Every forever home has its own story.
[Drew] And we can't wait to help tell it.
It's been in my family for generations.
Let me smash! Let me smash!
[Jonathan] This is the next step.
[woman 1] The next chapter in my life.
-Hiyah! -[Jonathan] Love it.
[Drew] After you. Welcome home.
-[woman 2] Oh, my goodness. -[man 1] Look at this!
[man 2] Oh, wow.
-Let's go! -It feels like home.
Group hug.
[Jonathan] So how are you finding it with baby life?
I'm streamlining things.
I'm efficient with changing diapers
and all the swaddling.
So you're saying that you're actually becoming more time efficient?
I mean, speaking of busy schedules, Alex and Ginger.
They don't have a baby schedule,
but they definitely have a doggy schedule.
Yeah.
We met at University of Connecticut
when we were both in school.
And we've been together six years.
[Alex] We did long distance for two years
when I moved back to California.
And then I moved out here and have been here for about a year.
Hi.
We got our two puppies, Lily and Koda, nine months ago.
And this was the home that we brought them home to.
And they're really like our two kids right now.
Just like kids, you kind of adjust your home
to work for the pups.
Yeah.
[Alex] This was my grandparents' home.
They moved in here about in the 1960s.
I lived right down the stree from them,
so I pretty much grew up here as well.
My grandparents were the most loving individuals.
They were like second parents to me.
My grandmother passed away about five years ago.
I know that it left a hole in my grandfather's heart.
So my grandfather was living here by himself.
He asked me if I wanted to move in with him, and there was...
I didn't even have to think twice.
You know, we had a great two years together being roommates.
We were the best of friends
And he actually did pass away last year.
One of the things that he told me
when he so graciously left m
the house was, he wanted us to make it our own.
I think that's pretty cool though.
This is a family that is very tight.
When you become roommates with your grandpa,
you know you're close.
[Ginger] This is definitely an ideal house for us to raise a family in.
And that's something we really look forward
to doing together one day.
The memories are beautiful.
But our kitchen right now is pretty cramped.
[Alex] Things are not where they should be.
[Ginger] It can be really frustratin
on a daily basis to
not be in a kitchen that works, to be in a living room
that feels really messy.
[Alex] It is our intention t keep this house in the famil
to pass it down to our kids eventually,
or pass it down to our grandkids eventually.
There were three generation
that grew up in this household.
And we hope to make many more.
[Ginger] We are so excited to make this our forever home.
But we don't know what we're doing.
-Hey. -Hey.
-Hi.
Have you literally been just standing here poised?
-Yes, we were. -We're waiting for someone to come help us.
-Absolutely. -[Ginger] Come on in.
All right.
-It all begins. -It all begins.
Happens all the time.
-Oh, my gosh. We saw nothing. -Yes.
That was not a very good first impression.
Can I go over a few things?
-Absolutely. -Please.
I just want to know, was this like some sort of,
like, a steam bath or something?
At some point, what was going on?
Your guess is as good as mine.
I have no idea.
[Jonathan] I actually love the detail of this.
-I don't like that. No. -[Jonathan] No?
I mean, this was some...
a DIY project, but I think we can do better.
The other thing that's crazy
is why they designed it so closed off.
Your kitchen is tucked away behind this wall.
Straight ahead is your living room,
which feels very separated,
but it looks like a pretty big empty space.
[Drew] Wait, hold on.
-I love this. -Me too. Thank you.
Do you both play the guitar?
[Alex] Just me.
Have you ever considered the harmonica?
-A lot easier to tuck away. -[Alex] Yeah.
[Drew] Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five? Twenty-five?
Probably, but they're all different.
[Drew] Oh, my God.
How often do you play all of them?
-All the time. -Yeah.
Come on, show us a little something.
♪ We want to fix the house ♪
♪ And make it really pretty We're gonna do this reno! ♪
♪ Open some walls And make the doggies happy ♪
I like this.
It's just... he's off tune because this is out of tune.
-Right. -Exactly.
I appreciate how much he loves guitars,
but the clutter of it drives me crazy.
How do you really feel?
Yeah, well, honestly...
-Yeah, they got to go. -[Jonathan] Yeah, I get it.
There's a way for us to curate
the ones that you want to showcase
by maybe getting them up on a wall.
-Right. -Please.
Getting them out of the way.
Clearly, you don't use the fireplace
'cause it's covered in guitars.
Do you want to keep a nice fireplace feature?
Do you want a TV over here?
-Yes. -Yeah. I think at TV would be great.
Yeah. We want to use this room for entertaining.
And this was the playroom.
This was the place where we'd bring our toys over.
We'd play with our trucks.
[Jonathan] Well, any playtime or entertaining would be hard
with this wall, creating such a separation
between the kitchen and living room.
But at least you have a nice, clear view of the backyard.
[Ginger] We love the backyard.
The backyard is one of the favorite spots in our house.
Oh, this is a great yard.
-It's big. -Thank you. Yeah.
We love it out here.
And we're out here all the time.
We eat most of our meals out here.
We hang out with the dogs and run around.
[Alex] I used to come out here with my grandma
and we used to have berry gardens,
and we all got our own bush to
take care of and make sure that it cultivated fruits.
Can I just say this is like, "Okay, beautiful yard.
Some things are happening."
You know, you've got the island
of misfit toys here and then...
I don't know.
This is something we really, really could use your help with.
