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DREW: Francesca and Parker are stuck in a concrete jungle
and want to escape that condo life before their big wedding day.
Wedding's right around the corner.
We have to get out of that condo.
NARRATOR: That's where the Property Brothers come in.
Realtor Drew Scott shows properties with promise...
Right here is pretty well where the stairs would come up.
I know this feels a little tight.
PARKER: Oh.
...while contractor Jonathan Scott takes on the renovation.
JONATHAN: We'll just pull all this out.
Parker's putting a lot of pressure on me
to get this job done before they come back from the wedding.
NARRATOR: They know how to turn a rundown, old house
into a charming character home.
Welcome to your new home.
They are the Property Brothers.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Francesca and Parker are anxious to get out of their tiny condo.
They're engaged, and they just want to find a place
that's more suitable for married life.
Francesca's always lived in an apartment or condo
and has never had a place with stairs,
so she's excited about moving.
My name's Francesca,
and I'm a hospital representative
for a pharmaceutical company.
And I'm Parker,
and I work for a startup company in renewable energy.
Welcome to our humble abode.
[ Laughs ]
This is our kitchen in all its entirety.
This is our dining room.
And then this...
is our living room.
The space is just --
it's ideal for one person,
and it's great for two people for a short period of time,
but we just bump into each other.
So, just follow us
into our cozy bedroom.
PARKER: Let's start with the bed that is shoehorned
into this little space right here.
I'm usually like this in one little one-and-a-half foot,
and he takes up the rest of the bed.
Yeah. I like to move around.
I've actually developed
a really sore neck and back.
Oh, geez. Yeah, this is the other position.
[ Laughing ] Okay, this is a little too much, I think,
but that's okay.
So, this is definitely a tight squeeze in here.
I use that top little sliver of the mirror every morning
Yeah, and I'm usually going something like this,
so I'm burning him with the flat iron,
and he's got toothpaste going in my hair.
It's just really awkward. And then we're both reaching.
I'm reaching for makeup, and I'm trying to elbow him out of the way.
Some of my other stuff is in here.
We're not exactly morning people,
so there's been a few dustups in the bathroom.
Yeah, it's just really awkward.
Yeah. Bathroom's on the wish list.
So, ideally, we'd want a lovely home with some charm.
And I want a finished basement.
I want parking.
I've never lived in a house with stairs.
Growing up, I lived in an apartment,
and then I moved to the city and always lived in condos.
So, I would really love to have a house
with a great set of stairs.
I want the best kitchen imaginable.
We want to be right in the city.
We don't want to move into the suburbs,
but we still want to be close to parks
and nature and an outdoor space.
FRANCESCA: This is presently our outdoor space,
so it's about 3 feet by 6 feet.
And this is what we look out on --
the concrete jungle of the city.
And that's why, when we're thinking about a dream home, we're thinking about space --
because we don't have any space.
We don't have any space inside,
and we don't have any space outside.
So, we're engaged,
and we're getting married fairly soon.
We've decided to have a small,
intimate wedding in Tuscany, Italy,
so our budgets are really tight.
Our total budget is $680,000.
We are hoping to get a home that is move-in ready.
We put together our desk, and it took about six hours,
and we didn't speak to each other once
during that entire time.
So, I think if we have to go through a renovation,
[ Laughs ]
For sure.
DREW: With their wedding coming up,
it actually makes sense why Francesca and Parker
want to leave the world of condo living behind.
They want to start their married life together
in a new house with lots of space.
And that condo was pretty tiny
and doesn't really inspire that honeymoon vibe.
Well, this house would be the perfect honeymoon retreat.
In fact, I think it's gonna be
love at first sight for Francesca and Parker.
There you go.
PARKER: Oh!
Yeah. Very nice.
Amazing. You got stairs.
Yes, I do have stairs. And they're nice stairs.
This house is unbelievable.
It's spacious. It's beautiful.
It's got stairs, which is fantastic.
It is everything that we dream of.
Yeah.
And look at that kitchen.
That is a serious kitchen right there.
DREW: You bypassed all the beautiful living area
and dining room.
This is all that matters to me, right here.
FRANCESCA: That's all Parker cares about was the kitchen.
I can deal with this.
Look at this range.
[ Laughs ] You love the range, don't you?
[ Laughs ]
This is my baby.
For me, it's all about the kitchen.
This kitchen is great. It has the gas range.
It has the beautiful island.
It has all the high-end appliances.
This is exactly what I want,
and it's exactly what I don't have right now.
Yes.
while I entertain in the living area.
And we can still converse. Yeah.
Now, when you entertain, what do you provide?
Is it sort of a...?
A dancing -- yeah, of course.
Jazz hands and all. Whoo-hoo!
Perfect.
This house has 1,300 square feet.
But as you can see, it's been completely opened up,
so it feels massive.
You have this beautiful, exotic hardwood floor
throughout the entire space.
And even opens up to the back.
Exactly. And you can see -- beautiful deck out there.
I can see myself lounging in one area,
entertaining in another, Parker barbecuing at the back.
There you go. You can see the glass railing.
Wow!
Bedroom number one.
PARKER: Very nice.
Ah, look at the balcony. That's fantastic. Oh, wow.
You also have the main bathroom over here.
Again, fully renovated.
Yeah.
And at the end, that's your master bedroom.
Oh, beautiful!
