-Look at your house. -Oh, my gosh.
What?
Yay!
[Mika] Nina and her mom, April,
are in need of a major home upgrade.
So, what works in this bathroom?
The sink.
You stopped there?
[Nina] Yeah, I stopped there.
[Brian] But with Mom out of the country...
When does she come back from Germany?
[Nina] When this renovation is done.
There is a lot of pressure that I have to get it right.
[Brian] ...and Nina living in the construction zone...
[Nina] I'm really am camping in this house.
[Mika] Will this renovation drive them crazy...
-[man] Whoa! -Oh, shoot!
[Mika] ...or leave them crazy in love with their dream home?
[door creaks]
-Oh, my goodness. -[gasps]
Oh, my gosh!
These blueprints are gonna be a reality.
Let's go.
[Mika] Brian and I know a thing or two
about building custom homes on fast timelines.
There's always a reason
why they need their home done in 100 days.
Second baby is on the way...
Hurricane season is around the corner.
[Brian] And now,
we're expanding to renovations, too.
We're gonna flip flop everything in this house.
We don't know what's behind the walls.
[Mika] Whether it's a new build
or a renovation,
each project has its own set of challenges.
This is the exterior of the townhouse.
-You raise that a foot... -[Mika] I know.
-...it's a lot of work. -[Mika] I know it is.
[Brian] But the look on our client's faces
makes it all worth it.
-Oh, my God. -Oh, my God!
I am in heaven right now.
[laughter]
[music playing]
[doorbell rings]
-Hello. -Come on in.
-Hi, guys. -[Brian] Hello.
I'm Nina.
So, we're in Clearwater today.
It's a little beach town
about 20 minutes west of Tampa.
[Mika] It's full of golf courses,
disc golf, beaches,
all the outdoor fun activities that you think of
when you think of Florida.
Hi, Nina.
-[Nina] Nice to meet you guys. -Mika.
-I'm Brian.
Look at this cuckoo clock.
-[Nina] Yeah. -[Mika] How cool.
That's, uh...
That's my mom's, uh, obsession.
She loves cuckoo clocks.
She loves Germany,
which is also another reason why I'm the one you're meeting
-and not my mom... -[both] Yes.
...'cause that's where she is.
Hi, Brian and Mika.
I could really use your help.
I bought my house in Clearwater
because I really liked Clearwater,
and then I moved to Germany.
I lived here for six years,
and now I'm gonna be home in four months,
and I would love if you guys could help me
renovate my house.
[Nina] My mom basically lived in the house
for about six months.
And then she said adios,
erm, and went to Germany for a teaching job.
And I've been living in the house ever since.
So, she retired from teaching after 40 some years, and...
-[Mika] But now she's coming back home to Florida? -[Nina] Yes.
[Brian] When does she come back from Germany?
[Nina] When this renovation is done.
-[Mika] Okay. -[Nina] Yeah.
So, she's... She's put a lot of trust in you.
Ah, yeah. She's my mom. I know her.
My mom and I are best friends.
I look, sound and act just like my mother.
We get to, uh, have a dynamic change
when she gets to finally move home and,
it will officially be her house,
but I'm politely asking to stay for a few more years
just because, you know,
I'm still establishing myself as a hairstylist,
so I'm needing a little bit of assistance from my mama.
And thankfully, she loves me enough
to allow that to happen.
[Mika] How much square footage are we working with?
I know it's three bedrooms, two bathrooms, so, what's the...
[Nina] I think it's around, like, 15-1,600 square feet.
[Brian] How much has your mother given us
to renovate this house?
[Nina] One hundred and seventy-five thousand.
-Well, this is good. -There you go.
I'm kind of wondering if we could take a peek around
and kind of see what kind of changes
-you're thinking of... -[Nina] Yeah.
...to figure out a way to make this
existing home work for you and for your mom.
So, as you can see,
we're kind of in what used to be the dining room.
For me, it's always been weird
that you walk right into a dining room.
-[Mika and Brian] Yeah. -[Nina] But that's just me.
-[Brian] Yeah. -[Nina laughs]
And then, this is our nice,
-big living room, but... -[Brian] Okay.
Uh-oh, Brian.
-What? Yeah, sorry. -[Brian] Whoa.
-You're tall. -[Mika] Watch your head.
-[Nina] Tall person. -Okay.
I don't have that issue.
-[smacks lips] -[Mika] Right?
All right, show me...
Show me the rest of the house.
[Nina] Now, over here, we have the kitchen.
My mom is a culinary arts teacher...
-Oh! -...so she...
-Okay. -...loves to cook,
and so for her to have this rather small kitchen,
-it doesn't really do much for her. -[Mika] Okay.
I would love if we could
really get a nice, big kitchen
instead of the little galley kitchen that I have,
because I love to bake.
I want to see the bedroom.
-[Nina] Okay. -[Mika] Following you.
-You lead the way. -All righty.
All right. So, let's go to this one first,
because, weirdly enough, this was the storage room.
-[Mika] Oh. All right. -[Brian] Okay.
[Nina] So, this was basically floor to ceiling
of boxes and stuff.
I would love to get this room
-just a little bit bigger. -No.
-We're gonna make this be functional... -[Nina] Yeah.
-...where you can actually... -[Nina] Definitely.
-...live in this square footage. -[Brian] Yep.
-[Nina] Yeah. Okay. -[Brian] All right.
-Let's see what's next. -[Nina] All right.
-So, this next bedroom was where I... -Okay.
-...had Mom stay for the times that she's visited... -[Mika laughs]
...'cause she was polite enough
to let me have that main bedroom.
I like how you said that you let your mom
stay in this room in her own house.
