- What is going on over here? - [Drew] What the heck?
You go to get a late night snack
- and it's like, "No! No! Stop!" - [laughing]
This home is an extension of our family.
[Jonathan] I don't know if I should tell you anymore.
- It looks like you're going to have a heart attack. - [laughing]
When you grow up with a large family...
[Adrian] Everyone has to be, like, in different rooms.
- [Monica] It's so confined. - It doesn't work, you know?
- Yeah. - It breaks the whole party.
I'm embracing my dad bod.
[straining] Ah!
[Monica] Una, dos, tres.
- Wey... - Wey...
[both] Wey!
Every forever home has its own story.
[Drew] Yeah, and we can't wait to help tell it.
It's been in my family for generations.
Let me smash. Let me smash.
[man 1] This is the next step.
[woman 1] The next chapter in my life.
Hi-ya!
[Jonathan] Love it. Whoo!
After you. Welcome home.
- [woman 2] Oh my goodness! - [man 2] Look at this!
- Oh, wow. - [gasping laugh]
Let's go!
It feels like home.
- [grunting] - [laughs]
- [cheering] - Come on. Group hug.
- Yay! - [laughing]
- [Drew straining] - Hey, this perfect for you actually.
This is, like, your practice for the baby arm.
- Which arm are you carrying Parker in? - This is my carrying arm.
- My left side's stronger. - Yeah. So, you're going to need to work that up.
- I don't... I... - Right. Parker is just a little squishy
- cute little thing right now but... - [Drew] A goo, go, Parker,
- you're looking very square. - [chuckling]
I just feel tired. Let's take a break
'cause I wanna look at Monica and Adrian's story.
Hi, I'm Monica.
And I'm Adrian.
[Monica] We've been together about five years.
[Monica] We were planning a trip to Hawaii
and we were out there just doing a big hike...
He did good. He did good.
[Monica] The wedding date is still in the works.
Our first priority is to get our home ready.
This is incredible
because the backdrop was on a mountain in Hawaii.
- Yeah, that's pretty amazing. - I mean, you're a guaranteed yes at that point.
What's your... So, what are you gonna...
- Uh, so, moving right along... - [laughing]
I bought the home in 2015.
It was my aunt's old home, so it has a lot of history.
My mom is one of 12,
so we have a very large family.
- Reminds me of when we used to live together. - Yeah.
And then you lived next door.
I just couldn't get away.
You're slowly edging away.
You have to keep family close.
Except for the annoying cousin
- or brother. - There's always one idiot brother.
- Or brother. - There's always one idiot brother.
I have memories from the same house from day one.
So this is where we're looking to make our forever home.
We want to start making our own history.
[Monica] In this home it would be amazing to start a family.
And if not, just knowing that we have this space for us
and for our friend and family to come and be together.
The house has so much potential,
but it hasn't had any upgrades since, like, the 1980s.
We have, like, an awesome lighting fixture up above.
I love that stuff.
[Monica] We're talking about tile kitchen...
[Monica] The house has no functionality
in the space that we're in.
It's just... It needs a lot of help.
We definitely wanna take down the wall
between the kitchen and the dining room.
It would be amazing it we can, you know,
- make it something that reflect us. - Us.
[Monica] The home has become a tradition.
[Adrian] Family always come first.
We always try to gather as much as we can.
[Monica] Good house, good bones.
- Yeah. - And good company.
Priorities. Let's get all this unloaded, get it done
and then let's focus on Monica and Adrian.
There's a reason why all the houses look
- so great in this area. - [Monica] Ahhh!
- Oh, hey, brothers! - [Jonathan] All the lawn maintenance.
- Hey, how's it going? - [Adrian] Hey! Hello, guys.
Are you guys handling all the yard work? Front and back?
- We try. - We're trying to.
[Drew] This is super exciting. I mean, this used to be your aunt's house.
[Monica] Used to be my aunt's home,
so it's been in the family for a long time.
We lived in that house just two doors down
for, like, a good amount of time.
My brother lives there now.
My aunt lives two doors down.
- You own the whole block. - [Drew] Yeah.
- That's the plan. - There's actually a mistake.
- We're supposed to be doing your aunt's house. - Yeah.
- [Jonathan] Okay. Bye, guys. - [Drew] Yeah.
[Drew] The house obviously has seen better days.
The blue plywood is needing to go.
- [Monica] That was before our time. - [Adrian] That was... Yeah.
- We're not taking ownership of that one. - Okay.
[Adrian] We love the house from the outside.
I think that we just want to give it a little more maintenance
- and a fresh look. - [Drew] Yeah.
- Do you mind if we take a look inside? - [Monica] Come on in. Sure.
- Yeah. All right. - [Adrian] Please. We need your help. [laughs]
Come on in, fellas.
We're gonna go down to the living room
- to your left. - All right.
- [Adrian] Welcome, welcome. - [Monica] Welcome to the space.
[Jonathan] I love what you've done.
You obviously take a lot of pride
- in making it feel nice and comfortable and updated. - Yeah.
[Jonathan] How does the room not work for you?
What would you like to see? Is it something to do
- with the mantel, the fireplace? - Yes.
- [Jonathan] What do you think? - For sure.
[Adrian] I love to have a fireplace,
but I would like to change the mantel,
make it a little more modern, fresh.
Make it a little more modern, fresh.
Be honest, does Adrian actually clean all the ashes
when we're not coming over?
- [laughing] - Not every day, but I try to keep it clean.
[Jonathan] Well, this is a great room.
The thing with this house is
it is laid out really, really well
because you have some natural intimacy with this room.
- [Adrian] Mmm-hmm. - Because it's separated architecturally
from the other spaces. But it doesn't feel like it's totally closed off.