The priority, though, is really making sure the dogs are happy...
Yeah, yeah.
...making sure that the dogs are able to
feel comfortable running
and have more space to play fetch.
[Ginger] Because it's so muddy and dirty,
they're constantly tracking that inside.
[Drew] Right.
Natural grass, it drains better for...
for larger dogs.
But then you would need to have like a dog wash station out here.
[Ginger] Oh, my God. That'd be amazing.
I know how important it is that
if you have a space that works for your animals,
it makes life a whole lot easier.
-Right, right. -Yes, exactly. Exactly.
The other thing out here, too,
is that I really can't wait for my family to come visit.
They all live on the East Coast.
I grew up on the East Coast.
And so they have winters and they have cold weather.
And I want to be able to entertain out here,
have everyone sitting outside...
-[Drew] Of course. -...enjoy the California weather.
[Jonathan] What does it feel like to you
when you think of finally
making this feel like your home?
The move was really hard,
and I was really scared to leave my family.
And I'm so glad that I'm here to be with him.
And we haven't had our own space.
So to finally create something that's ours together is... it's amazing.
And I think it's pretty amazing, too,
that there is a history here with your family, Alex, too.
Absolutely.
So make this perfect for your family to come visit,
for the pups here, for you guys,
and starting this new chapter of your lives together with your own house.
-Yeah. -Yes.
I believe that the people we love when they pass, they're still watching us.
Yeah.
And I guarantee you that your grandfather is, like, rooting in your corner.
He's like, "Yes! The rocks are gone.
Get that out of here."
[Alex] The backyard, this is one of our main spaces.
And of course, we certainly would like
to tackle the kitchen.
I want to look on the other side of that wall.
-Sure. -Go for it.
I mean, if it wasn't there,
just picture the view all the way
from the living room and into this kitchen.
[Ginger] It's very closed off. Yeah.
That's a big space overall.
But I feel when you have this big space
and then they just shove the kitchen
into that tiny little corner over here,
like, just imagine if this was a little bit more expansive
or if you had a big island right here.
-Yeah, yeah. -Right, right.
And something else, too, is there's really not
a lot of counter space.
So I feel like it's just really hard
when I'm cooking over here at the stove to not be
able to put something next to me.
But we do want to keep a little bit of an elevated
counter space for the dogs 'cause they jump so high.
Another thing that's kind of strange about the space
the way it currently is,
is we're shoved in the corner to eat
and so we can't have more than two, three, four of us eating.
Well, everything's working against you because that separation wall.
-[Ginger] Right. -[Alex] Right.
[Jonathan] ...from the front entry blocks,
all the light closes that off there.
I mean, I am a little bit worried because this is not an
easy footprint to deal with
unless we're literally taking the kitchen
all the way across.
But we still want to make sure you have a dining area.
So do you agree that that wall should go?
-Absolutely. That's got to go. -Yes, absolutely.
[Jonathan] If the wall to the living room goes,
we also have to remove
and shift over the smaller wall by the front door.
You'll have a much bigger entry
and closet space.
With that wall in a new position,
we can then extend your kitchen for more space
with a better view of your
wide-open dining and living room areas.
This house could be so amazing.
It does not feel like you guys at all.
-No, it's not. It's not. -Right.
[Jonathan] What is your style?
[Ginger] A combination of bright and happy
and joyful and also without being chaotic.
You know, we're relatively happy people,
bubbly people, you know?
So a space that reflects that is great.
So maybe a transitional bohemian style,
always playing upbeat songs.
Yeah.
-Awesome. -Awesome.
Big, important question.
For the renovation, what are you thinking for budget?
Roughly 182,000.
That's a fairly good budget,
especially if we're taking out walls
and looking to renovate inside and outside.
So what areas do you want to focus on?
The kitchen, obviously.
The living room and the outdoor space would be great.
-Okay. -Okay, That's not bad for 182.
-Exactly what needs it. -[Alex] Yeah.
We'll work out a couple options
that really are gonna make a difference for you.
-Thank you so much. -Awesome.
Thank you so much, guys. We're so excited.
Just so you guys know, I want to take you somewhere for inspiration.
I want to really understand what that relaxed,
fresh, happy vibe means.
-Awesome. -In the meantime, I'll play us out.
All right.
Oh, last time you have to do that.
Come on in.
Oh, my gosh. How do you feel?
How was it packing everything up?
I think it hit me a lot when I just saw
the house empty...
-Yeah. -...and when I saw everything gone.
It's hard to watch someone you love
go through something that causes them a lot of pain.
And so I got very emotional when we left.
And I started crying just
'cause I could really feel for him.
It was a lot more emotional
than I thought it was gonna be.
Well, you know, as soon as we're done,
you'll see the potential in this place.
-Awesome. -Awesome. Oh, my God.
-I'm so excited. -[Jonathan] All right.
Let's start with this wall.
Who wants to take the first hit?
-[Alex] I think Ginger should. -All right.
Okay.
Oh, my God!
-How does that feel? -That's insane.
Oh!
Ginger was a huge driving force
of getting the house renovated,
making the house our own.
When I saw Ginger smile just destroying things,
I actually wasn't surprised with that
because she likes destroying things. She likes doing like that.
Wow!
Built to last!
Whoo!
Timber!
Get this out of here.
Oh, there's bugs coming out of there.
-Oh, no. -Oh, so gross.
Okay. That's so gross.
