[Alison] Tonight on Windy City Rehab.
This is so cool.
This would be my grandma's house.
[Alison] Tony and Rosa are the most adorable couple.
And they've lived in this house for 17 years.
-We figured this is a good time to... -[Alison] I love it.
-To kind of do what you wanted to do 17 years ago. -Yes.
Before we do anything,
they're gonna get hit with like, a 10,000-plus bill from attorneys.
[imitates punches]
The City of Chicago came back. They want to upgrade the water service.
We're still under all these restrictions.
-It's kicked us up about 150. -150,000 over budget?
-What do you want to do? -I wanna flip.
And I'm trying to get my own house in order.
What do you mean they're pulling out of the deal?
-Dropped 500,000? -Yes.
[bleep] No.
[Alison] I can't always make my dreams come true,
but my clients are a different story.
This is ours?
[Tony laughs] That's beautiful.
I mean, everyone has apples.
Apple trees everywhere. Like an orchard.
It's so cool.
If I'm in Logan Square, I'm right off the boulevard.
It does not feel like you're in the City of Chicago.
Walking up to this house,
it's so like, cute and quaint in this corner lot.
-[Rosa] Hello. -Hello.
-[Tony laughs] -How are you?
-Nice to meet you. -[Rosa] So nice to meet you.
Look at us, we're adorable.
I love this house.
I mean, I love, like, the whole lot.
We've been living here approximately 17 years now.
-Yes. -Yeah, and we love.
Love being on the boulevard.
Love the little Cornish space that we have here
and have really enjoyed the house for the last 17 years.
We have three children together.
And he's a police officer and I am a teacher.
[Alison] Wow!
-[Rosa] So here it is. -[Tony] Yeah.
This is so cool!
Look at these ceilings and the detail.
Look at all this.
Look at the built-ins.
This is cool.
What have you done to it?
I mean, 17 years is a long time.
You know what? To tell you the truth. Paint.
-That's it? -That's it.
We're gonna be empty nesters.
-We figured this is a good time to... -[Alison] I love it.
-To kind of do what you wanted to do 17 years ago. -Yes. Absolutely.
[Tony] When we bought this house,
we were still making ends meet and paying the mortgage.
We were just there, but not enough to make any type of renovations.
So fast forward seventeen years later,
we have a little bit of savings.
And it's just time for us to...
-Make it our space. -...make it our space.
This would be my grandma's house.
We have a vision of not totally modern, but you know--
-[Rosa] Contemporary. -Contemporary.
-Cleaner. -[Alison] Cleaner lines.
But still keeping within the history of the home.
-Yeah. -Good.
Check, check.
[Tony] This whole woodwork on top, do we eliminate it?
This is an opportunity to keep the coffered ceiling,
clean this up, not lose any of these beautiful corbels,
not lose this detail, but instead enhance it,
with a really cool, rich color.
Something different that doesn't feel like Grandma's house,
-but feels way more modern. -Loving it.
Tony's really set on, like, "I don't want this to feel like a grandma house."
And I could see how he would say that.
You know, it's like a little drab and a little dreary.
But there are some beautiful pieces in here. And the woodwork.
I'm sitting there going initially, like, "Don't touch this."
Are you in for permit?
-[Tony] No, not yet. -Okay, good.
How is this reimagined?
Like, what do you have in mind?
So all this open. And then the idea would be,
since my son's room is to the right there...
[Alison] Okay, he's on the first floor.
[Tony] Yeah. That would just completely take over his room.
-Huge kitchen. -[Alison] Yeah.
The bathroom would kind of stay, but redone bathroom
and then an office.
-[Alison] I like separation. -Okay.
Everyone's all, "Open floor plan. Open floor plan."
It's great. This still is very open.
But I love, like these frames into another experience.
'Cause when you've got an open floor plan, I think it's like too much too soon.
-[Tony] Okay. -Hey, that's kind of cool.
This... Okay. Okay.
-Go with me on this. -Okay.
God, this is good.
I want to take this whole unit.
This moves to the center of the new parlor.
Build onto the sides of it.
So you can, like, put the family photos up
-in books and accessories -That sounds amazing.
All painted in the same color that we do in that room.
-[both] Okay. -So let me see this.
This is a corner kitchen.
-Obviously worked for you for 17 years. -[Tony] Yeah.
-[Alison] Not a lot of space. -[Rosa] No!
-I mean, you are gonna be like tripling the space of this. -Yeah.
[Alison] All right. Show me upstairs.
-[gasps] Look at the little guy. -[Tony laughs]
Wait. I wanna use that somewhere. I love this.
Normally, I would have to go and find something like this at a store.
And now I get to just... I get to shop at your house.
[Rosa] So this is daughter's bedroom.
[Alison] Are we dormering?
-[Tony] Yes. -Got it.
-So dormering... -[Tony] All the way through.