Oh!
This is amazing.
Now, that's a high ceiling.
PARKER: Yeah. That is a high ceiling.
This is a beautiful master bedroom.
It's the exact opposite of what we have right now,
and it's everything that we want.
It does match the wish list,
but the one thing it doesn't match is your max budget,
because the list price on this house is $979,000.
Ooh.
Yeah, that's more than we can afford.
Yeah. Oh. That's kind of disappointing.
You didn't want to do a renovation.
You want to have all the stuff.
Yeah. Yes.
within your budget --
and you also want it to be done and move-in ready.
That's not realistic. This is what you're gonna pay.
I'm kind of afraid to see these houses
that are gonna be in our price range.
Let Jonathan do what he's good at.
Let's find a place in this neighborhood
that he can renovate and turn into your dream home.
The love fest stopped when you dropped the price,
but they're just disappointed about doing a renovation
'cause they have the wedding coming up.
And that can be a stressful time,
but it's gonna get even more challenging
to find them that perfect house
if they're not willing to come on board
with the idea of a fixer-upper.
We'll find them something special,
and then they can live happily ever after.
DREW: Here we are. Nice, big house.
It's an attached home, but we're in a beautiful neighborhood.
FRANCESCA: Wow.
PARKER: It's really nice to be right across from the park.
That's something we certainly don't have right now.
That's right.
Just give the inside a chance, all right?
Okay.
Here's stairs.
That's a good thing.
That is a good thing. That makes me very excited.
Come on into the living room.
This is kind of old-looking and gross.
It's a little small and tight-sectioned.
PARKER: Yeah, it seems quite compartmentalized.
It's sort of the same thing we have in our condo right now.
Not really too crazy about that.
I know this feels a little tight.
[ Laughs ] Oh, my gosh.
They got rid of the stairs in the house.
I hate everything about this kitchen.
NARRATOR: Parker and Francesca
want a high-end, honeymoon-ready home.
Ooh.
Yeah, that's more than we can afford.
Realtor Drew Scott is showing them fixer-uppers
with great potential.
But are they ready to buy into the brothers' renovation plan?
[ Laughing ] Yeah.
What do you think, darling?
FRANCESCA: It's just old-looking, I don't know.
I know Francesca would not have imagined this place
as the first home she'd ever live in,
but she really needs to hear us out.
It's a semi-detached house with three bedrooms,
two bathrooms, over 1,250 square feet,
a great ravine, and park across the street.
I mean, they would be out of the concrete jungle
and into a great place once it's renovated.
JONATHAN: It's fairly obvious that we'd have to update the fireplace. This is really dated-looking.
And, honestly, this wall -- it'd just go.
I mean, if you had this full width all the way to the stairs,
open this whole main floor up,
it really would be quite spacious.
I do like the floor.
One positive.
If you love the character and you want to keep
some of the original components of the house,
then that's what we'd look to do.
DREW: Obviously, this is your dining room.
PARKER: I think, for us,
we enjoy entertaining so much,
we want a big, open space.
I'd like the kitchen to flow
Yeah.
Well, actually, if this wall was gone --
Come on in here. This is your kitchen.
I know this feels a little tight.
PARKER: Oh.
To be honest, this isn't much better
than the kitchen we have right now.
I hate everything about this kitchen. [ Laughs ]
Yeah. That's why everything about this kitchen would go.
I think we would maybe even shift the whole kitchen around
and make the kitchen on that side of the house
so that this has a better flow out into the backyard.
PARKER: What's load-bearing? Can you even knock down these walls?
We would. We're gonna have to put a beam in, I'm assuming.
Until we open up, we won't know for sure.
Right.
DREW: It is a lot of work.
And, I mean, if this is load-bearing, costs a little bit more to re-support,
but anything can be done.
Doesn't seem to me there's enough space in there
for everything that they're saying that they're going to do.
So, you know, this huge chef's kitchen
and the living room and the dining room --
I'm not sure where it's all gonna go.
All right. Upstairs, as you can see,
this is your main bathroom.
FRANCESCA: This is it?
JONATHAN: Yeah, that's it.
Seems pretty small. And I don't see a shower.
Actually, when they renovated this bathroom,
they took the shower out,
which is not really a good decision.
DREW: Maybe Jonathan could steal a little bit of space
FRANCESCA: Oh.
Even if you just stole a foot
It'd come into here.
it would make the bathroom much bigger.
And I don't think you would really notice
Okay.
There's just a lot of stuff going on right now in our lives.
And to take on such a big project
right in the middle of a wedding,
that's a lot, for sure.
You can see from here there's no houses in behind
because that's actually a cemetery.
Wow.
Is that a concern for you,
having a cemetery in behind the house?
Um...No, I actually -- I'm okay with it.
I find cemeteries quite peaceful,
so I wouldn't mind.
DREW: The first thing on your wish list
was to be close to parks and nature,
and you're right in the middle of it here.
You have a park across the street.
And actually just looking back here, you can see --
It's all green space.
FRANCESCA: Yeah, it is.
Yeah, it doesn't feel like we're in the city right now.
No, it doesn't at all. It's beautiful.
DREW: This house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms,
a nice bonus area downstairs.
And the best part is the price,
because the list price on this house is $580,000.
Oh, wow.
That's well under your max budget,
and that gives you a lot of money for renovation.