[Jonathan] Now.
[Ginger] Wow.
-[Jonathan] Oh, that's gross. -[Ginger] What is it?
That's evidence that you've had bugs
living in this wall.
Probably cockroaches.
But it's okay. We're redoing it all.
It's gonna be pretty.
It's going to be clean, but not fun to know
that you've been sharing the house with somebody unwanted.
Definitely not.
Finding the bugs was completely disgusting.
I mean, it was...
Especially in the kitchen.
Yeah, especially in the kitchen.
That's probably the one place where you don't really want them.
Yeah.
-Give it a pull on three. -Okay.
[Jonathan] Yeah. One, two, three.
Boom! All right.
Keep going to the... What is that?
What is...
[Ginger] Oh, Alex!
Okay. Keep going to the...
What is that? What is...
[Alex] Hey, anchovies.
Grandpa's favorite pizza topping.
Oh, Alex!
Of all the things to find that have fallen behind the drawer.
Oh, my gosh.
Says keeping a cool place.
Okay, Grandpa, that's not a cool place.
Okay. We're opening one.
Oh, my God.
It stinks so bad.
-Oh. -I'll be right back.
-You guys keep going. -Okay.
-Okay.
Anchovies are gone.
Let's move on to the living room.
I can't see you.
-We're over here! -Oh, yeah.
It's 'cause of this giant, awful wall.
All right, pick a spot.
We're gonna bust some holes.
Okay.
Looking good.
Do you want to see your kitchen?
-Yes. -Yes.
They say the couples that break together stay together.
Right?
Is that amazing or what?
-It's amazing. -It's awesome.
It already looks like a totally different house.
-Yeah. -All right.
Well, I can tell by the heavy breathing
that you guys are wiped, so why don't you head out?
I'll rip all the rest of this out.
We'll clean it up when you come back.
I'll have some options for you.
-Thank you. -Thank you so much.
All right. Thank you, guys.
[Ginger] That was amazing.
[Jonathan] It's time to hono Alex's grandfather's memory
by transforming this space for the next generation.
The cramped cave for a kitch has been obliterated
so we can make way for a new fresh, and functional layout
We're still working on our design options.
But we do know that Alex and Ginger wanted the big wa
dividing the kitchen and living room removed.
It's gone.
And in its place are tempora walls so we can prepare
to receive a massive beam to carry the heavy weight of the roof.
This will give us that open concept
without a load bearing wall
Deep footings will be needed to support the beam
and its posts, so we have to jackhammer
through the existing slab to make holes deep enough
for all the concrete needed
Now we have to wait for them to cure.
[Drew] All right.
I'm excited for you guys because I'm going to take you
to a hotel for inspiration.
Oh, my gosh. That's amazing.
I'm so excited. This is super cool.
Just so you know, whenever Jonathan and I
are looking for inspiration, we usually go to hotels
or other spots, not just houses.
Really? Okay.
[Drew] This is the perfect place to be inspired.
I mean, Jimi Hendrix has been here.
If you're a guitar aficionado, that's pretty cool.
They said their style was bright and happy,
so I'm hoping a colorful, modern, bohemian vibe
will speak to them.
So this cafe and hotel is perfect for that,
especially when it comes to displaying guitars.
Come on in. Oh, my gosh.
[Ginger] Oh, cool.
[Drew] Anything catch your eye?
[Alex] Well, I'm a huge fan of this.
I love the wall.
[Ginger] This is awesome. I am so tired of seeing those guitars on the floor.
I've hung my guitars as well because it's something
exciting to be able to see it up on the wall
instead of just down on the floor.
I also think, you know, five, six,
that's a good amount of guitars to display instead of 500.
-Yeah, exactly. Yeah. -Yeah.
We'll find a way to make it look absolutely stunning.
And we want to do it in a way, too, that is not making that the guitar storage room.
-Absolutely. -It will be your beautiful living room.
Awesome.
And also, if you look down here, look at the seating,
look all the different choices for color, even the light fixtures.
[Drew] It's almost an eclectic feel of the lights.
-[Ginger] Uh-huh. -[Alex] Yeah.
I just love how funky it is.
I love that there's color in here.
[Alex] We certainly want to pop out the colors
and bring more colors to our house.
I feel like that is a little bit...
-Not your vibe. -It's a little bit much.
So here's a question then, if you look at even like the sofa,
are you thinking maybe more, you know,
neutral solids for the larger pieces
and then have the color in your accents like pillows and throws?
-I think so. -We want that energy for sure.
-Right. -Absolutely. Yeah.
Commercial spaces can get away with a lot of extra boldness.
We can just take a few of these elements
to bring into their home design.
We don't want to take everything.
Also, the dark countertops with the black down here.
What do you think of that kind of a contrast?
Um. I don't love the dark.
I think we're trying to get away from that brown and black feel.
But I do really like the movement in this.
That veiny look gives it some texture, which is cool.
[Drew] But how about for the cabinets?
What are some colors that you like?
I know that my grandma really loved blues and greens.
And so whenever I actually see
blues and greens, I do think of her.
I mean, we can go somewhere in that blues and greens there.
I think that'll be really classy.
-It'll look beautiful, -especially with a light top. Yeah.
It'll freshen up the whole space.
-Yeah, yeah. -Yeah.
So here's a question.
If you want something that's nice and light but a little bit different.
What about a butcher block?