- It's a nice big space, so. - [Monica] Yeah.
[Jonathan] Good pick on this house.
What do you remember as a kid coming to this house?
[Monica] There's a lot of memories.
I mean, in this room in particular,
we would try to, like, clean the home and we would...
Oh, my God. I'm surprised that my aunt never, like, screamed at us.
We'd put, like, dish soap on the floor and, like, water
- and just start sliding through everything. - Oh, no.
It was, like...
- aggressive. - So, the hardwood might be damaged is what you're saying.
- I sure hope not! - [Jonathan] Shall we look?
- [Drew] Uh... Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm. - [Monica] Looks good to me.
- [Drew] Actually it looks pretty good. - [Jonathan] Yeah.
- Floors are in remarkably good shape. - Yeah.
[Monica laughing]
We have so many memories with this home.
Just to be able to make more
and kind of within the same space, I mean...
it's almost a little difficult
because it's my aunt's home.
And I think a lot of people when they see it,
it's still my aunt's home.
So, like, we're looking forward to having it be a reflection of us.
- And have it be our home. - [Adrian] Yeah.
- And then add on all those new memories to that. - [Drew] Yeah.
Well, that's exciting. And now breathing new life
into this house...
hopefully continues on for more generations.
- Here's hoping. But we need your help. - That's the plan.
I mean, your kids could be putting soap on this floor and sliding.
[laughing] I can't even say anything if they do either.
- Yeah. No, you can't. - [Jonathan] Yeah.
What is your thought on the hardwood?
Do you want to try and keep it or would you like to see
new flooring all the way through.
I like the hardwood.
I mean, it's original to the home
and I think, like, it's already, like, in all the bedrooms.
- So I think it'll be an easy transition, too. - [Drew] Yeah.
Mind if we take a look at the dining room?
- Yeah, no. - Yeah, of course. Go down.
- [Drew] All right. - [Jonathan] Okay.
- [Jonathan] It does feel kind of like an afterthought. - [Monica] Yeah.
It's just a... Like, a niche that the table's tucked into
on your way to other areas.
I assume you would want to open this up completely.
- [Adrian] Yes. - [Monica] 100%.
That would be ideal just 'cause we want that open floor plan
and that energy and be able to kind of host
a little more than just the two people on the edge.
Large parties, there's no way.
- [Monica] No. - [Adrian] So, we barely use this room at all.
- I just feel bad for your guest over here. - [Monica laughing]
- I wanna sit with you guys! - [Jonathan] Look, you sit there
- and think about what you've done. - Time-out.
Yeah. It is. It's a weird thing
- to have to every day tuck your dining table over. - [Monica] Yeah.
[Drew] It shouldn't have to move.
But this... This is a whole different story.
[laughing]
- [Monica] This is why we called you guys in here. - [Drew] All right.
- [Adrian] It's a big project. - I can tell you right now,
this is not the original kitchen.
This has been opened up a little.
But I assume you'd like to see something new.
- Please. - That would be... Yeah.
- Yes. - That's kind of like the dream.
I mean, we just need so much help in this space
with between the cabinets, the vent, the sloping ceiling.
It needs a little bit of help.
- A lot of bit of help. - [Adrian] It needs to be... It needs to get out.
This whole situation over here needs a little bit of...
- [Jonathan] If this whole wall is gone... - [Monica] Yeah.
You won't need to have this sort of a situation anymore.
- [Adrian] Yeah. - [Jonathan] If we did open all of this up
it would be nice to try and tuck the beam up in the ceiling, too,
so at least the ceiling's the same level all the way through.
And then we'd do the range on the island,
- but have a true island that's open with the ceilings. - [Adrian] Yes.
[Jonathan] I think it would help just tie all the spaces together.
- [Monica] Yes, please. - [Adrian] Yes.
We are open to change the whole layout,
having something that is functional,
something that is low maintenance, easy to clean
and open space. That would be ideally.
What is one large glaring thing that you'd like to change in here?
Keyword glare.
- Ta-ta-ta-da! - Yeah.
This feels like an old cruise ship from the '70s.
- We're been taken by the aliens! - [laughing]
- [Drew] But let's take the ceiling all the way up. - [Monica] Yes.
- [Monica] Level it all out. - [Adrian] That would be amazing.
I just saw the weirdest thing I've ever seen in a kitchen.
Be nice. He's sweet.
[laughing]
What is going on over here?
- What the heck? - That's a...
[Jonathan] Is there something I need to know about?
No, no, no. That's an old Halloween...
- [Monica] I forgot it was up there. - [Adrian] Yeah.
- You guys shouldn't be looking up there. - You guys are too tall.
Have you ever just gone to get something from the fridge and... Ahhh!
-[laughing] -[Jonathan] Oh, my God. That's so creepy.
Even it's saying... It's saying, "Get this out of here."
[Drew] It's stuck on the range.
- I don't know about that thing anymore. - Oh, my gosh.
All right. You go to get a late night snack
- and it's like, "No! No! Stop!" - [laughing]
[Drew] Are you wanting to redo the powder room as well?
- [Adrian] Yeah. - [Monica] Yeah. If we could that'd be great.
- [Jonathan] Okay. - It's kind of like the main guest one
when everybody just runs in from outside.
What's on the other side of the wall?
- Oh, this is our office. - All right.
- Okay. - [Jonathan] All right.
Oh, so it was a bedroom.
[Monica] It was. It's considered a bedroom 'cause it has a closet.
If everything is opened up, what would you use this for?
Would it remain an office? Would you make it living space?
If we can have a small little desk area, that would be great.
Yeah, anything that makes more sense to what you intend to do
with the kitchen and dining room and incorporate it,
I think that that... That's ideal.