Just seems like there's so much work to be done.
It's hard to imagine that we can get all of those must-haves
in this house with that budget.
I know what we're looking at for budget
and timeline for these renos,
and I think we can make it happen.
It's not gonna be easy,
but I think we can squeeze it in.
Yeah, please.
Just keep this one in the back of your mind.
Sounds good.
DREW: How amazing would it be to come home from your honeymoon
to a beautiful, renovated home exactly the way you want it?
Yeah, or even more amazing, how awesome would it be
to invite your contractor on the honeymoon
so he can get a vacation?
Oh. That's creepy.
I wouldn't be in the same room. I would have a separate room.
Doesn't make it any better.
Here it is right here.
Not really feeling that one.
This house here is virtually the same as that one,
but that one's been renovated, and it's 100 grand more.
So, here we have the raw property to work with.
FRANCESCA: It's a little further out than we want to be, I think.
PARKER: Yeah, maybe can start seeing some places closer to town.
DREW: Right where you want to be in the community, you were saying.
Okay.
Needs a lot of work, so keep an open mind.
That's really pushing our budget.
I mean, I don't know if there's gonna be enough money
to do all the things that that house really needs to make our dream home.
Here we are. It's a detached home.
Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, full basement, and a garage.
FRANCESCA: Yeah, this is kind of close to work, too, isn't it?
Yeah. It's nice.
DREW: Entryway.
FRANCESCA: Oh, my gosh!
Very dated.
It's kind of sectioned a little bit more than I would like.
I just hope they can focus on the potential in this space.
It's a detached, two-story home with 1,500 square feet,
four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and stairs.
But not in the usual place.
They did a little renovation in this house a few years back,
which you may not like
because it's not very functional for a family.
They got rid of the stairs in the house.
So the only way to go upstairs is actually outside.
It's through the window. You can see the stairs.
That's the only way to get upstairs.
They separated it. They wanted to make it a rental suite.
Okay, that doesn't sound really good.
So, I'm assuming we're gonna be able to deal with that?
I've never seen a house that didn't have stairs.
Yeah, that's really strange.
Anyway, why don't we head over here, though.
I'll show you where the stairs would be
on the other side of this wall.
They made this into a long, skinny room.
But this is where the stairs came down.
Okay.
And that's where we can actually put them back in.
But imagine if this was opened up.
And it's not even just this wall. This would be gone.
It would open all the way into the living room.
This wall would be gone right into the dining room,
so you would have
FRANCESCA: Hmm.
The fact that the stairs are located outside
at the back of the house
makes it really difficult to understand
how the house will be functional.
JONATHAN: This is why we'd want to get rid of all the walls,
'cause a bit too tight here.
We'd have a lot more cabinets on the one side
and then most likely a peninsula or something
FRANCESCA: Okay.
DREW: So, what they've done is, they've taken the upper level
and tried to make it into a suite.
Right here is pretty well where the stairs would come up.
If you can picture it.
So, then next to it,
you would still have a decent-sized room.
This could be your spare room.
And then over there, this would all be master bedroom.
JONATHAN: We would take the kitchen out of here,
turn that into a master bedroom with huge walk-in closet,
its own bathroom.
FRANCESCA: Wow, it just seems like a lot of work.
Like, all these walls and stairs having to put in.
Yeah.
The wedding's right around the corner.
We have to get out of that condo.
We need to get this resolved right away.
DREW: Well, one thing I know you're really gonna like is actually the price.
You know this area. You know it can be expensive.
The list price on this house is only $530,000.
FRANCESCA: Wow.
Yeah, it does.
JONATHAN: A lot of money for reno.
Well, the price of the house is actually quite attractive.
You know, it's a great neighborhood
Seems reasonable.
It leaves us a lot of room for those renovations,
[ Laughs ]
But I know what you want, and that's why
I'm gonna make sure that I put it in,
and we'll stay within your budget.
But I need you on board with the vision.
And I don't think you've got that right now.
I trust your vision,
but I'm still struggling with seeing it.
Why don't we do this?
We'll take your top two contenders for properties.
Jonathan can do up some designs.
We'll show you what we can do with the space.
Then at that time, we can make a decision,
which one would be best for you.
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
BOTH: All right.
I'm just waiting to see what you guys have to show me.
How much is that gonna cost us?
Because we have an Italian wedding to pay for
on top of this reno.
NARRATOR: Parker and Francesca
are considering a semi by the cemetery
and a larger, detached home with external stairs.
Contractor Jonathan Scott has great plans
for renovations in both locations,
so it's going to be tough to decide.
Good afternoon, guys.
Good afternoon.
Francesca, this is the most serious I have ever seen you.
Are you stressed?
A little bit.
JONATHAN: What's stressing you?
I'm just waiting to see what you guys have to show me.
We have two great properties. They both need a lot of work.
But there was the cemetery semi,
and then we had that silly stairs house.
Any favorites?
It's a pretty tight race right now. We're pretty undecided.
I'm not sure which way to go. Depends on the design.
There's the option for either one of these to be your dream home,
but why don't we take a look first at the cemetery semi.
Okay.
JONATHAN: When I'm finished with it,
this house will have all your must-haves,
starting with an open-concept formal living room
complete with fireplace and contemporary furniture.
FRANCESCA: Oh, my goodness!
PARKER: That's the same house?
That looks unbelievable.