She was kind enough though to give you the main bedroom...
-She was so nice to me. -...which was super sweet.
[Nina] Um, so we actually had, like,
two twin bunk beds in here, and, you know...
[Brian] You had your mom in a bunk bed?
-Yes. -Nina.
Hey, that could be fun.
Bunk beds are cool.
It looks like this room now belongs to...
-Buddy. -Is it Buddy?
[Nina] Yeah. It's... This is definitely his room.
-[Brian] Okay. -[Mika] Okay.
[Brian] How many cats do you have?
-I have two. -Two cats?
-Okay. -Yes.
So, this is what I would guess you'd call
-the second bathroom. -[Mika] Okay.
[Nina] Um, but hilariously,
this is actually my main bathroom...
-[Brian] Okay. -...um, because
my main bathroom doesn't
like to function all that well.
-[Brian] Oh, no! -[Mika] Oh.
[Nina] Yeah, and tight.
It doesn't allow for a lot of things.
And, you know, as a hair stylist,
-I got hair products out... -Storage.
-...out the... at the edge... -[Brian] Yeah.
...I don't have storage.
-Let's see your main suite. -[Nina] All right.
-Yeah. -That you stole from your mother.
She offered it to me.
-Come on! -I would have said yes, too.
-So, you know, I don't... -Right?
[Brian] It's a good sized room.
-It works. -[Mika] Mm-hm.
Um, honestly, like, I'm happy with it.
It's spacious,
it's significantly larger
-than those other two rooms, so. -[Mika] Okay.
This is your en suite that's not so sweet?
It's not even remotely sweet.
[Mika] So, what works in this bathroom?
The sink.
You stopped there?
[Nina] Yeah, I stopped there.
[Mika] So, I don't even know
if I would call it a bathroom then.
-It's more like a... -[Brian] No.
[Nina] It's... It's a... It's a hand washing station.
-So, I'm assuming behind this door... -[Nina] Oh, yeah.
...this is... Is this your walk-in closet?
[Nina] Yeah, but I had clothes on both sides,
and I'm like,
-finagling through. -She got a nice closet for two.
-Mm-hm. -[Nina] mm-hm.
There's a lot to think about in this house.
[Mika] So, let's recap what this wish list
-is gonna be. -[Brain] Yeah.
-[Nina] Love it. -[Mika] All right.
What would be functional?
Oh, a nice, big, big kitchen,
a huge island.
way more cabinet space.
Since mom's letting me keep the bigger of the rooms,
I'd really love to see a larger second suite
-for her as well. -Okay.
Is there like a specific style that both of you love?
So,
I'm a little bit more modern.
I like black and white.
My mom wants a beach house.
The biggest concern for me is,
you know, yes, I do know my mother,
however, there is a lot of pressure
that I have to get it right.
I have to make sure that this is
still my mom's house.
Where are you gonna live during this process?
Here. Yay.
-[Brian] Here? -Yeah.
[Brian] Where?
[Nina] Um, wherever they don't work that day.
Sadly, it just is not cost effective for me.
-[Brian] Yeah. -Like, it was...
-Right. -...anywhere between
six to $10,000
for me to be out of this house for four months.
[Mika] That does concern me. During demo,
-when construction looks a little messy... -Yeah.
...it can be overwhelming.
So, I just want to make sure that she understands the process
and that the end result
is going to take some work on the front end.
But I will say this is gonna get very messy
before it gets better.
[Nina] I, thankfully, am out of my house
five days a week,
-so... -[Brian] Okay.
I'm not gonna be here often.
It's more of like, I need a place to sleep.
Well, let's get this started,
get this renovation done,
so we can bring Mom back home to Clearwater.
-Yeah. -Absolutely.
And she's so ready.
[music playing]
Ooh, Nina.
Today is going to be a lot of fun,
but you have a lot of pressure on you.
Definitely lots and lots of pressure.
Yes.
I'm hoping that we can somehow channel April through you today.
Yes, we can do this.
When you look at this home exterior,
it does have different textures,
and your house right now is all stucco...
-[Nina] Mm-hm. -...but we could change that.
I think because Mom fell in love with that,
like, it's very Floridian and...
-Mm-hm. -...I don't foresee
her wanting or needing that change.
Okay.
But I don't think that she'd object
to some new color.
Ah. Okay.
[Nina] Nice soft hues,
-seafoam green, blues. -Okay.
Great start on the outside,
but I think the biggest challenge on this project
is going to be the floor plan,
-so let's look inside... -Yeah.
...and see how this house flows.
[Nina] Perfect.
Oh, wow.
This is awesome.
[Mika] Stepping in, we're kinda hanging out,
like, right in the living room.
[Nina] Yeah, I love that.
I love that you're just literally able to
be in the home.
Because right now I walk into my dining room,
it's kind of weird.
[Mika] Would you be open to kind of converting that
to a living room space?
I don't think. That'd be pretty cool, actually.
We've never even used the dining room
-as a dining room. -Okay.
So, I mean, not only are we trying to,
you know, game plan the floor plan.
What do you feel the overall style?
[Nina] I really like it.
It's modern and young,
but I also think that with how much my mom
-really loved the beach... -[Mika] Yeah.
...I just think it's too stark for her.
[Mika] Okay.
So, I think we convert that
more to that Florida beach lifestyle, so...
I think Mama would like that.
[Mika] So we've gotta figure out the bedrooms, right?
What do you think would be a dream room for her?
My mom needs the nice sized room
-that's relaxing. -Okay
Okay. So, um, those two back rooms
are kind of tight, and I think...
[Nina] Yeah, they're a little small.