- Is this where you make the money? - [Monica] Yes.
- 'Cause I see a money tree. - Yeah.
It's my mama's money tree.
She even put some dollars on there.
[Drew] Oh, look at that. Mama's got dollars.
Um, I think you need to be giving it some fertilizer
so it's hundreds on there.
- Yeah. - [laughing] Grow a little bit more.
So, what is the style that you're looking for.
What do you want the house to feel like?
Easy to clean, functional.
You know, hopefully you don't come with blacks or pink colors.
- You know, we're looking for something neutral. - We're very neutral people.
- Yeah. - Okay.
Neutral. We love wood accents.
- [Drew] And blue. - And blue.
- What is one Spanish word
to describe the energy you want in here when it's done?
Hogareno.
- [Jonathan] Hogareno? - Yeah.
Hogareno means, like, a homey welcoming house.
- Hogareno. - We can definitely make it feel welcoming.
To get that hogareno kind of a feel,
I'm gonna take you to a place for inspiration
because I wanna make sure we're on the right path for that aesthetic.
And we will definitely make if functional.
It's gonna be far more functional than it is now.
- But it all comes down to the budget. - [Adrian] Mmm-hmm.
How much do you want to spend on your renovation?
I think we're trying to stay...
- under $180,000, yeah. - No more than 180.
- Thousand. - [Jonathan] Yeah.
- [chuckles] Yes. Thank you for clarifying. - Oh, thank God.
- [Jonathan] Thank you for adding the zeros. Phew. - Yeah.
[Jonathan] I don't wanna set up false expectations
- 'cause it's a lot to tackle for that budget. - Mmm-hmm.
So, why don't we put together some options.
- [Adrian] Perfect. - You can choose what direction you wanna go.
In the meantime, we can actually jump in
'cause we know we're gonna be demoing out that '80s kitchen.
But you might wanna start watering this,
so we can get Benjamins out of it.
- [laughing] - It needs a little bit more.
Who was more excited for demolition?
It's happening!
Were you as excited for packing everything up?
- Not at all! - Not at all.
- Not even close. - Not at all.
It's about time for your kitchen
to be cleared out and redone
'cause everywhere you look...
Look at the mess under where
- the dishwasher is. - [Monica] Oh, that's so embarrassing.
Over here where the range was,
look at all the grease oozing down.
Let's do this. Let's jump in.
[Monica yelps] It's actually working.
Yes.
- Don't hit me. - Sorry.
All right.
This is gonna be a bit of a beast this one.
Let's see here.
[Monica] That's impossible.
Ready?
[Adrian] Super excited.
The kitchen, it's something that I...
where I spend a lot of time.
And knowing that there is gonna be a complete new concept,
something that is more functional,
a dream come true.
Oh, yeah!
- [Jonathan] Okay, hold on. - [Monica laughing] Oh.
- You get so excited. - [Jonathan groans]
[Jonathan straining]
There we go. We're loose.
- One... - Two, three.
- [Jonathan] Whew! All right. - [Monica] Wowzers.
This is a solid piece of ugliness.
Being able to all be in the same kind of area,
nobody has to stay, like, in different compartments in different rooms.
Nobody has to stay, like, in different compartments in different rooms.
Now it's everyone in the same place,
so that's... That's amazing.
[singing] You're gonna smash that wall.
- Cheers. - A la una.
A las dos.
Y las tres.
Oh, wey!
If it doesn't go through then you hit a stud. Then move over to the side.
- Are you gonna let him take all the good spots? - I mean...
- [Monica] Hi-ya! - [Adrian] There you go.
[Monica] Whoo!
Nice.
Wowzers.
Now you'll have connectivity
and of course we'll open it up even more.
This is... It's amazing.
This is exactly what we needed.
Exactly what the house needed.
We always host outside and as soon as the party comes inside,
the energy just breaks up.
Now it's gonna be, like,
[singing "We Like to Party"]
- Exactly. - Everything's just gonna...
- The party's never gonna end. People won't leave. - [laughing]
Well, of all the generations of your family
who have experienced this house already,
do you think they're gonna look at the work that you're doing
-and be, like, "Finally someone got it right" -[laughing]
I sure hope so!
I think they're gonna freak out when they walk through the door.
- In fact, let's get them. "Hey, family!" - [laughing]
I mean, they're all on this street, right?
- Exactly. - They are on this street.
- [laughing] - They will come.
I cannot wait for you to see what this looks like when it's all done.
Why don't you guys hit the road.
I'll finish this with my crew. We'll clean it out.
When you come back to look at options,
it'll look like a totally different place.
Wait for it. Wait for it.
Genie, I'm wishing for a new mantel.
Nothing?
- Are you the genie? Maybe you're the genie. - I think you should try again.
- Maybe rub it again. - I don't know.
[Jonathan] I don't know. We'll pop it out.
- Smash some things out. - [Jonathan] Yes.
This way, one, two, three.
[Jonathan groans]
Oh, whoa.
Look at this.
[Jonathan] Oh, whoa. Look at this.
- Oh, wow. This is all plastered. - Mmm-hmm.
I thought this was wood.
They just used the plaster to go on top of the brick.
Oh, my gosh. They used a lot.
Yeah. It almost looks like the meme online
of someone who was shaving their legs,
but they had their whole body covered in shaving cream.
- [laughing] - [Jonathan] That's what that looks like.
[Jonathan] On the outside we're looking at options to update the facade,
but in the meantime, to give Monica and Adrian's house
the new social life it deserves,
we need to finish removing the last remnants of the past.
We need to finish removing the last remnants of the past.
On the main floor, all the walls, ceilings,
and even parts of the roof have been opened up
because the structure needs modification
to accommodate a very big beam.