'Cause I know you like the idea of the higher countertop
so the dogs aren't jumping up.
We could do a nice light stone for your main countertop.
And then for the upper area, that bar part,
we could do a butcher block.
-[Ginger] That might be on kind of cool. -[Alex] Yeah.
What do you think of a lighter wood tone?
I think we'd be open to mixing and matching.
I think that could be really fun.
[Jonathan] Speaking of that, upstairs here is a much better
match for what you could have, especially in your backyard.
-[Alex] Awesome. -[Ginger] Okay.
Come in. Join. Grab a seat.
In fact, grab a lay, not a seat.
Oh, wow.
Obviously, you're not going to quite do this.
-[Alex] Right. -Like, gigantic sofas outside.
But what do you think of having some pops of color
through some of the materials that we have with your throws
or even the chairs and fabrics?
[Ginger] Yeah. The vibrancy of this is... this is us.
I really think that something like this
would bring so much life to the backyard.
You'll actually use it.
This will make you enjoy every part of it.
-[Alex] Right. Yeah. -Exactly.
-Increase the functionality of it. -Yeah.
And just like the lights and the colors on the umbrella,
like, it just instantly brings you in.
And this is a place you want to be.
You'll have what you need inside and out.
It's going to be a place for you just be proud
to bring family and friends over.
It's gonna be something as well your grandpa would be pretty proud of.
-Oh, yeah. -That's awesome.
-Yeah. -He would love that.
He would be really excited about that.
This is really good. All the information you gave me.
Is going to be going to Jonathan,
and he's gonna give us a couple of great options.
-Awesome. -That's fantastic.
And I thought if I take them really bold
and then bring them back to something
that's more realistic for a home, this is what we get.
I'm going out on a limb and guessing they like pattern and texture.
A little pattern, a little texture.
They do like blue. They like greens.
Alex says those colors remind him of his grandmother.
It's a great way to honor her and give them what they love.
They like a little bit of personality,
but nothing crazy.
Ginger says she likes color.
Alex wanted to, you know,
freshen things up a little bit.
Their house did not reflect their upbeat personalities at all.
They seem drawn to colorful accents
and natural materials, kind of a light, transitional, bohemian style.
The only way we can make that happen
is to get all the guitars off the floor.
Uh-huh.
The feature wall alone for the guitars is going to be amazing,
but I want to focus in on the kitchen
and on that front entry detail.
Let's start at the front door then.
Obviously, you grab these because they like a little bit of texture.
They do like a little bit of texture, a little bit of pattern.
These are the color tones,
something in this variety that they like.
Yeah, almost like grass cloth, just adding a little texture to the wall.
Yeah, natural, clean, a little eclectic,
a touch of boho on the walls.
I would love to see the hardwood
just connect all the way through the space.
[Drew] Okay. I'm good with that.
-This one? -Yeah, I like that.
Because it's not too, too dark,
but it's just got this really interesting grain to it.
I also love this is very durable.
Especially if you have pets running around, you need something like this.
They love wood tones.
In fact, I think we don't need to
just keep the wood tones to the floors.
-I think we could do a butcher block. -I love that.
So if we have this running through the house,
why don't we talk about the backsplash, the kitchen?
Well, if they want to do a little bit of color in there,
that will be the most stark contrast
to what was there before.
On three, to your favorite. One, two, three.
-You want to go darker? -Yeah.
-I think it would look great. -I'm good with that.
These were my options that I was bringing for the backsplash.
I thought that something in here could be nice.
Yeah, they're fun. There's some playfulness to their shape.
So then you start to see all of this come together,
and I think it plays nice.
This feels doable.
Just remember, we have the backyard to think about, too.
Let me just ask one favor, though.
When we look at designing the backyard,
can we not do what you did to our place in Vegas
where you try to give the dogs
like 80% of the backyard and I only had 20%?
Let's be honest, any dog person will agree,
you got to give the doggies the space.
Anyway, it's going to be a great backyard.
And I think everything we have here is
speaking to their style.
Can I get a bow-wow?
Bow-wow!
-We're lame. -[Jonathan] I know.
The backyard is especially important for Ginger,
who can't wait to share her West Coast lifestyle
with her East Coast family when they come to visit.
So we need to get the design options just righ
-After you. -[Alex] All right.
[Ginger] Okay.
-Oh, my gosh. -Oh, my gosh.
This is...
-Oh, my gosh. -Oh, my gosh.
This is...
-Wow. -Wow.
[Jonathan] What happened to our house?
Look at the sight line.
For the first time in history, you can see everything.
-It's amazing. -It's incredible.
It's amazing. And it feels so big.
-It's a big space. -[Jonathan] Yeah.
[Ginger] And I always felt like it was really smal
[Jonathan] It's a big, big house.
But the way it was laid out, it was so tight.
Why don't we see if Drew's out back
and talk through some options?
-Awesome. -Sure.
-Hey! -At least someone's hard at work.
-How's it going? -So we have two very excited people.
So you got to tell me who reacted bigger.
We're just, like, speechless, honestly.
-Like, so much space. -Yeah, it's unreal.
I mean, you've been used to this space one way for so long,
and I know this is an exciting thing just to bring.
You're keeping the memories, but you're bringing some fresh life into it.
Yeah. Absolutely.
Let's dive in.
So, option one.
Imagine having that wall completely gone
between the front entry and kitchen.