[Mika] What do you think about consolidating those two rooms
-and giving Mom... -[Nina] Yeah.
...a bigger main suite which means...
technically losing one room,
but in my mind, you're not really
'cause it wasn't functioning as a room in the first place.
[Nina] I think that'll be great.
[Mika] What do you think your mom's gonna think about it?
[Nina] I don't foresee it being an issue,
-'cause it was a... -[Mika] This was just
-a whole room of storage. -[Nina] A storage room, yeah.
Cool. So we're gonna make sure
-Mama has her own oasis. -Yeah.
[Mika] So, let's keep it going, then.
So, let's check out this kitchen.
I know that's the most important space for your mom.
[Nina] I love it.
I think that this island is amazing,
just being ginormous.
-Mm-hm. -It's giving so much space
-that she'd be able to do so much here. -Okay.
Now, what do you think about the white cabinets?
I'm about 90 percent sure for my mom
is that this is too much white.
White on white, on white, on white,
so maybe color somewhere.
[Mika] Okay.
You definitely noticed the island first, right?
Yeah, I did.
[Mika] I mean, this is kind of a beachy tone.
[Nina] Yeah. Honestly,
she might want more than just the island.
Ooh, I don't know if that's...
just enough,
or if it should be more.
I mean, you could have the color more
-as your main cabinetry. -[Nina] Okay.
[Mika] Or you can even do a different color
for your upper and lower, so...
I really do need to kind of make sure
-we get that right 'cause... -Okay.
...once we order cabinets,
you're kind of like stuck with the decision
'cause they're custom for the space.
[Nina] Okay. Whew.
That's such a permanent thing,
and this is...
her kitchen.
Like, she will pretty much live in here, and I can...
I... I can't fumble.
If she's not in love with it, then...
This is her kitchen.
Like, I don't know if I can make this decision
without my mom.
Hmm.
[Nina] We might have to get her here.
The goal was for my mom to not come home at all,
but at the end of the day,
I don't think that I can realistically do this without her.
[Mika] I have to respect that.
That kitchen color,
it's going to kind of also affect some of the other finishes
in the... in the other spaces, so...
[Nina] Very true.
[Mika] Mom's all the way in Germany,
in order to kind of get things going
and stay on schedule,
-let's get Mom here... -Yeah.
-...in person... -[Nina] Mm-hm.
...and then I can bring some samples
for you guys to kind of see.
But I do think I'm accomplishing my goals today
because I'm getting that floor plan in my brain.
-Okay. It's perfect. I love that. -[Mika] Cool.
While we didn't figure out
all of the design decisions today,
I feel like I have enough knowledge
for the next step in this process,
which is designing the floor plan.
[music playing]
Whoo! This is, like, one of my favorite
locations in Clearwater.
[Brian] I mean, just over that bridge
are some of the best beaches in the country.
I mean, that's the reason your mom bought this house
-in first place, right? -[Nina] Absolutely.
You ready to see what we came up with?
-Yes. Very much so. -[Mika] All right.
[Brian] All right.
We're gonna change up the colors on the exterior
to really make it pop.
-[Mika] Mm. -Fantastic.
Why not walk in
to a great room, living room space
-versus a dining room? -[Nina] Okay.
-[Mika] I think that makes more sense, right? -[Brian] Yeah.
Yeah. I'm down for that.
[Nina] We actually put a dining area
where the old kitchen used to be.
-Wait, what? Oh, my gosh. -Yeah.
-[Nina] Okay. -So, this is like
really just shifting puzzle pieces.
-[Nina] Okay. Yeah. -[Mika] So, from your grey room,
-you don't have a wall. -[Nina] Ooh.
-[Mika] That used to be a wall right there... -[Nina] Yeah.
-...where your kitchen was. -[Brian] Mm-hm.
[Nina] I absolutely love that.
[Brian] We know how important cooking is to your mom,
so we made the kitchen much larger.
We took your old living room
and turned it into
-her brand new dream kitchen. -[Nina] Oh.
...with that island that she wanted.
[Nina] Oh, my gosh,
-that's going to be amazing. -[Brian] Yeah.
-[Mika] The island is nice. -[Nina] Awesome.
[Mika] And it looks to the backyard,
so it's got a lot of natural light...
[Brian] A ton of cabinets,
and plenty of space to store everything.
That's so great. Oh, my gosh.
[Mika] Your main bedroom has more functionality
because now we took out this closet.
-that didn't work for you. - [Nina] Ooh.
We gave you a whole closet
that's like this whole back wall of the room.
-[Nina] Oh, nice. -[Mika] So, I mean,
-you have a nice big span... -[Nina] Okay.
...for your wardrobe,
and it allows some wiggle room to make the bathroom
that you're not currently using
-actually work for you. -Okay.
[Brian] So, before you just had a working sink,
now we're gonna have a working toilet,
working shower,
and a working tub.
- [Nina] What? -[Mika] Watch out.
[Brian] I know.
[Mika] It's gonna be really nice.
Before, you had two bedrooms here,
- but we decided to combine them... -[Nina] Okay.
- ...to make... -[Nina] Okay.
...a nice sized room.
[Brian] We actually took your old guest bath
and made this an en suite,
so it's gonna connect directly to this bedroom.
[Mika] You'll notice your mom's gonna have
a walk-in shower,
-so it's nice and open... -[Nina] I love that.
...and then you're gonna also have
-that extra powder baths. -[Nina] Mm-hm.
[Mika] It's right off the main living area,
-so it's really easy to access to. -Yeah.
I, honestly, like, am blown away,
like, that's really fantastic,
like, of just reinventing the whole house.
Like, I love this. Nailed it.