Fortunately, we did not find any major issues with the house,
and with everything stripped back
we can now plan for its future
as the perfect family entertainment hub.
This is a gorgeous restaurant.
I figure this is something different
for a little inspiration.
- You're gonna love it. - Ooh.
Nothing makes somebody feel better
than taking them down to the beach.
I wanted to make sure that Monica and Adrian
saw something a little different.
Brought them down to Venice.
I don't have to just take people to houses for inspiration,
and this is a beautiful restaurant.
There's something warm about it,
the tones, the texture, the architecture.
Also, the furniture in this place, too.
These are all things that I know they would love.
- Oh, wow. - Oh, wow.
- [Monica] This is nice. - [Adrian] This is pretty nice.
- [Monica] Okay. - [Drew] So...
- [Adrian] I love it. - What are some of the features that you like
the moment you walk in here?
[Monica] I kind of love the baskets for the lamps.
- [Drew] Oh, great. - [Monica] I love all the wood accents.
[Drew] Sometimes it's nice to not get inspiration
- from another residential application. - Yeah.
You can look at design in commercial or somewhere else.
- It's sort of a fresh take. It's a fresh feel. - [Adrian] Mmm-hmm.
Come on over here.
- Come on in here. Grab a seat. - [chuckles]
Let's talk about design here.
So, first off, I've had dinner here. It's an amazing spot.
And the moment I walked in, I look at all the detail in the ceiling.
When you look at the cove, you look at all the arches,
-you look at that white stucco finish, -[Monica] Yeah.
This speaks to me.
Where I got married has a lot of this sort of appeal as well.
- [Monica] That's nice. - And so I thought it would be really nice
for you guys to come and see this.
There's a lot to take in. I think it resonates more with me, for sure.
- [Adrian] Yeah. - But I think Adrian does like more modern,
- kind of clean lines. - I like more modern, more clean, more Scandinavian,
which I think that the whites around is there.
Some of the wood accents,
I'd love to see that kind of spread
throughout the home
from the living room to the dining room,
maybe the table to the kitchen if possible.
Oh, absolutely.
I mean, I think it's nice to have certain pieces of the design
- that do tie everything together. - Mmm-hmm.
And then find some beautiful texture
that just pops up against the white walls.
- That would be amazing. - That is amazing.
You just don't want every single room to feel exactly the same.
- Exactly, that would be awesome. - Yeah.
[Drew] You're trying to lose color out front,
you're trying to get rid of that blue,
but inside what kind of colors do you like?
I mean, I'm a huge neutral fan,
- Yeah. - But I think if it's something
like a specific wall that would work out nicely.
Something like, you know, I've seen under the islands,
or even with the chairs, with the pillows.
Something like that would be amazing.
I think that you like more colors than me.
I can live with only whites,
but trying to have something that works for both, so...
It's so funny. Both of you are trying to be so polite to each other.
- [laughs] - I don't want to offend you,
but [laughing] oh, God, I don't want that color.
-[Adrian] We try to work as a team, -Yeah.
And at the end we, you know,
- we can compromise. - We do compromise.
Some things are important to him,
some things are important to me,
so just seeing that he's happy with that
and he has that in the home,
especially since I want to make him feel like it's his home too,
- Yeah. - It's support important.
There's so much we can do with your house.
- Come to the bar. - Okay.
I mean, everything in this building is beautiful.
All the archways.
Do you prefer this sort of a stucco finish for the floating shelves,
or do you prefer the wood floating shelves?
- [Monica] Ohh, the wood floating shelves. - [Adrian] I like the... yeah.
[Drew] Look here as well, though.
-So, talking about that stone finish, -Yeah.
Imagine something like that concrete look
- for a countertop. - This particular stone stains,
- correct? - Well, I wouldn't want stone like this.
I mean, we could do something.
Even if we have a concrete look we can seal it
-because we don't want something porous, -[Monica] Mmm.
But especially for a countertop
let's get something that doesn't take maintenance.
- [Monica] Yes. - [Adrian] Yes, that's perfect, yeah.
This was a perfect location.
I'm glad you trust what we're thinking of.
I'm really glad that this place is inspiring you.
I'll let Jonathan know you're open to options.
Neither of us know
- how to articulate [laughing] our style. - [Adrian laughs]
- There you go. Perfect. - I'm actually kind of shocked
how much resonated with us in the restaurant.
-Now this home is gonna reflect ourself, -Yes.
How we are, and I don't know,
I'm just super excited just to start making new stories about us.
- So, ready. - We're ready.
Thank you for not having us go over this stuff
in the blazing hot sun.
I love everything on this table.
There's some pizzazz, there's some style.
Who's more into the pizzazz? Is it Adrian or is it Monica?
The funny thing is,
they're actually more on the same page than I thought they would be.
They're willing to have a little bit of color, they like some softer tones.
I took them to a restaurant for inspiration,
a place that Lin and I had gone to.
- You went for lunch with them and didn't invite me? - I should have.
- Take your brother for lunch some time. - All right.
I will let you treat me to lunch.
- That's fine. - [chuckles]
So, they're liking a mix of textures.
But they want everything to be subdued.
Nothing too bold or in your face.
Let's first talk color.
I was actually very happy to hear
that they're not afraid of color,
because I thought maybe they want to keep it to the tans
and a relaxed feel without some nice, beautiful color.
If they're willing to do it let's do it.
Do they want to do, like, bases and uppers?
- Something like that? - If we did this for the island
- that would be a nice pop of color. - So white on the perimeter,
- Yeah. - Green blue on the island?
- Yeah, I think so. - Okay, I'd be down with that.
Willing to have a little bit of concrete look for countertop.
