,

you can see right through the house.

It's gorgeous.

Let's do some tiling.

♪♪

when nicole's grandpa built this house,

he built it for family,

but the way families use the space changed

and I think, now, this is a far more

functional kitchen for families.

They're gonna fall in love

with this place all over again.

That's what I wanna see.

Perfect.

♪♪

jonathan: This house really is a family heirloom

and it's moved from generation to generation

with each family that's lived here

adding their own personalized stamp on it.

Yeah. Now, it's nicole and graham's turn,

but we had to ensure that we preserved

the family history while updating the home

to fit their growing family.

It was a challenge, but, it turned out better

than we could possibly have imagined

and this forever home is finally ready

for a new generation of memories.

I love the functional storage and funky style for this space

and all the built-ins,

compared to what they had before.

-Yeah. -So who you think's

gonna use it more, the kids or the parents?

Maybe the parents? I don't know,

but this sofa is perfect for the whole family.

-It is. Comfy, sectional. -Super comfy.

Alright, where should I put these?

-How about here? -On...

Oh, yeah. Right.

We saw nothing.

We started with a budget of $160,000

and, even with the size of the project

and the age of the house,

there weren't really any surprises,

so we came in on time and budget,

which should make both nicole and graham very happy.

[ ringing bell ] hear ye! Hear ye!

It's lookin' good! -Yeah.

Hear ye, hare ye. Do you wanna see what I did

with the hardwood floor and the wallpaper?

-Oh, yeah. -Ready?

♪ baah ♪

-whoa! That is -neat, right?

Awesome. I love it.

I think it'll just be a nice little nod,

knowing that, you know,

the family had put the flooring in,

and they took care of it for so long.

You know what they say, "all things come back in style."

we just maybe helped these a little bit more.

-Ah! -The paint turned out amazing.

It really did. All the work is done

and I think it's time to reveal this house.

Hands down.

[ laughter ] so bad.

The house has changed

and the weather's changed.

I'm nervous to see

what's inside here.

Oh, my goodness! This is incredible!

The weather has changed, but, more importantly,

the house has changed. -[ laughs ]

-look at the windows! -Oh, wow.

These are amazing!

I'm nervous to see what's inside.

Get in there.

Oh, my goodness!

This is incredible!

♪♪

absolutely transformed. -I don't even recognize it.

This is amazing!

It's huge and open and light.

This is a good kitchen.

Graham: An unbelievable kitchen.

Everything we could've imagined.

My grandfather would just be

so thrilled to see the house

that he had originally built

has turned into such a modern house,

that his granddaughter and great-grandkids

are now using as the center of their family.

This is so special.

The windows! Incredible!

-I couldn't even -- -that is so hard

to envision what it used to be now

and what it's become.

You guys don't seem quite as tall in this space.

[ laughter ]

well, this also gives you

all this extra storage.

This was kind of dead space before

and, now, it's such functional space.

Wow! I mean, this is exactly

what I was hoping for.

I'm overwhelmed by it. [ laughs ]

it's gorgeous. Look at the countertop!

This is so beautiful.

We can all fit around this massive island.

You guys hit this right on the mark.

I really love that scandinavian, modern feel

and this incorporates it and it warms it up.

Jonathan: It feels very, very contemporary,

but, at the same time,

it feels like a family would live here.

I can envision all the memories

that we're gonna be creating, going forward in here.

'cause, yeah, before, the peninsula

was actually a bit of a divide.

Now, it just flows so nice.

We all feel like we're part

of the same room, now, which is phenomenal.

And, I mean, this floor really is beautiful.

When you look at it, it's the nice, wide plank.

As amazing as the old floor was, with all the history,

this is just so much more modern and light and bright.

I think these are all the little touches

that the house needed

to make it feel fresh and new,

but then, you still have all the memories.

Oh! Those are all the pictures over the years!

That picture is so special,

my mum on her wedding day, with my grandfather,

who was the one that built this house, right?

And that's the main reason why we love this,

is the history that he created in the house.

This is just incredible. -In a house, we love it

when you have pieces that are just

conversation pieces. So you come in,

you can tell people about your family and your story.

Over here, this hutch has been in your family for decades.

That is such a beautiful job,

refinishing, you know,

something that was old and in the family.

And then, my eyes went over next to it,

where that's our old kitchen wallpaper

-that's your old wallpaper. -And the floor!

Jonathan took some of the extra floorboards

graham: [ laughs ] and turned it into a piece of art,

something as a little tribute to the house.

Oh, that's amazing.

