-[cow mooing] -[Jenny] Dave!
[Dave] Jenny, what are you doing?
There's a cow!
-[cow mooing] -[Jenny] Apparently,
-our neighbor's cow got out. -[Dave chuckles] Oh.
Come on. We gotta get going.
[Jenny] Holly will appreciate that I'm late
because I'm feeding my baby sheep.
You better not spray me. No.
No. Do not.
[screams]
[Dave] This season on Fixer to Fabulous...
[Jenny] We're taking on some of the most unique
and challenging projects we've ever done.
An old lodge?
-How much work does it need? -[Jenny] A lot.
What if we got a red London phone booth,
and then, the door opens,
and you come into this hidden room?
-I definitely want a catio. -A what?
-Have you ever heard of a catio? -No, I haven't.
[cat meows]
-[Dave] Matt, Matt, Matt. Matt! -[Matt] Whoa!
[Jenny] He's, like, letting out some anger.
-[Dave] Go, go, go! Go! Oh, -God. Oh, God. Oh, God.
[Dave] Keep it going.
This is our St. Jude Marathon Build.
-[man] Woo! -[applause]
All right, clock starts now! Go, go, go, go, go!
[Dave] We are here for a family that's gone through a whole lot tougher stuff
than the 24 hours we're going through right now.
We have seven hours left to hit the 24.
I don't know if we're gonna hit it. I honestly don't.
[reporter] Devastation in Northwest Arkansas as seven tornadoes ripped
through Benton County last night.
Oh, my gosh.
Everywhere you look.
Renovating the home was a want to.
Now we have to.
[Jenny] The thing that happens when tragedy like this occurs is that
you just help one another.
[Dave] We're gonna make this better than it was before.
Oh...
-My gosh. -My gosh.
[Jenny] Welcome home!
-[man] Oh, wow. -[Dave] You have a real speakeasy.
Oh, my goodness!
[Dave] Thanks for letting us be a part of this.
[woman] This was all worth it.
This is the new start, a new healthy start.
[Dave] These houses, it's tough to tell the difference
from one house to the next. They all look like just heavy brick.
-Like these were all built, like, early 2000s maybe. -[Dave] Yeah.
[Jenny] Okay.
-[Farrah] Hi. -[Jenny] Hi.
-[Matt] Hello. -[Jenny] How are you?
-[Farrah] I'm good. -[Jenny] Hi, I'm Jenny.
-Hi. -[Farrah] I'm Farrah.
-Nice to meet you. -[Dave] Farrah, I'm Dave.
-[Matt] Hi, I'm Matt. -[Jenny] Hi, how are you?
-[Matt] Nice to meet you. -Should we go outside first?
Even though I just walked right in.
This house is so pretty. This is a great neighborhood, too.
-It is. -It's wonderful.
What are we doing here?
-Well, there's a lot of things we like about this house. -Okay.
[Matt] It's 20 years old.
There are a lot of things that really, I think, need to be improved.
Matt and I met in the military, um,
22 years ago.
As a military family, we have moved around quite a bit
every two years for a little while.
Our home-buying adventures often
had to be wrapped up in about 48 hours.
So, we had to settle.
In fact, this home
wasn't my first choice,
but I'm really ready to turn it into the home
that I know it can be.
The home is really overwhelming right now
with so many different features.
We thought maybe we'd wanna move.
But this home is very important to us.
It was the last home Hannah was in.
[Farrah] Our daughter, Hannah, she passed away in 2020.
I still feel very close to her here.
And so, because of that,
leaving this house, I feel like, especially now, would be hard.
I feel like I would be leaving
a part of Hannah behind if we did that.
So rather than trying to find another place somewhere else,
we are really looking forward to the changes
this renovation is gonna make,
and a place that we'll be happy to come home to for the next 20, 30 years.
[Jenny] So I noticed when driving around the neighborhood,
obviously, has a very consistent look. There's a lot of brick.
I love the look of painted brick.
[Matt] A different color would be great.