[Alison] All the way up, all the way through. Good.
-Okay, let's see the rest of it. -Okay.
[Alison] I do love the roofline. Obviously, I love the roof line.
-But the dormering is the right idea. -Okay.
You want to bring this out and up.
[Tony] Yeah. And Since we're losing the bedroom on the first floor,
-we definitely need the additional space. -[Alison] Yes.
-So that we can have the three bedrooms up here. -Yes.
It's such a good plan.
With all that extra space,
we can move the main bedroom to the front of the house
and then add an en-suite and walk-in closet.
There's gonna be two more bedrooms at the back,
connected by a bathroom.
What's your budget?
So, we're thinking 300-350.
For the whole thing?
With a dormer?
So you don't have a number yet.
No, your dormering. That's going to eat a big part of your budget.
That's not realistic budget.
You know, you talk about dormering like,
you might be looking at, like 80,000 just for that.
-What's more realistic? -Initial thought, if I'm being honest.
-I would think five. -Okay.
-We don't want to go nuts, but you want nice stuff. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-I think this is not only an investment in our home... -Yeah.
but it's an investment in us and just how we're gonna live out the rest of our lives.
So we're excited about that.
-Now is the time and... -Now's the time.
-We've got the team and you're ready for a change. -Yeah.
Which is great. I want you to have it all.
Yeah. Yeah. We're really excited.
-Yeah. -Okay.
[Alison] Tony and Rosa have 17 years of packing to do.
So plans are into the building department,
so they're expecting a permit in a few weeks.
And they just wanna be ready to go.
Once the plans are approved, the project should take around six months.
[Tony] I don't know how to wrap that thing.
-I say just... -I'll leave that to you.
[Tony] We're a little nervous because we're really putting
most of our life savings, that we might have put aside for retirement.
But this is our dream.
We love the boulevard, and we love Logan Square.
So making this our forever home,
gives us the opportunity to enjoy a great living space
and being in the area that we love.
[Alison] No building permit yet.
We're still waiting on that.
But they did get a demo permit.
So at least we can start some work.
[phone ringing]
-[Will] Hey, Alison. Good. -Hey, Will, How are ya?
I've been getting nonstop calls all about the Logan House
and all about these red flags.
-So where are things? -It looks like they're running into a couple of issues,
that's gonna delay their build.
They have to go through the Landmark Commission.
Oh, God. I thought this wasn't landmarked.
Their house is not a historic landmark house,
but because their house sits in a landmark district,
they still have to abide by the neighborhood rules.
And you mean, because of the dormer?
They're dormering. That means you're changing the look of the exterior of the home.
Landmark has to approve it.
And a dormer is not an option to say, "Oh, let's scratch that."
This is the only way that they're gonna get the house that they want.
Just tack on four months.
Before we do anything, they're gonna get hit with,
like, a 10,000-plus bill from attorneys to deal with this landmark BS.
Okay. That's sad.
That's a sad piece of news, and it's a massive snowball.
This is just the beginning.
We're doing whatever we can at Logan.
And Tony and Rosa hired Christian because he worked
on some projects with me before.
And I need him to relocate this built-in
so it can work in its new home in the study.
The issue with this built-in
is that they kind of built it when the house was built.
So, some of the nails are secured through the back,
and we have to deal with the plaster in the back.
We call it surgical demo.
-Hi! -[Tony] Hey.
-[Alison] How's it going? -It's going.
They've done an incredible work
in terms of getting things repaired.
[Alison] Yeah, I mean, it's a clean demo.
-But this is as far as they can go with demo. -[Tony] Right.
-Yeah. -So, here's the update.
[Tony] We had the city meeting today,
-and I don't know if you were able to talk to Will or them. -Yeah. No.
-[Tony] Yeah. -And Will hasn't called me on it.
He's under a lot of stress right now
because the lady from planning
gave us her input on what the changes are.
-But the city, I guess, group meets on December 15... -Okay.
-...when everything has to be submitted. -[Alison] Okay.
So, he's, like, on fire, really trying his best
to get the renderings done
and to make the changes that she wants.
-It's the changes. I mean, all of it-- -Yeah.
When they get the notes from the city, that's what it is.
You go back to the drawing board,
you have to go back to the plans.
It's that game of, like, literally, it's like ping-pong.
-Yeah. -Landmark is the scariest.
They might be minor changes,
but the minor changes take a lot of work.
If he doesn't get 'em in by Monday,
then they miss the December meeting.
If they miss the December meeting,
they don't get their permits in January like we planned.
Yeah, your stars, they have to align big-time.
So, it's like... [mimicking punches]
-Yeah, like you're getting hit from all ends. -[laughs]
The city has its process.
It's just a little bit more stressful
and nerve-wrenching having to go through the process,
because just for the attorneys alone,
we've spent between $20,000 and $25,000.
With the architect, it's another 15-ish.
We're doing our best to just keep things going.