We would build out an entry closet
and give you the most incredible open floor plan
with a proper dining area,
with a brand-new kitchen
weaving around a big peninsula.
We'd even extend the wall of the kitchen
so you'd get even more storage,
much more functional for cooking,
plus a raised bar counterto to keep the dogs from eating your food.
Even in that living room, now you'll have
a completely re-faced fireplace
with built in storage on either side.
It'll be warm and welcoming with a big comfy sofa.
Great for hanging out and playing music all night long.
Speaking of which, we'll give you a formal plac
to hang your guitars instead of having them scattered all over the floor
They'll look like purposeful pieces of art
with a shelf above for displaying other nice memories.
In your backyard, we would take out that crazy hedge
and put in lots of grass that's kept green with a new
efficient, water conserving irrigation system
with a fully functional dog wash station big enough for two dogs.
And on top of that, though, you need a space to hang out.
-Yeah. -So you have a great covered area.
But we'll make that something that you're excited to come out t
-[Ginger] Yeah. -[Jonathan] Yeah, you asked for bells and whistles.
This gives you all the bell and whistles
plus a really great space outside.
I mean, that sounds incredible.
I don't know how it can get much better than that.
I'm out here all the time.
Like, coming from snow coming out to California,
I love being outside.
So Option 1 was 182,000
came in at eight weeks, would give you an incredible inside space.
Incredible outside space.
Option two, though, saves you a little bit of cheddar
and gives you something incredible where you store the cheddar.
You would not get the dog bath
or the grass irrigation system.
We'd still completely make over your overgrown yard
and make it beautiful.
However, inside, instead of extending the wall and peninsula,
we would give you the maximum open concept
with sightlines you've always wanted
with a completely detached, massive island,
double the size of the peninsula in option one
It'll be so perfect for hosting
and entertaining big groups of family and friends.
[Ginger] I mean, that sounds incredible.
[Jonathan] Option two save you some money,
comes in lower at $175,000 and I can get it done faster.
It'll be seven weeks.
Totally up to you guys.
-It's tough, tough decisions. -It is hard.
I mean, I think either way would be amazing.
How cool would it be to have a big island
and breakfast bar seating all the way across?
Well, I mean, I think it would just be
great to have an area to put stuff out.
I mean, that was always a thing for me
in the kitchen is where do I put things?
You know, if we want to entertain,
put out d'oeuvres and food and things like.
I hear a but coming.
But I don't know.
I'm also, you know, thinking about the flow.
I don't know if I really like the idea
of it being a completely open concept.
I think, in the long term, too, when we think about
designing this house, it's not just for us,
it's also for the dogs.
Yeah.
And option one sounds a lot more dog friendly.
So I feel you've made your decision.
I mean, when it comes down to it, like,
this is to make our dream home,
this is to make our forever home.
-So it's option... -[Both] One.
[Drew] One. All right.
Hey. Using that dog bath.
Are you gonna put an island out here?
-Yeah. -And a dog thing.
Well, everything is for the pups.
We'll give them an island. We'll give them a wash.
You're gonna get the bells and whistles in every area.
You're gonna have all the things you've been asking for,
and it's gonna change the way you live in this home.
It's gonna change the way the pups live in this home.
-Yeah, absolutely. So excited. -Absolutely.
And the great thing is, now that you made a decision
'cause now Drew can get back to work making the temp wall.
-All right. -Yes, and you guys can get out of here.
You won't see it again until it's done.
-Ah, okay! Thank you, guys. -All right.
[Jonathan] With the design option chosen, we are full speed ahead.
The concrete post footings have hardened
and are ready to bear the weight of the heavy bea
that we have for our open concept.
It's an exciting day, but not an easy one.
-Gus... -Gus, to your left.
Go to your left. There we go.
All right.
-All right. A little bit more. -Yeah.
One, two, three.
Good.
He's a beast.
-How are you feeling? -Good?
We'll, see, this is the end.
That's going to get heavy.
One, two, three.
Lifting up the last two inches that you need to get it up.
That is the hardest part.
It's heavy, it's dangerous, and it has to fit.
Exactly.
We don't want to lift this up more than once.
Ooh, nice.
With the beam safely in plac we can begin work
on the front entry.
We're replacing the old rock garden with a new closet,
but the nearby furnace has an intake vent that needs to be moved.
It would be very expensive to move the furnace itself.
So we need to work a new vent location into the desig
The only other option is to cut
a vent in the front of the door.
Thinking maybe just cut of here, frame it.
Oh, so you want to you want to actually make this weird
little door even weirder.
It's not ideal.
But, you know, that bottom part has to be fixed.
Can we do an invisible door here?
Yeah. Without trim, without...
Yeah like, what if we were to do, like,
a slat wall giving us a little contour detail?
But the inner part is a door that opens with no handle.
-We just push on it. -Exactly. Yeah.
Yeah, we can do that.
We can use those invisible hinges.
Yeah, we can do that.
Yeah, Let's look at that, see if that's an option.
And at least that goes away and people can walk in
and be focused on anything other than the weird little door.
A big part of the new kitchen design
involves shifting over the former entry wall
to allow for more cabinets and to extend the overall kitchen length
to accommodate for the new peninsula.
-Sweet! -[Gus] Done. Easy peasy.
We'll run some electrical, board it up.
Wall done. There you go.
[Jonathan] We have a lot of new shiny appliances
and fixtures coming for the design,
so I want to make sure that all those hidden utilities servicing them
are just as updated as the rest of the home.