That really opens it up. That's impressive.
That is impressive, for sure.
Now, why don't we shift over
FRANCESCA: Okay.
I'll take down the walls between the dining room and the kitchen,
give you room for a chef's work space.
All-new cabinetry, high-end appliances,
and an island for party prep will make this a place
that you just want to spend all your time.
Oh, my goodness.
PARKER: Wow.
That is incredible.
Look at all the counter space.
That is the business. That is a kitchen.
Well, we have the whole back of the house as your kitchen
and a beautiful, big island.
It feels like a chef's kitchen.
It's the real thing.
And it was very important, too, that we updated that bathroom.
Take a look.
Hey, maybe you'll want to spend all day in here, too.
You've got brand-new fixtures and this beautiful soaker tub.
Extending the room means that you'll have space to spread out,
and the double vanity will put an end to that morning chaos.
FRANCESCA: Wow.
PARKER: That's exactly what we're hoping for.
It's amazing that you're able
to put all that in there right now.
It seems so small and tight.
It's exactly what I told you.
You do listen, Jonathan.
JONATHAN: That dual-sink vanity, too. You've got that.
FRANCESCA: No.
But that looks like a ton of work.
How much is that gonna cost us?
Because we have an Italian wedding to pay for
[ Laughs ]
Well, I mean, this house is listed for $580,000.
That may be comparable to a European wedding.
[ Laughter ]
But now, it is market value.
Target price --
I think we can get him down about $570,000.
This house -- I know the listing
is probably not gonna go any farther down than that.
For renovations?
We're doing a lot,
so it's gonna be around $110,000.
But I can have it done so that you move in in six weeks.
And that would be your max budget of $680,000,
but you would have that place.
Okay. Well, it sounds too good to be true, really.
Yeah, I mean, that seems like a very ambitious project
for six weeks.
But if you say it can be done...
Before you sell yourself completely on this place,
let's look at that silly stairs house.
Okay.
First thing I'm gonna do is put in some floating stairs,
which will make this living space feel wide open.
An updated fireplace and monochromatic color scheme
is also gonna add a touch of class.
You guys put the stairs back into it!
Of course!
JONATHAN: Generally, you want to have stairs
on the inside of the house.
You don't have to put a parka on
to go up to the second floor anymore.
Great feature.
And this is a detached home,
as well, which is a nice thing.
And you also have a bit wider footprint than the other house.
I'm gonna make the most of this space
with a brand-new kitchen
which is open to the rest of the main floor.
I'll put in a functional peninsula
for cooking and entertaining
and a formal dining room with a stylish feature wall.
That's exactly what we wanted.
PARKER: And the kitchen was so small before
that it was tough to visualize
any sort of good chef's kitchen in there.
JONATHAN: Well, you've been bumping into each other constantly,
you know, having two people working in there.
But now you could have four people cooking in there.
FRANCESCA: That is awesome.
So, I agree. That is incredible.
But it looks incredibly expensive.
How much is that gonna cost?
Well, there's a lot of work being done,
so it would be an expensive look afterwards.
But list price on the house is $530,000,
which is pretty well market value.
I would say we go in a little under,
with our target price at $520,000.
The house is listed to sell, and I think it is a good price.
It'll go fast. We don't want to go too far under.
For renovations?
We're pretty much redoing everything,
so it's gonna be $140,000,
but a slightly quicker timeline of five weeks.
That means, for a total price of $660,000,
you would have that beautiful house.
And the best part --
That's 20 grand under your max budget of $680,000.
Yeah, it sounds really enticing.
And being able to finish it quicker is also nice for us
because we'd like to move in as soon as we get back.
You guys really want out of your old place.
You have no idea.
If you come and stayed with us for even a day,
you'd understand why.
Why don't we give you some time to think it through.
Right.
And when we come back, hopefully you can tell us which one you picked.
Sounds good.
FRANCESCA: Thanks.
Okay.
What do you think?
Well, okay, let's talk about
the cemetery semi first.
Mm-hmm.
I really like the neighborhood.
Lots of green space.
There's that park across the street.
You know, I can really see us growing a family
and the kids running around and that sort of thing.
I agree, but keep in mind that's right at our max budget.
We don't have any wiggle room at all,
and I've never heard of a reno that didn't go over budget.
How about the silly stairs house?
I mean, I think that that one is bigger,
and it is detached.
We're not gonna have any issues with neighbors at all.
The one thing that does scare me
is that they have to put those stairs into the house.
Like, that's a major, major renovation and work to be done.
It's a big reno.
So...I don't know.
Big decision.
Big decision.
We trust, Jonathan,
that you're gonna be able to work miracles for us.
We were gonna do an open concept the entire way across.
We're just so disappointed to have a post in the room.
That really changes the space quite a bit.
NARRATOR: Parker and Francesca
are torn between two fixer-uppers.
Contractor Jonathan Scott
has presented designs for both homes.
Will they pick the cemetery semi for $570,000
with a renovation budget of $110,000,
or the silly stairs house for $520,000
and $140,000 in renovations?
It's time to make a decision.
You look like you know something we don't know.
We do!
We have made a decision.
All right. What'll it be?
We're going with the cemetery semi.
Great choice!
Now, why is it that property with the cemetery behind
and why not the bigger home?
You know what? At the end of the day, for us,
it was really the kitchen and that neighborhood that sold it.