I bet they would love that for backsplash.
How cool is that? That's beautiful.
- Look at that. - [whistles]
- For the bathroom floor tile. - This is too busy though,
I mean, if you look at these patterns.
This is more elegant, so possibly something here
- that could look really nice. - This really looks nice.
-So we're talking a little bit of this, -A lot a bit of that.
A little bit of that, and then we're talking weave-in some textures,
a little bit of that, and then we're talking weave-in some textures,
some patterns, some backsplash.
- I really like it. - Woo.
This'll breathe new life into a house
that they've known for so long but they've kind of grown tired of.
Well, it's also gonna make it feel like home for Adrian.
Adrian's moving in to Monica's family home,
so I think it's gonna be kind of cool
to have it feel like their home and not her family's home.
And also, if the family comes back,
they're gonna be judging what's done to the space,
so we want to make sure that they both feel comfortable
that they've done something that's gonna look really good.
-The family will move back into the house, I think, -[chuckles]
- when they see this. - All right.
- You got it? Pack it away? - Yeah.
[Jonathan] Drew is running a little bit late
because of baby duty,
but come on in.
I'm a little a lot nervous. Ohh.
- Oh. - Wow, what happened here?
- There's, like, legit no roof. - Wait, you didn't want this to happen?
- Oh. - Wow, what happened here?
- There's, like, legit no roof. - Wait, you didn't want this to happen?
- [Jonathan] This is your house. - [laughs]
-[Adrian] It's not. It's something different, -[Monica laughs]
- But it looks amazing. - It's like...
- She lost a little weight. [chuckles] - Right?
You said the most important thing
was connecting this room to the rest of this house,
- opening things up. - [Monica] Yes.
[Jonathan] And our goal will be,
no matter what option you choose,
- this is stuff we knew had to happen. - Okay.
- [laughing] You looks like you're... - [Monica laughs]
- [Jonathan] This is your house. - Yeah.
[Monica] This home is an extension of our [laughing] family.
She's casita, she's our little home.
So, like, I felt bad that we had to, like,
- Destroy the house. [chuckles] - destroy her.
To see her all naked. It's gonna be okay. We love you.
Show it a little love. That's it.
Oh, my heart is pounding.
Is there something you see that scares you, or is it all positive?
I mean, besides the hole in the wall?
- [Adrian] Yeah. [laughs] - [Monica laughs]
[Jonathan] Well, you said you want to level out the ceiling and the kitchen,
so we have to raise the roof line there, so that's what we're doing.
We've raised the height of the exterior wall
and we'll raise the roof to match it.
Ideally, I'd like to take the beam work all the way back
as much as possible.
- Mmm-hmm. - But also, I don't know if I should tell you anymore.
- It looks like you're gonna have a heart attack. - Yeah.
- [both laugh] - I'm just so in shock right now.
Like...
Yeah, I have no words.
[Adrian] Just to finally start to realize
- it's happening. - [Monica] It's happening.
- [Adrian chuckles] - [Monica] It's happening.
There's, like, no turning back now.
- [cell phone vibrating] - This is pretty awesome though.
- Thank you. - Drew just pulled up.
- Why don't we meet him out front? - Let's go.
[Jonathan] This home already meant so much to Monica,
with her family having lived there before,
but opening it up, making it feel like them is so important
because I want them to fall in love with this house together.
What do you think? All the amazing things.
- It is, like, shocking. Shocking. - [sighs] Shocking.
- I mean... - That's a lot of house missing.
- [all laugh] - Yes, and it's only gonna get better,
- and better, and better. - Yes.
I love it because, one, we want you to see throughout the process,
you know, what's going on, but we also want there to be a bit of a surprise.
So I think from now on we'll probably keep you out.
- Yeah. - You're not allowed to see back inside,
but you do have some decisions to make.
- We're ready. - Okay.
You're ready? So, option one.
You'd have that beautiful hardwood flowing all the way through.
That aesthetic will warm up the whole space
so everything does look classic.
- [Monica] Oh, that's gonna be nice. - [Adrian] Well, yeah.
[Jonathan] We'd expand the kitchen with a nice big island,
- [Adrian] Nice. - And you'd have state-of-the-art appliances.
[Drew] Plus, we'll update that small kitchen powder room.
[Monica] Beautiful.
[Jonathan] I would build you in an office in the living room,
so you'd have a work station
and you'd still have all those other beautiful benefits.
[Drew] Like a big round dining table with a nearby bar
for all those Thanksgiving dinners to come.
[Jonathan] Even in the living room
you'll have this gorgeous fireplace.
Cleaned up the facade, give you lots of lounging space.
I expect to see you guys in there with family
and everybody has somewhere to sit.
[Drew] With a great view of the TV.
- [Adrian] That is amazing. [chuckles] Yes. - [Monica] Huge.
-To have it open -Yeah.
And be able to use that kitchen,
like, actually have the family in the kitchen and be able to host,
- that would be amazing. - Yes.
I mean, right now everything's so... [clicks tongue].
- [Adrian] Yeah. - It's nice to see the family
when they're coming over to visit.
- I mean, yeah. - Yeah.
Option one would look incredible.
It would take six weeks to complete
- Mmm-hmm. - And it would cost $165,000.
15 grand underneath your max budget.
- Very exciting. - That sounds good.
- Can we hear option two? - Option two?
Yeah, absolutely.
Option two gives you the same incredible kitchen,
beautiful hardwood floors throughout.
Beautiful hardwood floors throughout.
- All of those features on the inside are great. - Mmm-hmm.
However, option two involves doing a little something to the front.
- Ooh. - Okay.
[Jonathan] We would redo the front facade,
redo the trim so you don't just have the flat plywood on the front.