[Mika] So, the original floor plan
was three bedrooms
- and two bathrooms... - [Mika] Mm-hm.
...now you have two bedrooms,
and two and a half bathrooms,
and a dream kitchen,
all within 1,500 square feet,
and the most important,
we kept it in the budget of $175,000.
-[Nina] I love it. -Do we need to send this to Mom,
or are we good to go?
I say, let's go.
[Brian] Oh, I know.
-I have... -Okay. You're brave, Nina.
I have faith.
I have faith that this is.
-[Brian] This is the one? -This is the one.
-Time to get messy. -Yeah.
[laughter]
[Nina] All right, let's do it.
[soft music playing]
[knocks on door]
Nina, this is your wake up call.
[laughs] Hi.
-Good morning. Come on in. -You ready?
Yeah, I don't wanna let him out of here.
[Nina] Mm.
[Brian] Hey. Is that Buddy?
This is Buddy, and then...
-you can kind of see Hiccup. -[Brian] Oh.
Hiccup's still sleeping a little bit. Aw.
-She is very nervous. -[Brian] Yeah.
How's your mom feeling? Have you talked to her
that we're about to, uh, tear apart her house?
[Nina] She's so excited.
-Yeah? -She's so ready.
-Probably 'cause she's not here. -[Nina] Yeah.
I'm really, really excited to get this demo day started.
Um, I honestly, at the end of the day,
I just want to make life easy for all the workers
who are gonna be here.
So, me and my kitties
are getting out of everyone's hair.
All right, we'll see the three of you later.
Yes. Thank you so much.
-[Brian] Bye. -Have fun.
Oh, we will.
When the cat's away, the mice will play.
Let's play. [claps]
Nina's gonna be home with her cats
in just a couple hours,
and we have so much work to do.
We have to tear down the wall of the two bedrooms,
making it one large main suite for April.
So usually, if we're doing any type of demo,
that means we made a mistake in new construction.
[man] Here we go.
But in this case, we're doing demo
-that's not a mistake... -[man] Yeah.
...that's progress.
[Brad] All right. One more.
Open floor plan.
And just like that,
two rooms is now one.
[Brian] This layout feels so much better.
It makes so much more sense.
April's gonna be happy with her new main suite.
She's gonna love it.
[Brian] All right. Time for the kitchen.
[man] Yes, sir.
[Brian] We have to completely gut the kitchen out
and all the surrounding walls.
-All right. -[board breaks]
-Ooh, here we go. -It hit you?
No.
So, their old kitchen
is not gonna be their new dining room.
I mean, we're gonna flip flop everything in this house,
but it's gonna feel like it was meant to be.
Hey, we gotta be careful with this wall
'cause the water is still on.
Just another challenge with Nina living in the house
while we're doing this.
Yeah. It's good, it's good, it's good.
Yeah. I think we should be clear here.
-[man] Whoa! -[Brian] Oh, shoot.
It almost feels like we're performing, like,
-delicate surgery, yeah. -[man] It's nothing.
[Brian] Yeah, I think we should be clear.
-[man] Whoa! -[Brian] Oh, shoot.
Turn it off! Turn it off!
Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off.
Oh, my God.
Well...
Honestly, these pipes
-are just so brittle. -Yeah. Yeah, I agree.
[Brian] When we were removing the wall,
I mean, this whole thing just snapped off, so.
[Brad] Right off. Yeah.
And this is a hot water pipe, too.
-Yeah. -It'll do that.
I promised Nina when she got home today,
she would have air conditioning,
electricity and running water,
hot and cold.
So, uh,
I already broke a pipe,
I wanna make sure I don't break any promises.
[Brad] We're gonna have some emergency plumbing services
come out, cap this off.
[Brian] All right, let's get the rest of the wall out
and let's avoid the other water line.
Yeah. We don't want to break the cold ones.
[Brian] All right.
Let's do it, boys.
[man] Bring it on.
-[man] Oh. -Oh! There we go.
All right, we should be free.
I feel better now that that wall's down.
We have to remove all the floors.
We have to, uh, cap the broken plumbing line.
And we have to clean it all up before she gets home and, uh,
I just hope she doesn't get home early
from work today.
Here we go.
[man] Hee-hee!
[music playing]
This is good.
Today's a pretty important day
because I finally get to meet Nina's mom, April,
and we're gonna get some design decisions selected
in person.
-[April] Hello. Hi. -Oh, my goodness.
How are you, April?
Doing well. How are you?
Oh, my goodness, you have traveled afar.
-I know it's a long trip. -It's... It's, yeah.
It's just... It's exhausting.
It is exhausting.
I know it's probably hard transitioning back to Florida,
but at the same time...
I'm looking forward to coming back and...
-getting to see everything. -[Mika] Getting settled.
Now, obviously, I'd love to get you over to the house
to kind of see everything 'cause...
construction's kind of started.
[Nina] I might've snuck her into the house this morning.
Oh, really?
-Yeah. -[Mika] Okay.
So you got a little sneaky peek?
Yeah, a little bit.
Oh, my gosh.
Wow.
There's the outline of the kitchen.
-Oh, my gosh, that is crazy. -[Nina] And just...
just remember it. This was just a giant wall.
[April] That is crazy.
And that is gonna be your new kitchen.
[April] Wow.
It was just so crazy to see it all...
all open.
I don't think you're gonna recognize the house.
It's gonna really feel like a brand new home.
There are some major decisions that I have to admit,
if I were in your shoes, I would be very scared
making decisions without your approval
or your insight.
So, why don't we start with cabinetry?
What are your thoughts on some of these samples
of, uh, a little bit of blue, a little bit of green?
I think I'd steer away from the greens.