But yet, it's a little bit of a struggle.
As someone who went through
that kind of "when it rains, it pours,"
it really does.
It comes at you all at once,
and if it doesn't knock you down,
-then you'll be stronger at the end. -Yeah.
And you're a real strong guy.
You're good, you're gonna get through this.
-You've got a good team, so... -Yeah. So, we're optimistic.
He's got to just hold on tight
and hope that these stars align
because it's really just all up to the city at this point,
and that's scary.
It's been two months since demo,
still zero build permit.
So, Christian's guys are gonna start demo on the second floor...
and at least try to keep the project moving.
Since Tony and Rosa wanna dormer the top floor,
we're basically rebuilding the entire floor.
But we can't take the roof off
until we get approval from the Building Department.
I like this one.
-A good price point. -Yes.
That I like, and that they will like.
Tony and Rosa want their old house to feel new
because they don't want that grandma feel.
We have this beautiful built-in
that they had in their dining room
-that's moving into the study. -[Brett] Right.
[Alison] I really want this room to feel warm and classic.
So, we're gonna add to the built-ins
to make it feel more substantial
and like it's been here for a while.
And I need to find a mantel to put across from it.
So, all the trim is gonna be painted black.
It's gonna look so dramatic and stately.
And it's gonna lose all those grandma vibes.
They like the idea of doing all the cabinets
no open shelving, but we can do open shelving
-on this little coffee bar. -[Brett] Okay.
Expensive, but I love it.
We're gonna lighten things up in the kitchen
with a ton of white cabinets, white countertops, white hood,
all adorned with brass accents.
And this fan mosaic backsplash
is gonna give the focal wall so much texture and depth.
It's gonna be clean and modern,
and completely different from what they have now.
[Brett] So, reclaimed-wise,
we want something for the kitchen.
[Alison] Two doors for the kitchen.
I don't think we could do main bath with this.
-'Cause it's got too much peach in it. -Okay.
What other colors does that come in?
Ah! Here we go.
[Brett] That's a little dark.
[Alison] This is cool,
'cause they want a little more of a contemporary vibe.
So, if this is main bath floor,
-main bath walls with this? -[Brett] This or this.
[Alison] We're gonna carry that white all the way upstairs
in the main bathroom.
White tiles on the walls, countertops,
and I wanna use that niche from the stairs
as a little vintage accent above the tub.
And I know Rosa really wants a freestanding one.
Tony wants Rosa to be happy.
Like, he walked me to my car yesterday,
and he's like, "I'm doing all this for her."
Aw!
-And it's so sweet and cute... -That's so sweet.
...but he's like, "If it weren't for her,
I probably wouldn't spend this kind of money.
But, like, this is her dream home."
I love that about him.
It's been almost five months since Tony and Rosa moved into their mom's house.
And we still have no building permits.
[Rosa] So, it's the night before Christmas.
It's our first Christmas away from our home.
We're celebrating in a tiny, temporary, um, space.
For the last 17 years,
the kids would come running down the stairs from their rooms.
It's gonna be a little bit of a different experience
'cause now they're running down the stairs at our mother-in-law's house.
You're gonna love this place.
-I'm excited. -And I'm glad
-you're seeing it in person. -All right.
Vintage Grind House is a diamond in the rough.
Don't turn around.
-I will try right now-- -[Alison] Hi.
-I know. Don't wanna scare you. -How are you?
-Can I turn? -Yes. Look at your fireplace.
-[gasps] -[chuckles]
[Rosa] That is stunning!
[Alison] So, I found the mantle.
I was gonna give it to another client.
She didn't want green.
Then I was gonna give it to another client.
Myself, I was gonna keep it.
Then I realized I gotta stop doing that.
And I was like, "Tony and Rosa."
I could see how that picks up the green of the stained glass.
[Alison] 'Cause that would be right across from it.
-[Rosa] Yes! -And it's gonna feel like the sexiest lounge.
-Love that word. -It's gonna be unbelievable.
-Oh, my gosh, that is just... [gasps] -Yeah. So, there's your piece.
-[Tony] All right, we're excited. -Love.
I mean, it's the dream home.
-And this is the dreamiest mantle. -Yeah.
[Alison] I mean, this is, like, the happy part, right?
-We've been going through so many ups and downs and-- -Yeah.
-It's just a little, tiny bright spot. -[Tony] Yeah. Yeah.
[Alison] We're gonna get the house done.
It's gonna be hurdles,
-but there's no story without the struggle. -Yeah.
We just kept getting hit with, like, bad news,
and, like, some nights we were like,
"Oh, my gosh, is this gonna go through? Like,
how long is this gonna take?"
And just the nerves and the worry.
But it's a little spectrum of the rainbow
that we see that just keeps us going.
[Alison] After almost six months
and $40,000 in expedited fees...
the permit is actually approved, and we're moving.