While the trades are busy finishing up the interior,
we can turn our attention to that overgrown backyard
that Ginger and Alex want to reclaim for themselves
and their two dogs.
This is a monstrosity.
One, two, three.
We've got a bald spot.
It's just a really tangled, overgrown garden.
We'll clear out all the nonessential plants,
keep all the fruiting plants.
Get them some green space.
Get them some space for the dogs to run.
The ground is hard and dry, so we need a jackhammer
to bust it up to accommodat the new water saving
and efficient irrigation system, as well as the plumbing
for the future dog wash area
We're putting in lots of natural grass for the dogs
as it's better for drainage and it also doesn't get
quite as hot on little paws as artificial turf.
Most importantly, they need a place to cool of and get clean.
The dogs are getting their own throne.
This will be built up in a way where, you know,
you can sit back here doing the old...
[mimics dogs barking]
Now, this will be great. Yeah.
It'll be solid once we build this out.
Covered in the white tile.
-Tile looks great. -I love it.
A little bit slick for the surface,
so we might want to look at maybe like a mosaic or something like that.
[Gus] Okay.
-Back wall comes up nice and high. -Yes.
-That's where we've got the hose and everything on. -Yeah.
We've got slightly larger walls on the sides,
and then a lip just on the front to keep the water in.
-Exactly. -Okay.
So it's going to be high enough.
So they don't have to bend that much, you know,
just to wash the dog.
[Jonathan] When this is done Ginger and Alex
won't have to worry about their dogs tracking dirt
into their beautiful forever home from the backyard.
This dog wash is gonna be so stylish and functional,
I may even have to bring my dogs over here
for a little scrub-a-dub-dub.
Three generations of Alex's family
have lived in this house.
So it's so important that we get this renovation perfe
so it keeps making memories for generations to come.
That's why I want the new front door that welcomes them
to make a great first impression.
I actually love the fact that you have
these gorgeous linear lines.
The door ties into the mid-century vibes of the home.
But this is way more secure, way more energy efficient.
But let's stick it in and just see the look of this.
-[Gus] Does it fit? -Yeah.
-[Gus] Cool. -Okay, cool.
The old fireplace was imposing and underused.
I see Alex and Ginger's fami curling up around here
for many holidays.
So this focal point also needs a facelift.
We wanted to go with kind of like an artisanal look,
something that feels handcrafted.
And so I love the idea of doing the square tiles.
We could just start our tile because if you're going to do a wood mantle,
we can just stick it right on top, so...
-Yeah. We can do that. -Okay, let's do it.
Alex and Ginger want to pass this home on to their future family.
But they have two very active big dogs,
so they need a very durable floor.
Boom. I do love that this stuff...
I mean, feel the weight of that.
It's so, so good.
And they've got a really good quality pad
already attached underneath, so we can drop this right down,
clean, quick install, and it just sits.
If the flooring is cheaper, it's too light.
I find that you can kind of see it buckling up a little.
-This is gonna sit nice and flat. -Yes.
So when dogs are spilling and thrashing and who knows what,
it'll be easy to clean up.
Wipe down.
These floors are way more durable than actual hardwood.
Oh, they are. Even for the...
you know, the dog's nails,
it's not going to put a scratch on it.
-Yeah. -Want to grab another long one from there?
The updated wood look of our luxury vinyl
will be a beautiful match with our new kitchen design
Now that we have a level surface,
we can start laying out our cabinets on the new and spacious floor plan.
Okay, so I like this.
I think this is gonna do it. This will be a game changer for them.
Alex and Ginger chose to go with a peninsula instead of an island.
And I think it's gonna look amazing.
-All right. -Okay.
[Jonathan] The kitchen is getting an extra high butcher block to
to make sure that Alex and Ginger's big dogs
don't feast like kings on people food.
It's not often these days I find that we get someone
who requests having the raised breakfast bar,
so there's splitting up the height.
This is important to them so the dogs aren't jumping up on their eating area.
Oh, by the way, they just dropped these off.
Captures the boho vibe.
Clean lines, some sparkle against
the blue and green cabinets.
You know, when you have this, you've got the two-tone
with the counters and then the butcher block.
And obviously, we'll seal the butcher block so it's food safe.
Everything in here all of a sudden
is completely transformed.
It is a kitchen with style.
Speaking of stylish, our full-service
dog wash station is really taking shape.
It's big enough to wash two dogs at once
and will really help keep all the dirt
out on the new grass where it belongs.
In the living room, the newly tiled fireplace
is getting highlighted with a stunning wood beam mantel.
I always love this.
It's like trying on a new pair of shoes.
Yeah well, you definitely have a lot of shoes.
I've done this many a time.
[Jonathan] Talk about an upgrade.
Beautiful redwood mantel.
But all of this comes down to the stain, and if we get it right.
-Mm-hmm. -[Jonathan] Voila.
So to offset the redness in the wood,
I wanted to go a little bit darker, but it shouldn't be too dark.
It should kind of fall to like a medium dark tone.
What do you think?
Let's see when we wipe it 'cause it'll lighten a hair
when we wipe it.
Yeah, I think that looks good.
-It does look good. Yeah. -Yeah.
It'll actually bring the wood grain out
even more than what you see right now on here.
Would you like to stop playing with the little piece of wood
and go to the big guy?
Yes, I would. Let's take it off.