Whether or not it'd be solid painted
-or just a distressed look. -[Jenny] Okay.
You know, something that makes it pop a little bit.
[Jenny] Okay. So would you like a German schmear?
It's a thin layer of mortar that will make this house
really stand out in the neighborhood.
It's just a way to brighten the brick up.
You're not painting it.
-You're just kinda giving it a fresh new look. -[Matt] That'd be great.
[Jenny] I'm assuming you wanna update the lighting.
-[Farrah] Yup. -[Jenny] The garage door, we'll paint,
as well, for sure.
The front door, nice. But probably it could be freshened up.
Yeah. So outside,
we definitely wanna do something with the front door.
Potentially replace it, maybe paint it. Paint in the garage door.
We want to replace the lighting.
And then, the brick, we'll German schmear it,
because it could really brighten and freshen up this exterior.
-[Matt] Perfect. -[Farrah] That sounds great.
-[Matt] Should we go in? -[Jenny] Let's go.
[Matt] Okay. After you.
[Jenny] Oh, wow. Look at this. That's a lot of brick.
[Farrah] We have a lot of brick.
You know, a wall of brick, nice.
But it's too much of a good thing.
-This-- -I like... I mean...
-I don't love this. -This is a lot.
-[Matt] It's really dominant. -[Farrah] Yeah.
-It is. -It is. It's super heavy.
-A Roman column. -[all chuckle]
I feel like there's gonna be an aqueduct
running across the top of this.
[all laughing]
[Jenny] Okay. So, in here, what are you thinking?
We have a tremendous amount of drop soffits.
-They're everywhere. We call 'em ledges. -[Matt] Ledges.
[Dave] These aren't structural.
Those features people really loved in the early 2000s.
[Jenny] They just collect dust. Nobody needs that.
All right. So we definitely wanna get rid of those.
But I love all of these family photos.
[Matt] These are all our relatives that,
you know, we honor and that we keep still close to us.
[Jenny] I love this because so many families
don't remember their past. And so, for you to honor it...
-[Matt] Beautiful. -[Jenny] ...I love that.
[Dave] What about flooring?
I would like to see the same flooring throughout.
-Okay. -Okay.
So the plan for the dining room,
first of all, we'll have new flooring.
We will keep this one brick wall for sure.
We'll do something with this column. Make it smaller.
Get rid of all the extra ledges.
And this room, we'll freshen it up.
-I love that. -That'd be great.
So what's next?
Let's go towards the bedroom.
This is our main bedroom.
[Jenny] This is interesting.
-You got a whole little... -[Farrah] Yeah.
[Jenny] ...nook back here.
[Farrah] And I'm just using it for that
-because I don't know what else to put here. -[Jenny] Okay.
I'm just taking a lot in at the moment. I just need a second
because I feel like I'm like in a cathedral.
Like, there's a lot of layers, a lot of trim.
-Yes. -It's a lot.
I hate to bring a ceiling down, but it's still really tall.
So it's almost like just cover it up and make it flat.
-I think it would clean it up a lot. -Yeah.
[Jenny] What do you think about the fireplace?
-[Farrah] We love it. Just not the look of it. -[Dave] Yeah. I agree.
Is that your closet there?
-That's one of the doors. -That's one of the entrances.
-[Jenny] Can I look? -[Farrah] You may.
-[Dave] Can I go in this way? -[Farrah] You may.
[Jenny] Oh, wow. Oh, that's big. It keeps going.
-Whoa. -It is.
Wow. Like, you can almost bring the bathroom
-all the way over... -[Dave] Yeah.
Oh, my gosh. You guys, the angles in here...
-[Matt] It's very busy. -[Dave] Like four different ledges.
Wow. You get...
[Farrah] And I think it seems smaller than it is.
It seems... Because it's really tight in there.
We need to redo this whole layout.
Basically, the bathroom, closet,
and little nook, we need to use this space better.
You just lit up a little bit.
Well, my dream would be...
-Go big. -...to have a spa.
[Matt] We would love to have a steam shower.