On the first floor, Christian's guys are installing the built-ins.
They're gonna start electrical upstairs.
The roof is finally coming off.
Landmark approved all their design changes,
including dormering that whole second floor.
But we're gonna be locked into specific materials
like siding and windows,
and that's gonna add to the budget.
Client houses like this
are a reminder of how bad it can be in this business.
But I've been through it all,
so I still really wanna get back into it.
Clients are great, but I wanna get back
into, you know, buying my own properties and renovating them.
I wanna get back into what I love,
what I've always set out to do and be,
just a designer and a developer.
And I wanna get back to that.
I ended up putting my Atlanta condo on the market
so I could free up some cash,
and it is sold, like, any day it's gonna close.
And then the sale falls through.
What do you mean they're pulling out of the deal?
The movers come tomorrow morning.
What's the next thing I can sell?
The dream home.
In order to live the dream,
I have to leave the dream home.
I bought the property back in 2017 for $370,000.
I mostly used it as my office space.
And then I spent a million dollars turning it into my dream home.
It is hard to say goodbye,
but I do not try to get sentimental about properties.
My plan is, sell the dream home,
put the money in the bank, become my own bank,
buy another property, buy it for cash,
fix it for cash, and flip it fast.
I mean, that would be the new dream for me.
I know you're not gonna like this,
-but this is what I wanna do. -[chuckles] Okay.
I would like to list it at $3.5 million.
I know you're gonna say that. [laughs]
You knew I was gonna say exactly $3.5 million?
Well, I knew you were gonna say over $3 million.
It's just a big, big number
for this neighborhood. $3.5 million.
There are no comps.
I also know what is developing in this area.
-The sound stages that are opening. -[Vince] Sound stages, yeah.
-Yeah. -[Alison] Like, I'm pretty sure
there's gonna be a Starbucks right there.
[Vince] We make an agreement.
-[Alison] Yes. -We can start at $3.5 million.
[Alison] Okay.
[Vince] We go to $3 million after 30 days.
Drop $500,000?
-Yes. -[bleep] no.
I think $3 million is the most you'll get.
I do.
-[Alison] No. I-- I beg-- -[Vince] I hope I'm wrong.
I would love to be wrong. It only helps me.
[Alison] No.
-I like you, but you're annoying sometimes. [chuckles] -[Alison] I know.
But I will not go to $3 million.
-We're gonna find a happy medium. -[Vince] Okay.
We'll definitely get interest.
-[Alison] Oh. -There's no doubt.
[Alison] I think we're gonna get an offer.
-Okay. Well, I think we might, right away. -[Alison] Yeah.
Let's get the dream sold.
-[Vince] That's right. -Okay.
Over at Logan, framing on the second floor is up.
And Christian's guys started building the new roof.
-Hello. -[Christian] Hey, hey, hey.
-Summer for you, huh? -[Christian] Hello.
You're, like, in T-shirt.
Hi.
How's it going?
Don't I owe you doors for these?
[Christian] That's one of the things I wanna talk about.
-Okay. These two, I need to find. -[Christian] Okay.
This is when we said we were gonna try to arch.
-[Christian] Okay. -[Alison] So, it softens this up
and separates it from that hard opening, which I love.
-We're leaving that. All that. -Okay.
[Alison] I know that there was a concern
about cutting this down on the bottom.
What if we just leave it?
The top part is really what's gonna make this
-feel like it's supposed to be right there. -[man] Right.
-[Christian] So, do a crown or something at the top? -[Alison] Yeah.
What I might do is find some cool buyout shelving,
that I just put left and right of it.
-[Christian] Okay. -'Cause we're all painting it all with the same color.
If I can get two units for 800 bucks,
they're going to spend, like, $5,000 to $7,500 to do built-ins by a carpenter.
We don't need that.
That was the upstairs niche.
-No, the big one. -[Christian] That was going upstairs. I think that was--
[Alison] This was the big one from upstairs.
I think that was here or something.
No, no, no. This was the hallway.
-[man] Yeah. -[Alison] That was upstairs hallway.
Let's go look at it.
I think it'd be a good idea.
All right, let's take a peek.
Let's take a peeksy.
All right, so this is the new dimension I gave him.
Tub sits there.
I still wanted it lower.
We can do it lower.
Yeah, 'cause the tub's gotta be here.
I think it needs to go down a little more.
[man] Six inches from the rough opening.
[Alison] Yeah, a little more down. That way,
when you're in the tub, you can have a candle,
maybe bath salts go in here.
It's those special pieces that Tony and Rosa can be like,
"You know what? We wanted to get out with the old,
but we really didn't, because we're bringing
some of those pieces back into our house
that they that may otherwise have gotten rid of."
So, I love that... that we're able to salvage those things.
This project is moving.
Rough-ins continue on the first floor.
And windows are going in on the second.