Yeah, there's parks and great schools in the neighborhood.
It's nice and quiet.
We see ourselves growing and raising a family
in that neighborhood, so...
And you know what? We also recognize
this is gonna be a little bit longer,
but we trust, Jonathan,
that you're gonna be able to work miracles for us.
I am going to work my butt off.
Don't worry -- I'm on your side, and I want to make sure, too,
that I get it done so that I can come to the wedding.
[ Laughter ]
Hey, I got to get the place first,
so I'm gonna get started on the paperwork.
You guys can chat design. Congrats on the decision.
Thank you.
Great.
Drew is presenting our offer today to the seller's agent.
We're going in at $567,000.
Sounds like an odd number.
"67" happens to be a very lucky number for me.
I'm a very superstitious guy.
I like numbers, so I don't really care.
We're going in with $567,000,
and I think that's gonna get the house for us.
I hope your superstition doesn't cost us the house.
Oh, ye of little faith.
I know you guys really wanted to lock this house down
for $567,000.
The seller's agent said they won't come down that far.
The farthest they're willing to come down is $570,000.
So, it's only a $3,000 difference,
so it's not bad.
It's up to you guys, though.
I mean, that's still $10,000 below list price.
And also keep in mind
that's still a good market value for this house.
Okay.
What do you think?
It is only 3 grand.
I spoke with Jonathan.
He can still do all the work we want to do.
We just have to be smart with our dollars.
Yeah.
It'll still be a great reno.
The place will still look beautiful.
If we agree it to $570,000, is that a firm offer?
They're willing to accept that?
That's it. And, honestly, if you say yes to $570,000,
you can start dancing, because the house is yours.
Yes.
3 grand?
Yeah.
Yes.
You're gonna do it?
Congratulations. You got the house.
Hugs! You guys!
I'll take some handshakes!
Hugs! Okay. I'll take a hug.
Congratulations!
This is exciting.
That's good news.
That is really good news.
Well, enjoy your coffees. I'll talk to you guys soon.
The negotiations went very well,
and now Francesca and Parker
have one less thing to worry about
before their wedding in Tuscany.
They bought their house for $570,000,
which is great news for a couple getting married
and worried about that major expense.
Jonathan will have $110,000 and six weeks
to get this house into a honeymoon state.
Which is probably not fast enough,
since I know they'd love to move into the property
as soon as they get back from their wedding abroad.
There's really added pressure for me on this job
to get it right with the design for their open-concept space.
We'll need to get all the decisions
about the flooring and finishes made early in the process
before they leave.
It's just a really tight timeline.
Their wedding's only a couple of weeks away,
and I want to make sure that this place
is honeymoon-ready when they return.
Today we get to swing some sledgehammers
'cause we're creating an open concept
that I know Parker and Francesca still can't see.
But, I say we get one of these walls down,
and they're gonna completely change their tune.
PARKER: It opens up quite a bit once you get those cupboards out.
It isn't so cramped, and we're sort of
beginning to see his vision a little bit, I think.
Whoo!
So, I'm a neat freak,
so that was a little bit tough for me.
FRANCESCA: Whoo!
There we go.
We originally planned on refinishing the hardwood floors,
but as it turns out, they're not worth saving,
so it's gonna be a bit of a hit to the budget.
It would have been nice to save it.
However, especially in the kitchen,
it's worn quite badly,
and there are actually giant spaces we found
where they were too cheap to put in hardwood,
so they just put big pieces of plywood.
This product -- you wouldn't even be able to sand it down
because we're losing, you know, a good 1/8 of an inch.
[ Laughing ] That's almost half the thickness of this board,
so it's just a really, really cheap product.
PARKER: One of the things I initially really liked about the house
was the character and particularly the floors,
so when I found out that we weren't able
to keep those floors, it was disappointing.
There's just been so many decisions today.
My fear is making a decision under pressure
and hating it at the end of it.
NARRATOR: Parker and Francesca
bought a rundown house to renovate into a character home.
But disappointment and costs mount as they discover
the original floors can't be salvaged.
JONATHAN: So, we'll just pull all this out.
We'll put down a quality product,
and then that way, it'll last even longer than this was here.
The upstairs bathroom was okay,
but it was missing some pretty key things.
They needed a little more space
so they could do a double-sink vanity.
They also wanted a shower in there,
so we're gonna pull everything out,
redo it, add a ventilation fan
'cause we don't want to get a buildup of humidity,
which is gonna cause mold.
Everything's gonna be redone in this bathroom,
and it's gonna look spectacular.
All right. You can just pull away some of that stuff there.
FRANCESCA: Good job, guys!
There you go. You have an open-concept bathroom.
If you guys don't mind putting on a show, we can just leave it open.
[ Laughs ] I don't think so.
My engineer's telling me that the dining-room ceiling
needs to be more structurally supported
than we originally thought.
It's gonna be a lot more expensive
and a lot less attractive.
It's news that I don't want to break to Francesca and Parker.
The engineer is now telling us
that we're gonna have to have a post right here in the middle.
We were gonna do an open concept the entire way across,
a beam going all the way,
so we weren't gonna have anything here.
Yeah.
If we have to put a post there,
you can see with that big table that we're putting in,
it's not gonna work.
Oh, really?
It's gonna be too cramped.
[ Sighs ]
We're just so disappointed to have a post in the room.