-[Jenny] Okay. -And maybe even a sauna.
-[Dave] Love it. -[Matt] Maybe even both.
So, plan for the main suite.
First of all, we'd carry in the same flooring
that we'll use throughout the house.
Get rid of all the extra ledges.
We will flatten out the ceiling, update the fireplace.
We'll paint.
And then, we are going to reconfigure
this whole space so that you have a walk-in closet,
and then a beautiful spa-inspired bathroom
with a steam shower and a sauna.
-Oh, that would be fantastic. -Love it.
Let's go look at the kitchen.
-Wow. -Okay.
[Farrah] Super in style 20-some years ago.
[Dave] Right. What is this kitchen lacking?
[Matt] We need really a functional island.
-[Dave] Okay. -[Matt] I mean this is just... It's too small.
Honestly, can we get rid of this whole wall
and just have your big island here,
so you're connecting these two spaces better.
-[Matt] Yes. -[Farrah] I really like that.
-[Dave] Is this pantry? -[Farrah] It is.
[Dave] Oh, wow. The pantry's amazing.
Yeah. I would not miss these at all.
-Yeah. Those two right there. -Okay.
And then, we could also straighten this wall up.
That's another thing that's wasted is all the angles.
You lose, you know, functional space, so...
-Right. -Agree.
I've also got Matt's mother's china
-that I love and we use. -[Jenny] Oh, wow.
[Matt] She bought it in the late 1970s.
It was really, you know, her prize.
And we lost her in 2022.
-Sorry about that. -Now we use it.
-[Jenny] I love that. -We use it a lot. We use it for our holidays.
Our daughter had prom and we had a dinner here
-for her and her date and-- -That's it. Use the china.
-Exactly. -Yes.
But we don't have the big china cabinet.
But we'd like a way to display that.
We can definitely add that. What about just overall feel?
This is where we kind of debate a little bit.
-[Jenny] Oh, okay. -She really likes the coastal look.
I kind of like a farmhouse type look.
Oh, a coastal farmhouse?
-Yeah. -A coastal farmhouse.
-Somewhere in the middle. -[Matt and Farrah] Somewhere in the middle.
I'm feeling a little bit like, "Whew, what am I gonna do here?"
Because this house is the farthest thing
from coastal farmhouse
you could even possibly ever imagine.
It's much more like old world traditional.
I gotta wrap my head around this one. It's gonna be interesting.
There's gotta be farm houses on the coast, right?
We spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
We cook probably six nights a week.
-I love that. -So just something that really is functional.
-[Jenny and Dave] Okay. -Um, and pretty.
[Jenny] Okay. So the plan for this kitchen is,
first of all, we're gonna replace the flooring,
consistent flooring throughout the house.
We're gonna fill in the hole on the ceiling,
open up this wall so you have a nice island
looking out into your living room.
And then, update all the cabinets, countertops,
appliances, and give you a coastal farmhouse kitchen.
And display the beautiful china.
-Absolutely. -Can't wait to see it.
[Jenny] I wanna go see the living room.
[Dave] This fan, the beams, really cool.
[Farrah] Yeah, watch your step.
[Matt] There's a bit of a drop.
[Jenny] Well, that's dangerous.
[Farrah] That has claimed many of our guests.
-[Jenny] I bet we could raise the floor. -[Farrah] We would love that.
[Jenny] And this must be Hannah.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
[Farrah] The worst thing that you can
-go through as a parent. -Can't imagine.
Um, she had epilepsy.
And so, she went to sleep one night and never woke up.
-Oh, God. -I'm so sorry.
[Farrah] I love to talk about Hannah. I love to say her name.
We feel that she still visits us as a butterfly.
-[Dave] I love that. -She loved this house.
-She said it was the best one yet. -[Jenny] She did.
-Aw, I love that. -Oh, I love that.
-Military families. -Yeah.
-So you can ever really... -No, no.
[Jenny] Well, that's beautiful.
Okay. After that, I don't even know how to talk about all this brick.