Landmark required them to buy double-hung wooden windows
to match the historic character of the neighborhood.
They look really great, but they're more than twice
as expensive as the regular windows.
-Hello! -[Tony] Hey!
How are you guys?
Um, nervous, excited,
-you know, the whole... -[Alison] Why are you nervous?
I'm not telling you anything bad.
What's the bad news?
[Tony] The bad news is, is that--
-I thought we were celebrating. -[Tony] We are.
It's just, um, even though that... when the city sent us
a letter saying if we wanted to be landmark or not
and we said no, because we live in that area,
everyone who lives in that area,
whether they said no or not, still falls under
-the same restrictions. -Under the same umbrella, yeah.
[Alison] So, why did they ask you what you think?
Yes! I don't know.
-Right. But-- -[Rosa] But then that's the thing is, right?
-We thought we chose no. -[Tony] But the thing is, we didn't want it. We said no.
-[Rosa] And yet, we're-- -[Tony] But because we live in that area,
we're still under all these restrictions
to get certain windows and certain siding and certain other stuff.
Yeah, when you're landmark, you gotta follow... [clicks tongue]
-[Tony] Yeah. -...what one person thinks your house should look like.
[Tony] So, it's really kind of unfair,
because why even send us a letter asking us
if we wanted to be landmark
if they're still gonna impose the same restrictions?
-When you figure Chicago out, let me know. -[both laugh]
I certainly don't have it figured out.
But because of that, it's kicked us up
-about $150,000 over at least, so-- -Budget.
-$150,000 over budget? -[Rosa] Yeah.
-'Cause of the specifications of the windows and siding. -[Tony] Yeah.
[Alison] Because you have to get certain windows?
-Yes. -[Tony] And siding.
Between the lawyers, expediters,
landmark permits, expenditures
that were required by the city--
-[Rosa] Specific features of the house, the windows... -[Tony] Uh--
-Right. -[Rosa] ...the siding.
So then, what is the option at this point, then?
To just be $150,000 over budget or--
And... and that's it? That's what it is?
It's loans. It's gonna be, you know, try to suck up
-as much overtime as I can, and, you know, side jobs... -[Alison] Aw.
...and then we're still balancing out with the kids' tuitions.
This is the first time that I've really stretched myself out far.
And the bigger thing is that I want her
to have her dream home
-and I-- -Our dream home.
The... You know, just thinking on,
you know, like, the family stuff,
-when they come back from college, Christmases... -[Alison] Yes, yes.
...Thanksgiving, all that type of stuff,
it's a rough ride, but I'll make it happen.
We got our budget. We know what we're doing.
-[Tony] Mm-hmm. -Yeah.
There are some place where I can save, too, so...
But I think it's all worth it, so...
-It's gonna be worth it. -[Rosa] Yeah.
♪♪ Get it, get it, don't You worry about worry about ♪
♪♪ Got sufficient funds in my bank account♪
♪♪ Bank account Yeah ♪
♪♪ A little woman With big mouth, big mouth ♪
-Hi, Don. -[Don] Hi, Alison.
[Alison] I'd love to be there in person.
I can't.
But if you can help me shop for some doors,
I would love it.
-Of course. -[Alison] They need to be matching,
and they need to be pretty small.
I have a really nice pair here.
Ooh! Those are cool.
Those are beautiful.
[Don] Yeah, these are pretty amazing
and they're fairly rare.
You don't see this detail very often,
but look at these.
[Alison] Wow.
Oh, I love 'em. They're gonna ship to Chicago.
[cell phone ringing]
-Hello. -Hello. How you doing?
[Alison] I'm good.
How are you?
Every single Wednesday,
Vince and his team update me on my house.
You got me a buyer?
Oh, my God, I can't wait to give you that call.
I don't have that call right now. Um,
we've been on the market 99 days as of today.
You know, I'm not surprised.
It is an outlier in that area.
You'd better not be asking me
what I think you're about to ask me.
[Vince] All right. Let's talk about overall price expectations.
We're at $3.5 million right now.
Like I told you from the beginning,
I think $3 million is the correct listing price.
But that is still, even then, it's still a little high,
they're it's still asking a bit much,
but I think it's more reasonable.
More and more people are actually developing some of the warehouses
down the street from me into their homes.
You know, three years from now,
my place will sell for $3.5 million.
I know it will.
Yes, I'd love to sell it fast.
That would be great.
Do I need to? No.
I think once we get a little more towards the fall months,
that's where I think I'll move the needle
-a little by lowering it. -Okay.
-How does that sound? -[Vince] All right.
It's not what I want, but it's your house and you're in charge.
-So, you tell me. -[Alison] Yeah.
That's not the call I wanted to get, and he knows that.
He needs to be coming to me with different approaches
on how he's going to sell it,
not how I can help him sell it by lowering my price.
Not happening.
The finishes are going in, and I'm so excited
to finally see it all coming together.