I mean, that's the one thing that we didn't want,
and that's the one thing we have,
and I don't really hear any options to resolve that.
Why won't the beam work right across?
In order for us to do a beam
that was gonna go the entire way,
it would have to be such a thick beam
that it really would come down
and it would actually affect the height of the ceiling.
So...
That really changes the space quite a bit.
Having a beam right in the middle of the house.
And that's not where we want to have it, either.
I mean, I suggested,
"Is there any way that we could move it back
and have it over here, so it's not quite in the way,"
and then the problem that poses is down in the basement,
this is right where you have the big open area.
Well, if the post comes down right here,
this isn't the end of the world because this --
this is not structural right here.
And I can take this wall back two feet
and open that up,
so essentially we'd be moving the opening over a little bit.
I quite don't care about the basement
as much as I do the upstairs.
This is gonna add some money to the reno.
Yeah, but then we'll have the space that we initially wanted, right?
Right now, we're gonna get
kind of half the space we wanted.
I had reservations going into a renovation
because of these types of issues,
and now they're creeping up, so it's disappointing.
I know they're disappointed about the posts,
and I know they're distracted
with all the other wedding decisions,
but I need them to focus.
We have to pick the flooring and the finishes today
if we're gonna stick to the super-tight schedule
and have this place ready when they return from their wedding.
For the new flooring, though, I brought a few samples,
and I need your opinions on what you want to see.
We wanted to go something with some rich tones,
but it is a smooth finish, so you'd have to decide,
you know, not only the color,
but do you want to have that hand-scraped look?
I mean, I like the lighter color.
I like the grain in there.
We have dark floors right now,
and Francesca goes absolutely crazy
with trying to clean these things,
so there's sort of a practicality issue.
So, as long as you can't see the dirt, you're cool with it.
'Cause it's inevitable.
There's gonna be dust on the floors, right, but I just go nuts.
But I do like the lighter color of this,
and I like the multi-tone on that one.
I like the multi-tone kind of flooring.
Yeah, I think it looks good.
I think he's done a really good job picking out floors.
I think that's gonna look great.
I want to get all the products ordered
before you guys go away.
Yep.
I personally like the smaller tile better.
Okay.
To me, it's just more of
sort of a classic look.
I wanted to introduce
a little bit of color into the bathroom, or some gray tones,
rather, just to break it up a little bit.
And that's what I was gonna use for maybe the tub surround.
Or we could do something that has
a glass tile or pearl luster, something like that.
If you -- Go ahead.
So, can we put this on the floor instead of the wall?
So, this would basically be your floor
and this would be your tub surround.
Right.
Do we have to make a decision on the spot?
Well, we definitely need a decision
before you go away for your wedding,
but we do have a few more things that we have to do today,
so why don't we go take a look at kitchen tile.
Sounds good.
Countertops first.
These are the two options
that basically I would go with for the the countertop.
What are your thoughts?
I think I'm leaning more towards this one.
I prefer the -- What's this made out of?
These are both quartz, actually.
So, I mean, it's amazing
'cause they've gone with a marble look.
It looks exactly like marble.
And you can see how we can tie it in
with the backsplash tile.
Now, I would like to go with something just clean like this.
I feel like this is a decision we can make.
Yeah.
I really like this with the gray.
Okay.
I think that's -- Yeah.
So then that's the decision there.
The only other thing I need is we need to talk about wallpaper.
And I know it's -- [ Laughs ]
It's one of those decisions
that nobody really knows what it's gonna look like
till it goes up, but I love wallpaper.
I want to add some impact and some interest into the design,
something that's maybe got a little bit more blue to it.
It'll add --
You look like you're gonna have a panic attack. [ Laughs ]
There's just been so many decisions today,
and I just really don't think
I can look at all this wallpaper and...
I am not cool with making lots of decisions right now.
There is so much on my mind that it's just so overwhelming,
and my fear is making a decision under pressure
and hating it at the end of it.
We need to get things rolling, though,
'cause we really want to move in.
I'm sorry, but I'm not really focused.
Let's just pick one and move on.
JONATHAN: Sorry about that, guys.
NARRATOR: Parker and Francesca want their home move-in ready
by the time they return from their wedding in Italy.
But making all the decisions under pressure
makes them second-guess themselves.
JONATHAN: Parker and Francesca were really disappointed
about having to put in a structural post
to support the dining-room ceiling.
So I worked with my engineer
to come up with a great solution.
We went with a thinner steel beam
that can support more weight than a wood beam,
and it'll be less intrusive.
It's more expensive but totally worth it.
And now, so, I guess you're gonna
just build a little bulkhead around this?
Yep. Yeah, this will be encased.
Once it's all painted, drywalled, everything,
you're not even gonna notice.
There was a big weight on our minds that we were going to have
a design which we weren't comfortable with,
so to start it this way is a big relief,
and it's gonna start the week off really well.
We need to get things rolling, though,
'cause we really want to move in.
We're carrying a lot of mortgage right now, so we do need to --
Yeah.
I appreciate you guys probably feel like
the walls are coming in on you in the condo,
and I do really want us to catch up.
It was worth, you know, taking a little bit of a delay,
but I think we can try and make that time back up.
And the delay's not gonna delay us even more, is it?
It's just kind of --
Fingers crossed. I'm hoping no.
All right?
Let's go.