That's beautiful. -That's really special.

That like incorporates the history over time

and then, now, we have this great, new, modern space.

And also, big family dinners.

You need a great dining space. Graham: Oh, wow.

Nicole: It's amazing.

I love how you arranged the table,

that it makes it feel like it's

such a spacious area for our family.

Before, we felt pretty crammed in the dining space...

-Yeah. -...But this is just

really open and big!

We're gonna spend a lotta time at this table. [ laughs ]

oh, does that mean I have to go

get her a drink or something? -Yeah.

You're the chef. -I'm ready. I'm ready.

Jonathan: And I love that we can preserve that view,

but give you so much more function inside.

This is what this is all about.

You can have a family meal here,

fire roaring over here.

This is perfect, the setup with the furniture.

It's just such a nice conversation zone

for when we're entertaining our family and friends.

Yeah, and it's subtle, too.

It doesn't interfere too much

into the other space, so I think it's

very well done.

Yeah, you have great walking paths everywhere.

-Yeah. -Before, you were sort of

fighting to get around the furniture

for this space. -You know, yeah.

You nailed it. Nicole: Absolutely.

I can't believe the fireplace.

It is absolutely gorgeous.

It's so modern and fresh,

but still has the memories of our family here.

And it has a real mantel,

as opposed to the little mini mantels that it had before.

That mantel's actually made out of the hardwood.

Oh, the same? Oh!

That's beautiful.

But, when you're lookin' for space,

it's all about that family room.

-[ laughing ] -oh, my goodness!

Holy!

Wow!

Absolutely transformed.

This is amazing!

It was such an open room

that didn't really have that cozy feel.

-And look at it now. -It's so cozy.

Wow! -This is my favorite room.

It feels like where you guys

are just gonna have so much family time.

Oh, big-time. Oh, wow. Look at the floors, too.

And it's the same color as in the other room.

Drew: We know your dad put this flooring in.

We wanted to preserve that

and just to match it up to the new color

makes it feel fresh.

Absolutely. It's pretty incredible, the floor.

Look how comfortable this --

I mean I just wanna chill out in here.

Now, you have actual built-ins

and some cabinet doors you can shut

to hide things away. -You have a fresh aesthetic

and I feel like this, combined with the new dining room,

the new living room, the new kitchen,

all of this together, it just feels like a place

where I hope you guys will be happy for a very long time.

-Oh, 100%. -Yeah.

This is just, I think,

even beyond what we could've imagined.

But we also wanted to leave our mark, right?

And that's how we grow together as a family

and pass it on to future generations as well

and we've done that now.

I'm excited to hear what the kids think of the space.

-Yeah. -Should we bring them in and make some new memories?

-Let's do it. -Yeah. They'll be the real judges.

-Yeah, that's right. -I'm pretty excited now --

I think we both are -- that we have

this wonderfully renovated house

that we're gonna enjoy with our family

and our friends.

Surprise!

This is epic!

What's different?

The counter used to be facing that way.

Now, it's facing that way.

-And the tomatoes. -Very smart.

And the tomatoes are different, too.

You are right. Yes.

[ laughter ] this house has been in our family

for four generations now, really,

and it's pretty incredible to now have modernized it

and added our family's touch to it.

It's unbelievable.

It's wonderful to see the kids

enjoying the new space.

They're clearly very happy there,

and that's the point. We're a family.

We wanna make sure we all can enjoy the space

and have some good memories there.

What we see now is a bit of a snippet

of the future, which is amazing.

Well, I think that we need

to bring a little more family in to really make this a party.

-Yeah. You wanna bring in some family? -Shall we?

Shall we bring in some family and friends?

-Yes! -Yeah, that's great. -Alright!

-Yeah! -Let's go!

-Oh, my good-- oh, my gosh! -Wow!

Oh!

Hey. How are you?

Can hardly tell who's related.

Come on in.

Whoa! Graham: [ laughs ]

nicole wasn't kidding when she said it was

a big extended family.

It looks like everyone has shown up

to see how this house has turned out.

Yeah, and I'm not sure,

but I think grandma might like it.

It's definitely not the house she grew up in.

Do we get the mom seal of approval?

Absolutely.

It's just spectacular.

I definitely think the kids are gonna be really happy

to inherit this house, one day,

and maybe raise their children in it.

"new house" on 3. 1, 2, 3.

All: New house!

[ applause ] nicole: Yay! Thanks, guys.

Thank you. -Whoo-hoo!

Don't trash the place. [ laughter ] drew: Yeah. Ha ha.