The fireplace is going into the main bedroom.
The tiles going up in the bathroom,
and kitchen cabinets are making big, big progress.
Hi.
-[Christian] Hey, Alison. -[man] Hello.
You guys are moving fast.
-A little bit. We're almost there. -Yeah.
Back at Logan,
the house looks huge.
And it looks like it's moving fast.
-Well, the doors just came in today. -Oh, these did?
-[Christian] Yeah, these just came in today. -[Alison] Oh, good.
Did we say that that has to be the finished height?
[Christian] We can cut the header if we need to.
I'd love to go a little higher 'cause I think the door
is visually more attractive
-than drywall. -[Christian] Right.
[Alison] But how much room do you think I have with these?
'Cause they're so beautiful.
[Christian] We were thinking to knock off 10 inches.
-Do you wanna go eight feet? -[man] Tape measure.
I mean, I'd like to go as high as I can with these.
Well, the good thing is that that wall isn't load-bearing.
[Alison] That's what I mean,
-could I go the full height with these? -Yeah.
[Alison] We'd have to see what's the charge
-for the change to do that. -Right.
[Alison] And then see if they say yes to it.
-[Christian] Okay. -[Alison] Okay.
What else in the kitchen?
We're getting ready to call for final inspections.
Well, the City of Chicago came back.
They wanna upgrade the water service.
-[sighs] -So, I gotta talk to Tony and Rosa.
-[Alison] You already talked to them? -I haven't.
They're gonna literally fall apart.
They have to have a new main water line
because of the increase in the bathrooms
and laundry rooms in this house.
So, the more water that you need
on an old home like this, like, it's scary,
but it's a required change from the city.
One crushing piece of news after another.
-[Alison] When are you gonna tell 'em? -Today.
I don't wanna be here.
[Christian laughs]
I'm not gonna be...
-I cannot. I will die. -[Christian] No, no, I'll talk to Tony.
-I'll talk to Tony. I gotta go over some-- -[Alison] I'm like-- I'm try--
I'm thinking, "Oh, my God, the house is--"
-Like, I'm walking in and-- -[Christian] Here's the thing.
Technically, they can still move in,
doesn't stop 'em.
-But in order for them to clear all... -[Alison] Yeah, the final--
-...clear all the inspections... -[Alison] Final inspection,
-yeah. -...they would have to get that fixed.
God, they're gonna be devastated.
All right, we'll just keep talking pretty stuff.
[gasps] Yes!
-Oh, God, have they seen it? -[Christian] Yeah, yeah,
-they've seen it. -[Alison] Oh, it's so pretty!
-Okay, you need to go over the stairs. -[Christian] Stairs.
-Is it all black? -[Alison] All black.
[Christian] Treads and riser, too?
[Alison] I don't know what you have in your budget.
That's my thing, is I wanna be budget conscious.
Ideally, I'd like to see this painted
with the handrail, spindles and the skirt.
And then I'd love to see
the treads and risers to match that floor.
And then all that is gonna be black.
-[Christian] Okay. All right. -[Alison] Yeah.
They wanted this fresh new space.
It's gonna look so rich and classy.
Awesome.
So this, would you mind holding it up?
-I just wanna see what kind of-- -Not much.
[Alison] Yeah, it's very minimal.
Do you want the inside painted black here?
No, that's gonna have to be some sort of stone.
That has to be stone, yeah.
It's gonna be unbelievable.
It's going to be night and day for Tony and Rosa.
Logan just keeps getting better and better.
All the trims getting painted black.
The countertops are here.
On the exterior, they're putting up
the expensive ceramic siding that landmark required.
The pantry doors are going in.
The main bathroom's coming together,
and Christian's guys got that antique piece
in just the right spot over the tub.
[cell phone ringing]
-[Alison] Hey, Tony. -[Tony] Hey, Alison.
-How's it going? -[Alison] Um, really good.
-How are you? -Uh...
it's one of those days.
We got some potential other bad news.
So, we found out that because of the addition of the bathroom
and some additional water fixtures,
they're definitely requiring us
to go from one inch to one and a half,
-which is-- It's an additional-- -I know, Christian told me.
[Tony] Yeah, it's an additional $20,000 cost,
which is crazy.
So, as much as I hate to do it,
we might have to cut back
on some of the fixture items and things that we wanted.
It really hurts our heart 'cause we loved everything
that got selected.
[Alison] I know.
I'm just thinking of where do we cut.
You know, it's gonna maybe fall into, like, light fixtures.
But I can find things that are gonna be less expensive,
that still look beautiful.
Tile-wise, I know that we had that original selection
for the kitchen backsplash, and then we couldn't do that
'cause that was really expensive,
the fan tile.
-Do you remember that? -[Tony] Yeah, yeah.
-It was amazingly beautiful. -[Alison] I know you guys were--
Yeah, for sure.
-Yeah. -I know Rosa loved that.