They're really putting the pressure on me.
They want to have everything completely done, move-in ready
by the time they get back from their wedding in Italy,
and there's a lot to accomplish.
Of course, I like a challenge,
and I promised I'd get it done for them.
So we've been burning the candle at both ends
trying to keep Parker and Francesca's compressed timeline.
We're expanding the kitchen
to the whole back end of the house,
moving the plumbing, and putting in new windows
to make this a massive chef's dream for Parker.
Now that the beam's in and the windows are fitted,
the next thing I want to do is
close up the envelope of the house
so we can get the heat back on.
With the drywall going in, we're almost ready for finishes.
Parker and Francesca have made most of the key design decisions
except the wallpaper.
Francesca's up to her eyeballs in wedding details,
but I've talked her into coming to the store today
so I can get signoff.
I know wallpaper's probably
the last thing on Francesca's mind right now,
but it's the first thing people will see when they walk in the door.
It's a major feature in the design,
so it's important that we get this decision made right.
And we are not leaving here today
until we pick some wallpaper.
You know, you don't have to have it
necessarily as big in the patterning,
but this is a little bit more simple, little bit more classic.
You can do it in different colors.
Something more muted.
Sorry, I have to take this.
Hang on a second.
We can make the decision without you. Is that --
No, no, no. I want to be part of the decision.
I just have to answer this text.
It'll only take a couple seconds.
I don't know. It's hard to say 'cause I think --
You know -- I don't even know.
I'm getting a little overwhelmed with all of this right now.
I'm just -- I have texts and e-mails coming in,
and there's a lot going on in Italy with the wedding
and stuff, so I'm sorry,
but I'm not really focused. [ Laughs ]
Parker's putting a lot of pressure on me
to get this job done before they come back from the wedding,
and so these are the little details
we have to make sure are not overlooked.
Otherwise, this whole thing's gonna snowball out of control.
This one is actually not that bad.
Mm-hmm.
Again, the fact that I have to make a decision right now
is really stressing me out
because I know I'm gonna be looking at it, and I...
I do like this,
and I think it would complement the design very well.
Yeah, you know what?
I mean, let's just pick one and move on.
It's just wallpaper.
Okay. So let's just go with this one.
This one's fine.
Yeah. This is...
Yay!
JONATHAN: Finally we've got all the decisions
about the finishes wrapped up, and it's just in time
for the flooring to go in before the kitchen cabinets are installed.
We're making great progress, but with only two days left
before they leave for their wedding,
I've got some bad news.
There has been a lot of progress since we were last here.
Well, that's 'cause you were like...
[ Imitates whip crack ] "Get it done!"
[ Laughing ] Yeah. I know. I know.
We do want it done, but I can't believe it.
Wow. Everything's moving quickly. This is fantastic.
We have one little issue over here.
JONATHAN: All of this here, you can actually see the bricks
that are hanging down, all the smoke
that you're basically burning off from the fire
would have leaked out through these bricks,
and you'd get it coming into the house
and in behind the drywall.
So you don't want that, so we actually have to reconstruct
this whole thing, put in new fire bricks.
It's gonna take us probably a good half-day to do that.
But it's gonna cost us about 1,300 bucks.
PARKER: Ooh.
Yeah, that's not good news.
It's definitely disappointing to see
that there's work that needs to be done.
We were hoping that things would transition smoothly.
And it's gonna cost $1,300.
And it's gonna cost $1,300,
which we don't really have in the budget right now.
Sorry about that, guys.
No. No.
I can honestly say that everything's coming along nice.
I love where we're at.
Okay, good.
All right? Why don't you guys get packing and I'll keep working.
FRANCESCA: Sounds good.
I hate breaking bad news to them.
And, to be honest, I am worried.
I just hope that it didn't show on my face.
We have a lot of work to do
in the two weeks while Francesca and Parker
are in Tuscany for their wedding.
FRANCESCA: I don't know.
At this point,
I kind of wish I only had the wedding to think about.
I'm worried that it's not gonna be ready
by the time we get back from the wedding.
PARKER: I'm not nervous. I'm just excited.
We've been waiting for this for months and months and months,
and we're finally going to get married, so I'm excited.
I'm glad we were able to get this done for them
because the fireplace was very important.
And, you know, it wasn't safe the way it was.
We had to rebuild all the fire brick inside.
Now it's safe.
It's gonna look great, but it's just --
[ Grunts ] I don't know.
I'm glad I didn't have to interrupt their wedding
by calling them to tell them that we had another problem.
You know how at weddings they say,
"If anyone here, for any reason,
thinks that these two shouldn't wed,
speak now or forever hold your peace"?
Well, I'm not holding my peace. I'm speaking now.
The renovation is behind, so take your time.
Enjoy the wedding. I need this.
We've been working a lot of overtime
and really pushing the schedule, but we're still not
where I'd like to be in the process.
With Francesca and Parker already on their honeymoon,
we're running out of days to get this done.
I'm kind of feeling the pressure here
because Francesca and Parker were very adamant.
They said that they wanted to have everything done
by the time they came back.
And, you know, I want to stay on top of it,
but I also don't want to rush so that we,
you know, sacrifice the quality of the work.
Hey, Jonathan. It's Parker and Francesca calling.
We're just checking in to see how the renovations are going.
We're gonna be home very, very soon, so I hope all is well.