W-O-O-D.
[Jonathan] Alex's grandfathe would have been thrilled
to see how much effort is being made
to grant his wish of seeing this family home
transformed for the next generation.
The rest of the cabinets are getting assembled,
sanded, and painted,
as are the huge built-ins flanking the fireplace.
With all the added space in the kitchen layout,
we're able to install an extra-large sink
and some beautiful white quartz counters.
Everything is finding its place.
Now it's time for Alex's gia guitar collection,
which used to clutter the entire living room floor
Are we getting this right?
-'Cause obviously you're the guitar player. -So this...
I mean, the thing that I am noticing, though,
is where we have a mark.
Those are pretty wide spaces.
So we can put five guitars in there.
Would we want to narrow it a bit and do six guitars?
-That's what I thinking. -We could.
-Do you play any instruments? -Yes.
-What do you play? -Air guitar.
Okay. So your instrument, sir.
When we're done, there's going to be six guitars hanging here,
which I believe will hit just the right not
for this design.
We want to honor three generations of this family
that have called this house a home.
We have stylish curvy backsplash tiles in the kitchen.
We have decorative trim molding on the walls and the entry.
They said they wanted their design style
to reflect their personality bright, happy.
We also have stunning hardware and fixtures
that will really make this house sparkle
for its new life with Ginger and Alex.
Playtime, plants.
-Good combos. -This is gonna mean so much to them.
Seeing all the personal memories,
especially of Alex's grandfather,
knowing the history of this home.
Personal touches from the guitars to the color on the cabinets,
everything you look at, it just says Alex and Ginger.
-What's happening, Alex? -Oh, my gosh. I'm so nervous.
You should be. It looks amazing in there.
I'm so excited. I'm like, let's go.
I'm ready to go.
Even from the first impression, look at the door.
-[Alex] Oh, I know. -[Ginger] Oh, wow.
Oh, my gosh.
-Wow. -[Ginger] Wow.
-[Ginger] This is... -[Alex] Oh, wow.
-[Ginger] ...amazing. -[Alex] I know.
-Yeah. Wow. -Oh, my God.
As you look around, a lot has changed.
The rock garden is now a closet.
[Ginger] That's amazing.
The lattice is gone, and you now have some beautiful detail.
[Ginger] Yeah. Oh, my gosh.
It's spectacular.
[Alex] This is amazing.
I'm... I'm honestly speechless. Yeah.
And also, first time we've ever done it.
But what a statement with the beautiful guitar feature wall.
-[Ginger] Yeah. -[Jonathan] What do you think?
-It's beautiful. -It's so cute.
[Alex] This wall is incredible.
It's not just the guitars, it's the photos above it.
I actually see... I see my family.
I see my grandfather.
Our grandparents passed away when we were just little,
so we never got to know them as adults.
And I think it's such an amazing thing that
you got to be a roommate with your grandpa for a couple of years.
That's so cool.
I feel so fortunate to have that experience. Absolutely.
I think that my grandfather would be very excited
to see this and be very happy.
I think he was waiting until the perfect person entered your life,
and then you guys could have this space
and make it something that's really gonna be
the start of a new chapter for you guys.
[Ginger] Yeah.
Finding a way to take these guitars off the floor
and display them, did we get it right, Alex?
[Alex] Absolutely. And I'm happy too.
I was... at the beginning,
I thought I was gonna have to settle for two or three.
This is a very, very happy number.
You can now rock out and be like...
with all your friends here.
And they're beautiful.
It makes your guitars look so beautiful.
I mean, it really showcases that.
Look out here. I mean, what do you think of how open this feels?
-[Ginger] It's amazing. -[Alex] It's incredible.
[Ginger] I mean, it looks huge. I get it now.
I couldn't see how big of a space this was before.
And it's beautiful. I mean...
I remember you saying, wait, what?
-Our space isn't that big. -I was like, what?
[Drew] Look, how cool is it now?
How connected everything feels.
You're closer now to your feature wall,
and you have a feature wall that actually fits this wall.
[Ginger] Yeah. Such a flow of energy.
-Yes, it's. It's comfortable. -Comfy.
The fireplace is beautiful, too.
[Jonathan] That's the same fireplace, by the way.
[Alex] It doesn't look the same.
[Jonathan] Completely re-faced it, put in the mantel.
Because you have a TV, you want to deflect the heat off of the fire...
[Ginger] Uh-huh.
But also the built-ins with that beautiful pop of color
combined with natural and neutral materials
with clean lines really ties that
lighter transitional boho style together.
You know what's funny, 'I don't think we've seen the fireplace
in four years 'cause the guitars are always covering it.
And that blue is... is so pretty.
I have to always say nothing is sexier than storage.
-[Ginger] Agreed. -[Jonathan] You have so much storage now on both sides.
[Ginger] Yes.
Now everything feels so connected, like, to your beautiful kitchen.
Taking out that massive wal
from the living room gave u so much space to work with.
The dining room feels so open.
[Ginger] Yeah. This is beautiful.
[Alex] Oh, this table is awesome.
[Jonathan] Just imagine all the dinners you'll be having here
with both your families.
[Ginger] Wow. You guys.
[Jonathan] You needed to have a bigger kitchen, now you got it.
-What do you think? -Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
What?
-This is amazing. -[Alex] This is incredible.
[Jonathan] Pushing the peninsula back
gave us more space in here.
The cabinets are amazing.