And that is one of my favorite tiles.
That's my housewarming gift,
and I... and I know it's just a small, small portion,
but at least let me take care of the... the kitchen backsplash.
And then by doing that,
we'll save, like, $2,000 there.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.
[Alison] I know it's a little bit,
but I'm gonna save more on the lighting, okay?
So, I'm gonna go back to the drawing board on the lighting.
This is my gift to them.
I think that they are the most amazing couple.
They're the sweetest, salt-of-the-earth couple.
Hopefully, that helps a little bit.
With two weeks until Tony and Rosa move back in,
there is still so much going on.
Christian's guys are notching out the built-in in the living room
so we can fix the big box shelves.
Flooring is going in.
The second upstairs bathroom is tiled,
and there's new floor tile in the entryway.
Ooh! Backsplash is up.
[Brett] Wow!
[Alison] I mean, that makes it.
Even though with tone on tone,
it's got a little shimmer to it.
She wanted it, it was so expensive.
It wasn't a big area, too,
-so this is so easy to gift, you know? -[Brett] No.
Logan check in, it's the last one
before we get their furniture brought in.
I know Brett's really coming into his own,
but he has questions, and I know he doesn't wanna mess up.
So, it's good to walk it with him.
So these, as you know, are gonna sit
all the way up at the top.
-Yes. -And then soft arch,
-so it gives it that beautiful-- -[Brett] Yeah.
Truly, it becomes a picture frame
-into this beautiful kitchen. -It does.
[Alison] She wanted the kitchen of her dreams,
and I think this is gonna go above and beyond.
And then I wanna see the... the built-ins.
-Yeah. -Let's go over here.
[Brett] They built the one for us.
[Alison] But they didn't do the crown,
and the crown cannot look like that.
Without the crown,
-it looks like we got that at a big-box store. -Right?
With the crown, it's gonna make everything tie back in.
But it's gotta be a very pretty crown.
It can't be straight stock.
So, we can go a little ornate if we need to.
Yeah, it has to be more ornate.
It's gonna look great. Do you wanna see the black trim?
It's painted upstairs.
-They're almost done with it. -[Alison] Oh, they--
-Okay, good. They started? -Yeah.
[Alison] Let's see.
Ooh, yes!
Yes, yes, yes.
Look at that.
-Tony and Rosa wanted this to feel like a new house. -[Brett] Yeah.
[Alison] It's not gonna feel like a new house
if I left it all stained or white, it would be so boring.
And it's gonna change the whole look
-of the bathroom. -[Brett] Mm-hmm.
So, that is gonna stay stained, which I love.
-[Brett] Perfect. -[Alison] Okay.
Love, love, love.
We got two weeks, and we're moving in.
And open your eyes.
[gasps]
-It's stunning! -It's amazing.
[Alison] We are in full finishing touches mode
over at Logan.
The dining room arch is in, they're painting all the trim
and the built-in in the living room.
That beautiful hood's going up,
and all the lighting's getting installed.
Tony and Rosa are the cutest couple of all time.
And they have probably had the biggest nightmare of a project.
Because of all the delays and landmark restrictions,
this house went way over schedule
and way over budget.
If they weren't so in love with this house
and the history of it and this neighborhood,
I don't think it would have been worth it.
They had this vision, right?
They bought this house 17 years ago
and raised their children here.
It's this new phase of life for them.
The kids come home and visit from college,
and then having holidays hosted here,
and then having grandkids,
and how they envision their lives in this space now
is totally different
because it's such a fresh look,
fresh approach.
Okay, look how charming it is.
It's farmhouse-y, but you're in the city.
Totally different.
-[Tony] Yeah. -[Rosa] It looks bigger.
It looks newer. It looks elegant.
This is a great-looking house.
Yeah, we like our little corner.
-[Alison] I love that. -[Tony] And it was a rough journey,
-but in the end, it's worth it. -[Rosa and Alison] Yeah.
-Yeah, 'cause now we're seeing this. -It's worth it,
-'cause look at this. -Yeah.
Right, you wanna see inside?
-Yes, let's do it. -Yes, we do. Oh, my gosh,
this is gonna be amazing!
When we started this process,
I knew it was gonna be a range of emotions.
We experienced the excitement,
the nervousness, the anxiety.
[gasps]
-Oh, my goodness. -Look at the tile.
-[Alison] Look at your entry. -Oh, my goodness!
Wow!
[Alison] With a little trim, painting the ceiling black,
bringing in this very cool geometric floor,
modernizing it right when you walk in.
-From the outside, it's a farmhouse. -[Tony and Rosa] Yeah.
-But you still have the black and white theme... -[Rosa] Yeah.
[Alison] ...that leads through.
[Rosa] Wow.
-Yeah. -[gasps]
[Alison] Wanna see the rest of the house?
-[Tony] Yeah, let's do it. -[Rosa] Yes!