It would look great.
[Drew] We would also have to redo the front entry and landscaping,
so you would have a much more updated and welcoming entry
for all your guests.
[Jonathan] So you have something new inside, something new outside.
- That would be perfect. - [Drew] Option two would be seven weeks
and really max out your budget.
And $180,000.
Okay.
- It would be nice to match, you know, outside and inside. - [sighs] Home ownership.
- It's always a good time. - Yeah.
- I know. - [Monica laughs]
- Decisions, decisions. - Decisions, decisions.
It's tricky because I'd love to take on
every single project in the whole house,
- Yeah. - But it's also your money
and we want to spend it where appropriate.
I mean, the idea of having both the outside and the inside done
- would be amazing. - Yeah.
Kind of be something we were hoping for,
but I'd feel safer with a little bit more wiggle room
- on the interior budget. - I agree with you.
- Yeah? - I think that's the smart on the budget,
and then the exterior's something that we can do
- probably later. - Yeah.
- So it's official? - [both] Yes.
- Going with option... - Numero uno.
[all] Numero uno.
- All right, sounds good. - [laughs] Numero uno.
- Nice. - You will love, love, love this house
even more than you loved it before
because it will work better for your lifestyle.
- Yeah, we're looking forward to it. - Yeah, no.
- We're ready. - Yeah.
[Drew] You are officially kicked out.
Do not go back into the house until it is all done.
- You may go that way and we will see you very soon. - [chuckles] Perfect.
- Goodbye. - Thank you, guys. See you.
- Bye, guys. - All right.
[Monica] Both options were great.
Ideally, we want everything done, right?
- Yeah. - But going right into our max budget
makes me a little nervous.
[Adrian] The interior is where we need the most help,
so that's why we decide it would be made better
just to, you know, to wait a little more, save more money,
and then come back and make all the project that we want to do at once.
[Jonathan] I don't even know
if we're gonna get around the corner here.
We don't have the angle to get it in.
- We'll measure but it's gonna be tricky. - Oh, yeah.
Let's see what we got here.
In order to get the open concept that we want,
we need a massive, and I'm talking, like, 28 foot, 1,500lb beam.
- It, oh, my God, it literally... - Not even long enough.
It's too long for my tape.
For me, the biggest thing was to get them that open concept,
unobstructed sight line,
and to clean up all the little weird things that are happening.
When this space is done I want every wall to be clean, the lines to be straight,
and everything in here to be beautiful.
To do that, we first need to do some home surgery.
We have to open up some of the walls and roof
just to make room for this behemoth of a beam.
Boom.
- I like the sound effect. - [both chuckle]
[Jonathan] Hoisting a 28ft 1,500lbs piece of lumber into place
is no easy task,
but it will be so worth it in the end.
This will give Monica and Adrian are really nice even ceiling.
To support the weight under our posts
we have massive footings that are reinforced with rebar.
Once it's cured we can finally get an idea
of just how beautiful and open this space is gonna be.
In order to fit the beam in
you can imagine it's stuck out past the roof line a little bit.
You can imagine it's stuck out past the roof line a little bit.
So once we got it installed we then shaved that down.
But even to get the height we wanted
we had to bump up the roof line just a little bit,
so now we have to cover up the holes we made
and prep the surface for re-shingling.
It's actually easier, I find, to do an entire roof line
than it is to do one tiny little corner like this.
Uh-huh, I 100% agree.
Pull toward you. Go right over the edge a little more.
Feel like we picked the hottest day to do this.
[laughing] I know.
- Who picked this day? - [laughs]
[Jonathan] Monica and Adrian want to have as much light as possible
flowing into their open space
and have their guests move inside and outside with ease.
So they're getting a brand new side door into the kitchen
and a party-size set of patio doors to the backyard.
All right.
Perfectly level over here.
Wait for it, wait for it. Yay.
How cool is this?
This is one of those things where some people,
they, like, think of this as just,
"Oh, you're just putting a couple of doors in."
This is a major project.
This is transforming how they'll flow in and out.
I'm glad we did the beam work and the door work
because now totally new house.
Yeah, and you can feel it.
You can see it from all corners and feel the wind.
Oh, yes, I like the wind.
I need my hair fan. Somebody turn on my hair fan.
- Your hair is not moving anywhere. - Too much hairspray.
[both chuckle]
[cell phone ringing]
[Drew] Hello?
What do you mean, "Hello"?
Where are you?
I'm in my car?
Why are you in your car and you're not on site?
You're supposed to be here with a bunch of lumber.
Hello? I want you to realize the priorities here.
We have a new baby, lack of sleep causes hunger, so Lin and I eat more often.
I have crackers, and cheese, and salami,
but I have to take care of her
- while I'm still sending you the lumber. - Yeah.
I have cravings.
Ooh, I've been craving lumber so I can build our walls.
Ooh, so craving.
I have the lumber being shipped.
It's supposed to be there in maybe another hour or two.
It said afternoon.
Oh, you're not carrying all of the lumber
in the back [chuckling] of your tiny car?
No. By the time I get there it will already be there,
- so I'll see you shortly. - Okay, well, when you do show up
you better have a snack packed for me.
[chuckles]
[Jonathan] Drew did deliver, as always,
so we were able to tackle all the framing.
We also updated all the electrical and plumbing,
and now we're finally ready to close everything up with fresh drywall.
Monica and Adrian wanted to keep their original floors,
but we have to weave in new boards
used to be.
Once it's all re-stained,
it'll look new, so you won't even know the difference.
[Drew] Who wants to talk stain?
Oh, my gosh. You always bring the fun!
[Amit] Let's take a look at what we got.