I think that might be a little bit too much.
I really like the blue gray cabinets on the bottom
and white on the top.
[Mika] Ooh! Okay.
[April] So, yeah, to have that distinction,
but I really liked wood.
-[Mika] Wood tone matches everything. -[April] Yeah.
-[Mika] It's a natural color. -[Nina] Yeah.
[Mika] You can do wood tone with your island.
So, we're gonna have our uppers,
and we're gonna have our lowers.
[April] Mm-hm.
[Nina] And then, this would be the island.
-[April] Oh, that's really attractive. -Kinda fun.
-Mm-hm. -I really like that.
I'm like, I never would've thought of that myself.
We're doing a trio?
Okay!
This will be a first.
-[April] Nice. -I love that you're, uh,
-setting trends here, April. -Thanks.
So, I do think it's gonna tie in really nice
to warm up that kitchen space.
Since you guys are doing so well,
let's talk about Mama's bathroom,
-cause this is your space. -[April] Okay.
You could do whatever you want.
So, the shower now, like,
what are we thinking? I mean, we've got...
-This is definitely... -[April] Um,
-...water vibes going on... -[April] This one,
as soon as I saw it, I was like, "Ah! That's it."
That's it right there.
It makes me think of water,
and, you know, like, sand.
-I don't have to look at any of these. -[Nina] Yeah.
[Mika] Really? Are we eliminating the other guy?
[April] Yep, that's the one. Yay.
-It's prefect. -[Mika] This is so great.
And Nina, are you feeling anything?
Well, so,
I would love to have an accent tile in my shower.
Can I show you something?
-I might have a... -Let me check it out.
I might have found something,
'cause I have lots of time on my hands.
[Mika laughs] Let's check it out.
[Nina] I got teal.
-[Mika] Oh! That's beautiful. -[Nina] Mm-hm.
[Mika] So, you do like a little coastal,
'cause I thought maybe you liked more modern.
[Nina] I do,
but I have to think about my mom
-[Mika] Mm-hm. -It's still her house.
I know that
if I went with something that was so modern
and so industrial and different,
she would walk in and be like,
"This is a different house
that's attached to mine. And what did you do?"
So, I can't do that to her.
And I appreciate that.
You're welcome.
So, I will have to get the link
-from you on that tile... -Okay.
...but we can get it ordered.
I mean, that's one less thing
that we need to make a decision on.
Perfect.
-[exclaims] -[Mika] Oh.
They're twinning.
It's happening.
-[Nina] It... -[Mika] I love it.
I know you're heading back to Germany in a few days,
-and by the time you come back the next time... -[April] To the cold.
...it'll be the permanent stay.
-Yes. -[Nina] Yay.
Nina, you're a trooper. Just hang in there, girl.
-I've got this. -You do.
[Brian] Last week, we reframed the entire house
to match the new updated layout.
And today, we're putting up all the drywall.
Even Nina is getting into the action,
helping paint the exterior.
One of the perks... maybe the only perk,
of living through this renovation
is lending a hand to move it along faster.
[Nina] Say "Good morning", buddy.
So, you know, this is pretty much the... the world I live in.
I got my bed,
I've got a chair that's basically my desk that holds all my stuff.
It's very, um, minimal.
I'm walking into the gym being like,
I got all my stuff because I gotta shower here now.
So, this is my home away from home.
This lovely little locker holds all my storage stuff for showering.
Can you tell I'm super loving it?
[upbeat music playing]
-[Brian] All right. -[Mika] All right.
-Nice. -[Brian] We got a ton of tile.
What do you think of the new paint color?
[Mika] Refreshing.
And it definitely ties in a little bit more to a Florida home...
-[Brian] Yeah... -[Mika] Than the previous faded yellow.
[Brian] I agree.
[Mika] It's kind of exhilarating to see the progress coming along.
Do you know who's not surprised by the progress?
[both] Nina.
-Hello. -Hi.
Are you making your bed, or are you moving your bed?
I'm trying to put my bed away so I can get out of their way.
Oh, my gosh, this is definitely a construction site.
Yeah, this is some tough living in here.
We warned you. We did warn you.
You did. But I'm just going a little crazy. It's fine.
[Mika] Oh, my gosh.
[Nina] I've got to admit, living in the house during this renovation
has been honestly, pretty difficult.
It's moving my kitties,
it's moving all of my stuff in and out of the bedrooms
just so that I'm staying out of everyone's way.
It's living without the bathroom.
I'm making do with the gym bathroom.
I really am roughing it.
I really am camping in this house.
Oh, my gosh. Okay, so that's crazy.
Gosh, we can at least get one bathroom working.
-That would be great. -You are a trouper.
-I don't know how you're doing it. -[Mika] Yeah.
-[Nina] Thank you. -And I know your mom's gonna appreciate it.
I cannot wait for her to be shocked when she walks into this house.
Yeah.
In the end, all this craziness
that I'm going through will be completely worth it
when I see my mom's face, and her excitement when she sees this house.
The good news is we're kind of at the halfway point,
but that's also kind of the bad news.
We're only halfway done.
Hey, you know what? It's progress.
If we could get in here before the 100 days, I would never say no.
[Mika] Honestly, at this point, I would love to get it done.
But we also have to think that her mom has to coordinate travel.
-I know. -She's living across the world.
So, I really want to make sure
that if we give her the news, we can really deliver.
We are making great progress.
-Yeah. But sadly, I got some bad news this morning. -Oh.
[Brian] We are making great progress.
Yeah. But sadly, I got some bad news this morning.
I was informed that my bathroom tiles,
those accent tiles we picked out, don't work.
When you put it next to my wall tiles,
they're too thin.