And we will see you soon.
Ciao, Jonathan.
I can't wait to see that bathroom!
I've been having dreams about that kitchen.
FRANCESCA: Okay. We're almost there, babe.
NARRATOR: It was challenging for Parker and Francesca
to make all the renovation decisions before their wedding.
But now that they're back, will they love their new home?
The brothers are about to find out.
I can't wait to see that bathroom!
I've been having dreams about that kitchen.
FRANCESCA: Okay. We're almost there, babe.
Think so!
Come on in. Welcome to your new home.
PARKER: Whoa! What?!
I don't even know what to say.
Oh, my gosh. Can I give you guys a hug?
[ Laughs ] Yeah. Bring it in.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much!
PARKER: Hugs all around.
This is amazing.
JONATHAN: All the individual pieces
that you couldn't see coming together --
now it's just so coherent.
Everything just works together.
FRANCESCA: Yeah. I can't believe this is the same place.
There's so much to take in. Look at that fireplace.
Oh, my God.
Last time we saw that fireplace, it was a bunch of rubble.
I know.
And you wanted to keep the original brick.
Look how beautiful it looks.
Yeah, thank you for not keeping the original brick.
Yeah, we could put it back in,
but I'm thinking this looks a little nicer.
That looks unbelievable.
JONATHAN: The flooring, as well. I love that five-inch board.
FRANCESCA: Yeah.
And what do you think of the wallpaper?
Oh, my God!
I know we chose it in haste,
and I wasn't sure that day,
but it really looks incredible.
I'm glad.
There were just a lot of decisions to make
to transform this place into your dream home.
And I think the mixture of furniture and accessories
really came together with all the finishes that you chose.
What do you think?
Wow.
This is just so much right now to look at.
Can you even remember what it looked like before?
Because, remember, this wall here came all the way in.
So this was blocked off. You didn't have the sight line.
And then it jogged in.
And there was a wall here going all the way down,
so you didn't have a really big dining room.
No.
Everything was closed off.
And look at the size of that beautiful kitchen.
Wow.
I know you want to go right to that.
That is my happy place. I just want to...
Oh, my gosh. This is amazing.
And look at all the cabinet space, too.
I think I'm gonna sleep down here.
This is my room now.
This is your bedroom.
I'm not leaving the kitchen ever.
It's unbelievable, you guys.
Yeah. And I love the countertops.
Yes. Yeah, the countertops are beautiful.
Oh, my gosh. I didn't even notice.
Look how big this sink is. [ Gasps ]
PARKER: Yeah, there's a lot of details to take in.
Wow.
Seriously.
Like, I feel like I'm looking through a magazine.
This doesn't even seem real right now.
It's just so beautiful.
And I want you to write on the board
what you're feeling right now.
One word to describe what you're feeling.
DREW: There you go.
FRANCESCA: "Jubilation." Wow.
That means that I did my job.
You couldn't see how this tiny space
could even be expanded
into an ideal chef's kitchen, Parker.
But, taking out the walls, putting in all-new cabinets
and high-end appliances gives you a completely fresh start.
Look at the stairs. They look amazing.
I have stairs.
I'm gonna be going up and down these stairs all day long.
But what really strikes me is it was covered with carpeting.
And this is what was under the carpeting.
Unbelievable.
PARKER: Yeah, that wood looks beautiful.
DREW: And the nice thing, too, is that those stairs
lead to a brand-new bathroom, if you want to check it out.
I would love to check it out.
Okay. Let's go.
Let's go have a look.
Oh...
my...
God!
This is completely different!
Yeah, how is this even the same bathroom?
Oh, we actually have counter space.
And we each have our own sink and mirror.
No more burning you. No more toothpaste in my hair.
PARKER: [ Laughs ]
[ Gasps ] Oh, my God. It's beautiful.
It also feels bigger in here.
I mean, are the ceilings higher?
It just feels really roomy in here.
You wouldn't have noticed that as much before
because this wall was closer this way.
Just taking an extra --
What did you take? Like two feet?
JONATHAN: Yeah. Just about two feet.
Yeah, that little extra space, as well as having something
like this glass wall over here, which lets more light in.
A brighter space will feel bigger.
I think moving the tub and reconfiguring the space
made a big difference as well.
That gave us room for the double vanities that you wanted,
and bright-light finishes give us a lift
and some old-fashioned charm.
DREW: I love the character in the tile.
FRANCESCA: It feels sophisticated, elegant, just mature.
It's gorgeous.
Like you guys.
Aww. Thanks.
You're all grown up now.
All grown up.
This really is our dream home.
I mean, it has everything that we wanted,
everything on our checklist,
and it has my dream kitchen.
And now I have my dream wife.
[ Laughs ] Thanks, babe.
It's been a crazy time for Parker and Francesca
buying, renovating, and getting married.
But the celebrating can begin
because these newlyweds have their dream home,
and it's perfectly suited for their honeymoon.
They bought the house for $570,000.
Jonathan managed to keep stress levels down for this couple,
who were already paying for a wedding abroad
by keeping the cost balanced,
and in the end,
finished the renovation on time and on budget.
I got to admit,
that's a pretty nice wedding gift I gave them.
You gave them? This is from me, too.
You put my name on the card, right?
I guess you'll never know.
You have to carry me over the threshold.
[ Laughs ]
We're home.
This is amazing.