[Drew] Definitely have more of those orange tones coming through on mine.
What do you think?
[Jonathan] Nothing dates a space faster
than the wood tones being yellowy,
or orangy, or too red, or something like that.
I actually like that color,
'cause I think it feels fresh, it feels modern.
But I think having something clean
that ties everything together will be key.
And I love the fact that a mid-tone
actually hides some of the imperfections a little bit.
[Drew] Right.
So, I would say we go for classically rugged.
We on a different page here?
Wait, hold on, let me just double-check.
Yeah, it really does...
It's a good thing you didn't sample two days ago before I colored,
'cause it would have been silver fox.
- [all laughing] - Sounds good.
[Jonathan] With the new flooring blended into the old,
we can start sanding
to make sure the surface is consistent
for the stain we've chosen.
We're also updating the floor in the powder room
with a decorative tile
and giving the fireplace a face-lift with some Venetian plaster.
Now it's time to start laying out and assembling our kitchen cabinets.
So, you think they're gonna freak out more
about the beauty in these solid cabinets
or the fact that for the first time in history
they've got an island?
And the island, by the way, is massive.
They're gonna be blown away that they have an island,
and an eye line.
An island and an eye line.
Is it just me
or are your clothes getting tighter and tighter?
Or are your clothes getting tighter and tighter?
This is a regular shirt.
I'm embracing my dad bod.
That's not what it is.
I actually think that's Linda's shirt.
Oh, there are holes in this, too.
Hold on a sec here.
It is a small.
There is no piece of clothing anywhere in the world
labelled small that you should be buying.
Two holes in it anyway, so...
this shirt it... I can't... [grunts]
[grunting]
There. Is that better?
[Drew] We are in the home stretch,
finishing up Monica and Adrian's spacious family retreat.
Our stunning quartz countertops have finally arrived,
which is great timing
because we're putting the final touches
on the beautiful open kitchen,
refreshing the living room with a new coat of paint,
and a more contemporary floating mantel
is going above the fireplace.
[Jonathan] This house used to belong to Monica's aunt
and was a special place growing up for Monica
with all of her relatives still all very close by.
And even though we've changed everything on the inside,
the surfaces are all different,
the vibe is different,
it's still a family house,
and it has those memories.
And I can't wait for the family to come over
and experience new ones.
What do you think, better than the grease that was here before?
Now, this is a grease-free kitchen.
Nothing... yeah.
Nothing inappropriate.
No disembodied hands on top of the fridge, yeah.
But this is awesome.
I mean, imagine when Monica's aunt had this house,
if they had it like this,
this would have been the entertaining hub.
You wanna be able to see your friends and family.
And now you can.
When you have a small footprint,
you need to have sight lines.
And this is the way to get it.
Cute, that.
Honestly, obviously it's still the same fireplace.
- Yeah. - But whoa, what a different look.
It has this soft, sophisticated vibe,
but it's almost like what you see in Italy.
But it's almost like what you see in Italy.
It's somewhere where you're getting away,
you're relaxing.
You have that white stucco look
and the raw, natural wood, it's gorgeous.
And also, the original features, like the floors,
look fresh and brand-new
because of the fireplace.
Everything is essentially new in here.
The only thing missing... [snaps fingers]
Monica and Adrian.
Just excited to see, like, what we're gonna find inside.
- Yeah. Yeah. - Couldn't even sleep last night.
[Monica in sing-song voice] I'm so ready!
[Jonathan] Come on in.
Welcome home.
Oh, wow.
This is awesome!
- Oh! - [Adrian] Beautiful.
- Wow. - It's so nice.
- It's so nice! - [Adrian] It's beautiful.
It looks nice, the light's...
[Monica] It feels massive.
The fireplace, the style that you used is unbelievable.
I mean, I love it.
This is one-of-a-kind.
You have the Venetian plaster
and a separate wood mantel floating above it.
- Very unique. - Perfect.
When we were at that tour of the restaurant,
you had said that stucco finish
and some of the wood accents you really loved.
So Jonathan thought of giving you that sort of low-profile look
to what this is.
- [Adrian] Wow. - [Monica] So nice.
[Adrian] It really feels like home.
- [Monica] Yeah. - [Adrian] I mean...
this is exactly what we wanted.
This is what we wanted.
- I don't know how you made it. - Well done, fellas.
[Adrian] This is great.
[Jonathan] It feels livable.
It doesn't feel like something like, "Don't touch."
It feels like you should come in here and just cuddle up and enjoy the space.
I know you wanna do it, so let's just do it.
Yeah. Yeah.
[both grunt]
[sighs happily]
[Drew] This is a sofa worthy of sleeping on.
This is a really special space
because not every house has such a big family room,
with a little bit of separation from the main area.
So whether you're sitting in front of the fireplace
or the TV,
I can see people cuddling up on the sofa
and having a good time.
It's a perfect space for that.
It's so hard to even imagine how it was before.
I mean, this was the room
that we would, like, build our forts in,
with the table chairs or like, have our sleepovers and...
But it's coming home, but now it's our home, you know?
It was also really, really important
that this became not a house
for Adrian to come into your family home,
it became a house for both of you.
So, I hope we did you justice with this house.
- [Monica] No, you guys did amazing. - [Adrian] Yes.
[Monica] Especially to be able to have these family portraits up.
You guys got all of our moments up there.
I mean, it's our engagement photo,
it's our first party, it's when he became a US citizen.
I mean, that was huge for...
[Jonathan] You guys have so many amazing memories that you've captured.
And our hope is that, with this backdrop,
and having family visit,
and having friends come over,
we're hoping you'll have even more moments
that you can capture.
Shall we continue to the next area?
- [Jonathan chuckles] - After you.