-[Brian] Too thin? -[Nina] Too thin.
[Brian] Oh.
[Mika] Obviously, Nina. Yeah, we can see this is like,
not... it's about half of the thickness.
-[Nina] Yeah. -[Mika] So that would be really kind of weird
You're gonna have a lip, shoot.
-A little pickle for that this morning. -[Brian] Yeah.
[Mika] Typically, we're the first to know any kind of updates
on the construction site.
In this case, Nina's here every day.
-Yeah. -She gets updates before us.
So I mean, this is kind of a surprise to me.
Okay, so basically, back to the drawing board with that.
Honestly, it's one of the things that we found online.
-Yeah. -She fell in love with it.
Unfortunately, I didn't really overanalyze the specs
compared to the shower wall tiles.
Lesson learned.
[Brian] They're laying the floor tile today.
We're gonna have to find something similar,
-but also, like super quick. -That's readily available.
-Yeah, that's in stock. -[Mika] Like, we can go to the store--
I know the feeling and what you fell in love with,
with the colors and the movement.
We're going to try to get a second choice in person.
-Yes. -With this next to me,
so we can make sure we get it right.
Well, let's go look at the tile that is the proper thickness.
-Yes. -And it's looking fantastic
getting installed right now.
[Nina] Yeah, I'm so glad that we decided to go with the extra wide and extra-long.
It's gonna be great and it flows really nice.
Where we're standing right now...
-This is the old kitchen. -[Mika] I remember.
-[Brian] Let's check out the new kitchen... -[Mika] Ooh...
-Which is, like, doubled in size. -It's ginormous.
[Mika] Yes, we're gonna have our island.
It's so much an easier flow to the rest of the house.
-[Brian] Mmm-hmm. -It's gonna be great.
We typically figure out a special project for our clients
at this point. And it's usually a secret,
but I feel like we need to let her in on this secret
-since she's living here. -I agree.
[Nina] Okay.
So, we really want to do something special for your mom.
-Okay. -We know how much she loves cooking.
-Yes. -What do you think she could use or want or love?
I mean, there's so much. Like, she loves to bake.
I know one of my favorite things is like, her homemade pizza.
-So, like... -Like, a pizza oven kind of deal.
I mean, that would be fun.
Rather than doing it in here,
what if we did it outdoors somewhere?
We have a lot of space back there.
-Can we take a peek and see if that would work? -[Nina] Yeah, let's go.
[Brian] It's a big backyard.
Yeah, my mom definitely hit the jackpot with this backyard.
[Brian] This is a good little corner here.
This space is almost made for something to happen.
So, let's think about this. As far as layout.
I would probably do it right here, just in a straight line.
Pizza oven in the middle so you could see it from the kitchen.
Would it feel closed off?
Like, if it was just a straight line?
Yeah, I think you want it to be, like, maybe tucked in the corner.
And then, like, yeah, keeping all the walkways open
-to the side of the yard. -Having, like, a little table right there.
-Yeah. -Have a pizza, ooh.
I think that's all doable
'cause we don't really need to run any utilities to it.
The convenience of not having to worry about running a gas line,
running electricity.
[Brian] Yeah, a little bit of dough,
I think we can make this happen.
[Nina] Yes.
-[upbeat music playing] -[birds chirping]
[Mika] Well, all right, Nina, we definitely got to pick something today
to get this in time and not mess up our schedule.
Unfortunately, Nina and I today are gonna need to find
a second decorative tile for the shower
that is gonna be completely flush with the main wall tile.
Our team is on the construction site waiting for this tile,
so we have to make sure we select something
that we can literally purchase and take it to the site.
[Nina] Oh, those are fun.
[Mika] Think about how easy it's going to be to keep clean.
-Yeah. -And sometimes as beautiful as these mosaic types are...
-Yeah. -With grout, it becomes a nightmare.
So I would hate to do that to you.
Yeah, yeah. That could be a lot.
Are we loving any of these?
Eh, not really.
Keep it moving.
[Nina] Hmm.
-That's an interesting blue. -Kind of pretty.
Let's look at this and it actually has...
So, see how it's kind of got a little texture to it.
-It's not like a flat surface. -[Nina] Yeah.
I like that.
-[Mika] This kind of does have a coastal vibe, too. -[Nina] Right?
[Mika] But most importantly, if we compare it to the wall tile
as far as the thickness, this one would work.
[Nina] Yes, that's really pretty.
Do we think this might work?
Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I'm really liking that.
It still has that, like undertone of that teal,
which is what I liked about that first tile, too.
[Mika] I think it's going to look really pretty,
So, we're obviously trying to get this ordered,
stay on schedule.
Yes. And I do have some additional news.
Oh. Make sure I set down the tile
-so I don't drop anything. -You might want to.
-Let me... -Um, so, Mom has booked flights home.
Okay, well, that's good.
However, she's coming home a week early.
I think she's just a little antsy.
Ooh, okay.
That's going to be a tight time line.
-Okay. -We will do our best.
We actually saw the way you were living in one room, no plumbing.
Sleeping on a cot.
So, I mean, Brian and I really do want
to try to get this thing done as soon as possible.
-Yes. -I mean, everything was moving pretty smoothly.
So, I think we can make it happen
as long as we don't have any other hiccups along the way.
-No more hiccups. -All right, so, let's get this tile ordered,
and, uh, man, we gotta get to work.
-We're out of time, girl. -Yeah.
-I love it. Let's go. -Let's go.
[bird squawking]
[upbeat music playing]
[Brian] Our team is certainly working hard today.
In the backyard, the gravel pathway is being laid
which will lead to the paver patio for the pizza oven.