This is beautiful. This makes me want to be in here and actually...
like, actually cook.
-I know. It looks so nice. -[Ginger] Yeah.
May I point out if this was the original kitchen so come this way a little.
Come this way. We would have been standing right here like this.
Yeah, that's right.
Too many cooks in the kitchen.
-No. -Back it up.
Not only captured more space so you can move.
But having the two-tiered peninsula
that you requested turned out beautifully.
-This is beautiful. -Oh, and this wood.
-So cool. -Oh, my gosh.
I'm so glad you recommended that.
Everything about this kitchen speaks to function, to a designer touch.
You can look at the vent and how it ties into the butcher block.
-Yeah. It's beautiful. -It's awesome.
You even have this extra dedicated space
that can be a coffee station.
-Yeah. Nice. -That's awesome.
Love it. And the floors, too.
I mean, these are gorgeous.
[Jonathan] And they will stand up to the dogs.
-My gosh. -This is a luxury vinyl.
-It's beautiful, but it's extremely durable. -[Ginger] Good, awesome.
So it's the right choice because you have big dogs.
That's awesome. That's what we needed.
Yeah.
Get a little touchy feely with drawers, your fridge.
Yeah. Whatever you want.
-Oh, my gosh. -Oh, thank you. Thank you.
[Jonathan] Oh, oh. How did that get in there?
Are these expired? Are they safe to eat?
[Drew] You can eat these ones.
Do not open that in our beautiful new house.
I know. Okay.
Some smells are hard to get out.
You have beautiful appliances.
When you see your built-in microwave.
-[Alex] That's so cool. -[Ginger] What!
Oh, my God.
So you don't have to bend over.
[Ginger] I just continue to be amazed by
how much space we're getting.
[Jonathan] Before, it felt like a small kitchen.
-[Ginger] Right. -[Alex] Yeah.
[Jonathan] Now everything just feels spacious and open.
And again, now you can entertain.
[Alex] It's incredible.
I mean, we can see everything.
You know, we'll be able to communicate with each other much better.
-Yeah. -We'll be able to communicate with our guests much better.
This is awesome. It's so cool.
You said so many times that you want it to feel open
and bright and inviting, but at the same time,
you want it to feel warm and cozy like a family home.
And that's exactly the vibe we were going for.
This kitchen and the whole space
really feels like you guys.
The color of this kitchen really reminds me of my grandma, actually.
I know she really loved blues and greens,
and so now when I come into the kitchen, I'll think of her.
This is awesome.
With our family when our parents come to visit,
I... I just have these weird random memories.
But I enjoy being able to look across the room
and see them sitting at the sofa.
-Yeah. -Not even doing anything, just sitting there...
-Right. -...but being close.
Yeah. It means the world to me.
The long distance with my family is really hard.
And having a space that they can actually look forward
to coming to and that I feel really proud of.
I think having a home like this really lends itself to that.
Yeah.
I feel like there was one other area you said
was important to you.
Sometimes the yard. Sometimes.
-Yeah. -The yard.
-That's right. -That's it.
Oh!
Oh, my God!
That's so cool.
[Ginger] This is amazing!
-Oh, my gosh! -Oh, my gosh.
Look at this.
-Oh, my God! -[Alex] It's so cool.
[Ginger] It's so perfect, you guys.
I mean, my eyes first go to the rocks are gone.
-[Alex] Yeah. -[Ginger] That's amazing.
-[Jonathan] Mm-hmm. -[Alex] So clean. There's so much grass.
[Ginger] Oh, the dogs are gonna go crazy.
-[Alex] Oh, my gosh. They're gonna love this. -[Ginger] Oh, my gosh.
Do you like that sort of moody feel with the string lights?
-[Ginger] Yeah. -[Alex] We love it.
We were trying to debate, like, what's more important,
is it puppy areas, is it the people areas?
Can I just say the pups might have an even nicer bath
than you guys have?
-Ay! -That's awesome.
-[Drew] That is a throne. -Adorable.
I mean, they're big dogs, so you need to have a big bath.
-They are. -They are. Oh, my gosh.
And I can't believe you actually made two spaces.
That's exactly how we use the space, for eating,
and then also just for hanging out.
And again, you made something that I saw small look so large and it's awesome.
I'm... I'm speechless. This is amazing.
You want to enjoy your yard? I mean, that's the main thing.
If you can't get out there, you can't get around, you're not going to enjoy it.
-[Ginger] Right. -And we spent so much time out here.
The dogs spent so much time out here.
This is certainly a place where we'll be looking forward
to be going every morning.
It's absolutely beautiful.
It's everything we could have hoped for and like a ton more, so...
Yeah.
I think that when you can both be happy here,
we're still cherishing the memories that you have
in this house with your grandpa.
And those family memories are so important.
Plus, you have a spot for the dogs. It's a win-win-win.
-Right. -Absolutely.
-By the by, we may have invited a few people over... -Oh, okay.
[Drew] ...to have a party and If you wanna kick things off.
Let's go meet 'em.
Alex, you better play the guitar.
If you sing.
Hey, come on in.
-Hello! -Hello!
Good to see you.
[Alex] It feels amazing to s a place that is ours
and we'll make memories at.
And I can still see my grandparents being happy.
[Ginger] I think it just solidified...
-Right. -...that we're really making our life together.
This is what it's all about. [laughs]
Come here.
Oh! Good girl.