[Monica gasps]
Babe!
Ohh.
[both] No way.
Wey!
Ooh.
[both] No way.
Wey!
- Oh, wow. - Oh, this is nice!
- [Adrian] Look at the table! - [Monica] Oh, it's...!
[Adrian] We have a, uh...
- We have a bar! - [Monica exclaims]
Look at this thing.
[exclaims delightedly]
I smell margaritas...
And that beautiful pop of green with the sconce light.
It just helps anchor that piece of furniture
and create something unique for that space.
[Monica] It fits the room.
[Drew] This is perfect for entertaining.
Everything in here is exactly what you guys need for big family get-togethers.
- [Jonathan] Do you remember... - [Monica laughs]
[Jonathan] ...this was the time-out room before.
It felt so closed off.
[Drew] Notice, as soon as you come from the front door this way,
how connected everything feels.
[Adrian] It's an open concept, exactly what we want,
and even better.
- [Drew] What do you think? - Thank you, guys.
- This looks... amazing. - This is gorgeous!
- This is beautiful. - [Monica laughs]
- [Adrian] Energy just... moves around. - [Monica] It keeps moving.
[Adrian] Like, it make you feel home, and make you feel amazing.
Come on into your new kitchen.
[Monica] I'm like, scared to touch it.
Look at the size of that kitchen!
And the island...
[Monica] Holy moly!
[Jonathan] You have the breakfast bar seating all across the back
so you can have extra people seated there.
And there's additional storage on the back side as well, cabinetry.
[Adrian] So we have the wine fridge?
You got fancy.
[laughing]
[Adrian] This is gonna be my workstation now.
And it's legit.
- Look at this. - Oh, honey.
- It's gonna work. - I'm so happy for you.
[Jonathan] You'll notice that light gone.
- [Monica] Yeah! - [Adrian] This is so nice.
Amazing.
The kitchen is unbelievable.
[Drew] It was important to have so many unique features
that are gonna level up the style in this house.
Having the tile go all the way up to the ceiling,
the wood floating shelves...
Wowsers.
- It's a lot to take in. - [laughing] Yeah.
It is a lot to take in.
[Jonathan] If you remember before,
the walls closing things off,
the ceiling all different heights,
all of that creates a more stressful environment.
We wanted to simplify the lines,
clean everything up,
give you the sight lines,
and then also make sure you have the functionality.
For example, the counters, you never have to reseal them,
you don't have to worry about someone spilling something.
This is so easy to clean and super durable.
Get touchy-feely, open cabinets,
give your fridge an open...
- [Monica squeals] - This is perfect size. Wow.
[Drew] Did you do that shoulder shimmy at the fridge?
- Ooh, so much shelving! - Nice fridge!
Somebody's just getting excited.
[all laughing]
I honestly do the same thing when I get excited, yeah.
- Thank you. - The little dancing?
But with Drew, everyone gets disturbed.
[all laugh]
And check out your updated powder room.
[Monica laughs excitedly]
- [Adrian] Wow. - This is nice!
You made it look so much larger,
it's such a small space to begin with.
[Adrian] The tiling looks beautiful.
It's giving a stunning little flare to such a small space.
Yes, it's beautiful.
[Jonathan] And you wanted a flex space,
somewhere to lounge and somewhere to work.
[Monica] This is perfect.
- Just what we needed. - [Adrian] Oh, wow.
Oh, and I love that you were able to repurpose the couch.
It is a perfect fit.
- Shall we? - Yeah.
[Drew chuckles]
- Oh, this is so nice. - [Drew] And how cool is the office?
Tucked in there perfectly.
'Cause you don't really wanna have a workspace cluttering the main area.
But this is tucked away and there's tons of room over there.
[Adrian] Yeah, I know, you did an amazing job
like, putting it separate in some way from everything else.
It also feels nice, too,
because you have all that glass with those beautiful new doors.
[Monica in sing-song voice] Oh, this is so nice!
I like how, when you see something you really like...
[in deep voice] your voice drops.
I like it.
[in deep voice] It's so pretty!
[in normal voice] Also, if you didn't notice,
we had to weave in some new boards
with the original hardwood.
- Can you see any seams? - [Adrian] No, no, no.
- [Drew] It looks pretty amazing. - [Monica] Seamless. Beautiful.
- It's beautiful. - No, it's beautiful, you guys.
- That... I can picture everyone. - Oh, my gosh.
Friends and everyone is gonna be here.
All kids are gonna be in the room...
And everybody's gonna have drinks
and this is gonna be a perfect place
just to, you know, to host everyone.
I feel right now your inner chef is like...
dancing.
I'm already, like, having ideas
of what I'm gonna be cooking and drinking and...
[Jonathan] He's already splattered all over the place.
I love the fact that everything
is just ready for entertaining.
- [Monica] Yes. - [Adrian] Yeah.
[Monica] Can we have the family come over? They're only two blocks away.
- Yeah. - While we start prepping.
We'll set up for a party,
this is literally the first party.
Ah! So excited!
We had so many hopes for how the home was gonna turn out,
and it just kind of nailed all of them.
The renovation on the home lends itself more
to hosting events.
Come on in!
Wow! Wow, wow, wow.
[Jonathan] Hello! Hello.
Wow, this is another house.
Both of our families have been invested in this process since the beginning.
It was so nice to be able to share this with them
and be able to see their reaction.
For me it was extra special.
I'm so proud of my family.
This is so special
that I'm very, very excited.
This is very, very nice.
- I think you're gonna be doing some enjoying. - Oh, yeah.
We don't all have glasses at hand,
so maybe to celebrate and say congrats
to Monica and Adrian, let's just all...
Congrats, Monica and Adrian!
Yes!