On the interior,
we have cabinets being installed in the bathrooms and kitchen.
-[man] Ready? -[Brian] Yep.
[man] One, two, three.
-Even with the pavers. -[Brian] Right on it.
[man] Hold on.
Watch your finger. Watch your finger.
Today is special project install day.
I mean, yes, Nina already knows what we're doing,
but her mom has no clue.
Let's just hope Nina has not let the cat out of the bag.
All right, Willie.
This pizza oven got dropped off in the front yard.
Ready? One, two, three.
Whoa!
Oh, my God.
I seriously don't know if we're gonna get this.
-That is solid concrete. -[Willy] Yeah.
[Brian] It's gotta be 1,000 pounds.
-Yeah. -Right?
-Yes. -Every bit of 1,000.
Even if we get it in the backyard,
we're gonna still have to get it up onto the counter.
[sighs]
I had a forklift lined up for today,
but they actually canceled on me, which is a huge problem.
Honestly, I don't see any way that we're lifting this pizza oven up by hand
no matter how you slice it.
We need a forklift.
-Gotta get a forklift. -[man] Forklift.
[phone dialing]
The problem is, we need a forklift right now.
And all my guys who I know that have a forklift,
aren't answering their phone.
I mean, I don't know what we're gonna do.
We cannot afford to lose today.
Oh, shoot. Oh, my God, there's a forklift!
Guy just drove by with a forklift.
That would work.
[Willy] That's exactly what we need.
[Brian] I'm gonna see if I can get him.
[horn honking]
This could be a miracle if it works.
Let me see if I can catch him. Guy just drove by with some forklift.
[horn honking]
[man speaking]
[Brian] You guys got 20 minutes?
[man speaking]
[Brian] So, we had this pizza oven.
The thing weighs, like, 1,000 pounds.
Can you move it in the backyard? It's the next block over.
[man speaking]
[Brian] Yeah, so it's right here.
You're a lifesaver, my friend.
Oh, you made that look too easy.
If he didn't drive by at that exact split second,
that pizza oven would still be sitting right there.
He's going around the back alley and coming through the gates.
Hoo-hoo-hoo!
Lucked out with that one.
We're almost there. Almost there.
-Slow and steady. -Oh, there we go.
[Brian] We're going center right on the middle.
A couple inches. Oh, my gosh.
Ha-ha!
Whoo! I just felt a nice wind coming through Clearwater,
and I think it was all of us breathing a sigh of relief.
Thank you so much.
We never would've gotten this without you.
Our hero came riding in on a forklift
to not only save the day, but also this special project.
Whoo!
Our prayers have been answered.
With only a week left before April comes home from Germany,
we need to work overtime.
We just installed the new tile in Nina's shower.
Countertops are going in.
The kitchen appliances are here,
and all the exterior light fixtures are being hung.
We're almost at the finish line,
and we're ahead of schedule.
[Mika] Since April decided to move up her travel dates,
we have to move up this reveal date.
Ooh, slow and steady. Slow and steady.
Sometimes, we had multiple trades in at the same time.
But it was controlled chaos.
This is gonna be so nice.
-Ooh! -You got the table.
-Bring it on over. -Table is here.
[Brian] I love how this special project turned out.
Even though it's not part of the actual kitchen,
it kind of feels like it is because you can see it through the window.
I think April is going to love it.
[upbeat music playing]
So, Nina and April are actually staying in a hotel tonight
because we want it to be a surprise for both of them.
Everything is done as far as construction,
but there's a lot of cleanup that needs to happen today.
We've still got a dumpster out front.
I mean, we're still moving in furniture.
That looks good.
[Brian] I'm having a tough time remembering
what this place used to look like.
-This was kitchen. -That was kitchen.
Really tight, closed off.
[Brian] Like this layout makes so much more sense.
[Brian] Mika.
Where do we want the famous cuckoo clock?
-I feel like... -This one might be good.
I like right here.
My grandfather got his name Kooks
-from his old cuckoo clock. - [Mika] I love that.
And my brother and I used to call him on the phone and be like
"Can we talk to cuckoo, cuckoo?"
-And he used to play the cuckoo clock on the phone. -Aw, that's really sweet.
-[clock chimes] -[Brian gasps]
-Did you hear that? -[Mika] Did it really do it?
[Brian] Yeah. Check it out. Watch.
[Mika] Oh, God, why did we ever let him start playing with that?
[Brian] I'm cuckoo for the cuckoo clock, Mika.
-Mika, what time is it? -Time for Nina and April to come home.
Let's go.
[lively music playing]
We're bringing the beach into Nina and April's house
in a classy way with their memories. And I love this.
[Brian] It's gonna be so nice to welcome April home.
It's been six years since she has lived here.
She's been back and forth, but she hasn't called this home.
-No more bunk beds. -No more bunk beds.
Is there something you're most excited about seeing?
The kitchen!
[both giggle]
Ah.
-Whoo-hoo-hoo! -We can't forget about Buddy and Hiccup.
[Brian] Oh, absolutely not.
The cat lounge area is in place.
And even though today is really a surprise for April,
this reveal to Nina is going to mean everything.
-And she hasn't seen her space all done. -No.
-Is that them? -I think I see them.
[April] Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
-Look at your house. -Oh, my gosh.
-What? -Yay!
-[Nina] We're home! -And Mom is home.
-[Nina] Mom's home! -[Mika] Finally!
-[Nina] Yay! -[Brian] Guten tag, April.
-[April] This is so awesome. -[Mika] You know a little German.
[Brian] It's so nice to meet you.
Are you ready to meet your house?
I am. I'm so excited.