Open your eyes.
-No! -Oh, wow.
That's beautiful.
Oh, my God!
-Oh, look. -This is ours?
[Tony and Rosa chuckle]
-[Tony] Wow, this is amazing. -[Rosa] It's stunning!
-[Alison] You wanted a new house. -[Rosa] Yes.
[Alison] And I was like, "Let me show you
what you could do with this to modernize it,
but still remember 17 years."
[Rosa] Yeah.
Because it's the same house.
That's your old hutch.
-[Rosa] I can't believe how different that looks there. -[Alison] Yeah.
- The stained glass is ridiculous. -[Rosa] That is just--
[Alison] Trimming it out with the new crown.
-Find those pieces for 120 bucks? -[Rosa gasps]
-Look what it did to that whole piece. -[Tony] That's great.
Trimming it out.
It definitely looks like it's all one piece.
[Alison] Yeah. It's your dry bar, where you hang out,
have a glass of wine, have a glass of whiskey,
sit here, enjoy the fireplace.
[gasps] The arch! [chuckles]
I love the shape of that.
-Isn't that pretty? -I love curves.
-[Tony] Yeah. -[Alison] With the corbel
-so it still ties in. -[Rosa gasps]
[Alison] I didn't wanna lose any of the pretty trim
to really give that softness.
It's these cool layers of history.
I love that we didn't lose the character.
-[Alison] Yeah. Me, too. -A lot of the character pieces that we fell in love with
-when we purchased the home... -[Alison] Yeah.
...that they're still repurposed and incorporated
into this new design is just... just phenomenal.
[Alison] That is a dream kitchen.
-[Rosa] Well, look at that hood! -Come and look
-at this kitchen. -[Rosa] Look at the--
[Alison] Can you imagine just cooking in here?
-The fact that you said yes to those doors makes it. -[Rosa] Oh!
-[Alison] The backsplash is my absolute favorite. -[Rosa] Oh, my gosh!
[Alison] It's there, but it's not there.
You get these flecks.
-Look how the way the light hits it. -[Rosa] Yeah.
And just the amount of cabinets that I now have.
-[Alison] And then, look at this. -[Rosa] This.
[Alison] This is a massive, massive hood.
[Tony] Yeah.
[Alison] And it is a piece of art.
-I can't wait to see upstairs. -Upstairs is insane.
Come into your new bedroom.
[Rosa] New bedroom. [gasps]
-Oh, wow. -[Rosa] Oh.
It looks huge!
[Tony] Oh, my God, look at that.
-I've always wanted a fireplace. -He always wanted one.
[Alison] And to have one in the bedroom?
[Tony] I know.
[Rosa] Oh, wow!
[Alison] This is a big change.
This is where your kid's bedroom was.
And so to swap it and have more space,
and to be on the tree-lined street
-versus the highway side... -[Tony and Rosa] Yeah.
-[Alison] ...is a game-changer. -[Tony] Oh.
Everything, it's just perfect.
-You wanna see your... your en suite? -[Tony] Oh.
-I can... -[Rosa] Yes!
[Alison] 'Cause this is beautiful.
[Rosa gasps]
-[Alison vocalizing] -[Tony] Oh, wow.
[Rosa gasps]
-[Tony] Ah. -Oh. [chuckles]
The tub!
-Oh, my gosh, gorgeous bathroom. -[Tony] Yeah.
-[Rosa] Look at our piece! -[Tony] Oh, look at the piece.
-Yeah. -[Rosa] Oh!
I love that the pieces of the house were repurposed.
Thank you.
Thank you for going through this process
and everything that you do for us and your sacrifices,
and you always get us to where we need to be.
And this is just gonna be a phenomenal place, space,
home for our family and our memories together.
Oh, we're both on this journey together.
-[chuckles] -And...
-[chuckles] -Um...
I could have never had a better partner,
and I could never have had a better journey in life.
-So, I mean-- -Thank you. [chuckles]
I'm excited for us.
You know, this really solidifies
that instead of us retiring and moving to the suburbs,
-now this is it. -This is it. This is it.
-Oh, no. Yeah. -Thank you for making our first home
our forever home now,
-into this just elegant, stunning, gorgeous space. -[Alison] Aw!
-[Rosa] Thank you so much, Alison. -[Alison] You're so welcome,
-sweetie... -We are forever grateful.
It has been a very, very long 16 months for me.
If Rosa and Tony could wait 17 years for their dream home,
I guess I can wait a few more months to sell mine.
I am not gonna lower my price. I am waiting for that buyer.
And when I say I'm gonna do something, I do it.
I knew I wanted to grow my team.
I now have an amazing team.
That's what I love about my job.
That's what I love about this business.
I will make the calls.
I'll make my dreams come true
because it's the only way I know.
Nobody's doing it for me,
nobody's ever done it for me.
I think the future looks very bright.