-Oh, my gosh. -The yellow was... it was okay.
But this is... This is much more me.
-[Mika] It's got a little coastal flair. -[April] Yeah.
Yes, I like blue.
[Brian] Well, I can... I can see the blue in your hair, too.
-I was just thinking that. -You match your house.
-I love it. -[Mika] After you, April.
-You lead the way. -[April] All righty.
Oh, I'm so excited.
Oh, my goodness.
[Nina] Oh, my gosh.
-[Mika] Welcome home. -[Nina] Gorgeous.
[April] Holy cow!
So different.
Oh, my gosh. This looks great.
-[April] It feels huge. -[Brian] It's the same square footage.
I think I'm standing where the wall... the kitchen wall...
[Nina] Almost.
And then the living room was... Oh, my God.
[squeals]
[April and Nina exclaim]
Oh, my gosh.
[April] Holy cow.
-That look amazing. -Oh, my gosh, this is so awesome!
[Brian] You're shaking, April.
-I'm so excited. -Yay!
[April] This is great.
You did good. You did good.
That's awesome.
[Brian] April, we knew how important a new and improved kitchen was.
-[April] Yes, this is amazing. -How did we do?
Amazing.
Oh, my gosh. I'm going to cry. [laughs]
It's awesome.
You know, you can breathe a sigh of relief.
-Absolutely. -Yes, I love it.
[Mika] This kitchen has three tones of cabinet colors.
We've done two tones...
-Tri-tone. -...many a times.
But I feel like this is gonna be the new trend.
[April] I think it works so well.
We gave tri-tone a try.
Yeah, we did. And I think that we did a great job.
I feel like the flow of this house is really nice.
The new placement of the dining room...
-[Brian] Oh, yeah. -Is right off the kitchen.
-[Brian] Makes so much more sense. -[Mika] Yeah.
[April] This is great.
So I think one of the only things original to your house
is that cuckoo clock right there.
[April] Nice.
[Brian] Good news is now, you're always reminded of your time in Germany.
[April] Yes, I love it.
So this half bath over here, go check this out.
Nina, I bet you can appreciate a finished bathroom.
[all laughing]
-How about any bathroom? -[Mika] Any bathroom would do.
This was part of a bedroom at one point.
-[Nina] It was? -[Brian] Yeah.
[Mika] But converting this to a guest bath made more sense.
Absolutely. You want to check out your old campground?
-My new suite? -There you go.
No. No more camping.
Oh, my gosh, I have a bed.
-[laughing] -You have a bed!
I have a bed.
[Brian] It's the simple things.
I can't even describe how excited I am, gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
and this is fantastic.
-[Brian] It's a lot of storage. -So much.
[Mika] Grey gives it a little bit of like contrast.
And it still works with the rest of the house,
which is also fantastic.
You know what else works in here, finally?
The bathroom.
[Nina] Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
It's gorgeous.
I love the tile in the shower.
This is so me.
But at the same time, it really does still compliment my mom.
That's enough about Nina.
How about we check out your bedroom?
Yes.
-Are you ready? -I am.
[April gasps] Oh, my goodness.
[both gasp]
Oh, my gosh.
I did not expect that.
That's awesome.
[Mika] When you first bought this house,
you sacrificed to let Nina have the bigger room.
Yep. I slept on bunk beds.
It just made more sense, giving her the main room
because she was living here and I was a visitor when I came home.
When we first started, this was like storage.
Wanna see your private bathroom?
-Ooh. -Yes!
I'm so excited.
Oh, my gosh. I love the floor!
Holy cow!
Oh, this is awesome!
And oh, my gosh. Oh, those tiles
came out beautifully.
[Nina] They did.
[April] Oh, my gosh, I love it.
So I'm glad that you guys are happy.
But we did not forget about Hiccup and Buddy.
Oh, wow.
Check it out. Go check it out.
We're calling this the cat clubhouse.
-Nice. -[Mika laughs] After you.
Hey, you know we couldn't forget about them.
[Nina] I love this.
Wow.
And, and... [gasps]
Oh!
Surprise!
Oh, my God.
[Brian] The three of us knew about this.
[exclaims]
I was like, is she really not seeing this?
[April] What? What?
Oh, my God!
Oh!
You have got to be kidding me.
[Nina] Surprise!
No way.
Oh, my gosh, this is absolutely phenomenal.
Nina was on our team to surprise you with this special project.
Yeah, did a good job of keeping me out of the loop on that one.
-You're welcome. -Because I... completely unexpected.
-Mmm-hmm. -Loved It. Loved it.
The original floor plan was three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Now you have two bedrooms. I like to say two main suites.
And two and a half bathrooms.
[Brian] And we didn't just give you one kitchen.
Now you technically have two kitchens,
-Indoor-outdoor. -[Brian] Indoor-outdoor kitchen.
I love it.
[Mika] And most importantly, keeping it in the budget of $175,000.
We just hope that you love it for years to come.
Oh, absolutely, I will.
I can't wait to get in and start baking.
Yes.
Well, then that is our cue
to say... [speaking other language]
And enjoy the space.
[both] Thank you so much.
Oh, they're twinning again. I knew it.
-See you guys. -[Mika laughing]
Bye, thank you.
It's very bittersweet leaving Germany.
I lived there for six years and I love the culture, the people, the food.
But I'm really excited to be back with my daughter.
[Nina] They're okay, Mama. I'm pretty sure I could...
I could make them better.
I doubt it. I've been making cookies since before you were born.
[mocks]
[chuckles]
-[April] You did good. -[Nina] We did good.
[April] Well, yeah.
Mmm.
[Nina] I do think tomorrow might be a pizza night.
[April] I like it.