There are things we do love about this room.
-Yes. -Clearly, the rafters,
-the fan, but the brick arches, it blocks. -[Jenny] Yeah.
So when you walk in, you really don't get a view of the family room.
[Jenny] So what do you think about the fireplace?
[Farrah] We like having a fireplace,
but not so grand.
-Yeah. I agree. -Yeah. Easy enough.
So the plan for the living room
is to get rid of all the extra brick, all the extra ledges,
to raise up the floor so that it's consistent one level around the house.
We'll paint. And with this fireplace, we will bring it down
so that the scale matches the size of the room.
-[Matt] Perfect. -[Farrah] Sounds great.
-Okay. So I think we've got our orders. -Yes.
Now, what is the budget?
We'd like to keep it around $260,000.
[Jenny] Okay. That sounds like a lot,
but we'll definitely need every penny
because this is pretty much a gut renovation.
We're gonna go home and get a good night's rest
'cause we got a lot of work to do.
[Dave] Get our work clothes all shined up. Appreciate you all.
[Jenny] This one is going to be a big transformation.
But the biggest question I have is,
how long is demo gonna take,
'cause it's like my least favorite thing to do.
And this house...
-It's gonna be a grind. -...holy macaroni.
I'm already tired just thinking about all
the brick that we're gonna have to remove.
Not even the brick. That tumbled marble,
comes out one little piece at a time.
We're going to be two to three weeks getting
everything stripped out of this house.
Normally, demo would take around one week,
but this is double the amount of demo, so double the amount of time.
It's gonna be a lot of work, but it's gonna be worth it. It's gonna be good.
And it's for people that have really served--
-Given a lot to our country. -Yes.
Matt and Farrah deserve their dream home.
When we're done, this house will no longer
be one that they had to settle for.
-[Jenny] Hello. -[man] What's happening?
What's happenin'? We're ready. We got a big demo day today.
You better pep up your step.
-You're looking like you're draggin'. -[man chuckles]
[Jenny] Wait till you see all the stuff we have to take out of this house.
[Dave] Nothing out here.
All right. Let's start in the kitchen.
This is where we don't use the sledgehammers
'cause I want to salvage as much as we can, and then, we can donate 'em.
-[man] All right. -[Dave] All right. Let's go.
We're not salvaging the granite.
Got it.
Jenny, I'm taking the column out.
So, what's the plan?
-Do you think that's loadbearing? -[Dave] Oh, yeah.
-Something else in there. -So, you take the brick off
-and see what's underneath? -Yeah.
-Hey, Dave. -[Dave] What'd you find?
[Dave] Oh, look at that.
Is that a drywall column?
[Dave] Oh, look at that.
Is that a drywall column?
[Tim] That's what it is.
[Dave] Wow. That's the perfect size.
If we can be gentle taking that out,
we may have a finished product.
[Jenny] Oh!
You guys got it.
[Tim] Timber.
Look at that column. That's what it should have been all along.
-Oh, my gosh. -[Tim] That feels way better.
-Yes, much better. -Way better.
[Tim] All you got to do is put corner bead on that
-and he's done. -[Dave] Yeah.
[Jenny] All right, should we go to the main bathroom
and work over there?
[Dave] All right.
Look at the tumbled marble in here.
-[Tim] Man. -[Jenny] We just gotta take everything out,
and then, we're gonna have to reconfigure the space
-'cause a lot wasted space. -Wrap-around closet.
There's wasted space behind here.
-So... -Boom, boom, room.
-Oh, David, no-- -I could sit like this and be like...
[men laughing]
"Jenny, ready to tub?"
-Oh, my gosh. Okay. -[Dave] "What are you doing?"
-[Jenny] I'm gonna go. -"I'm just sitting here."
-[Jenny] That is just hard to resist. -[men laugh]
"How you doing?"
[Jenny chuckles]
Seeing it opened up, it's a big space.
We're gonna have plenty of room for the sauna,
tub, steam shower, for this whole spa retreat bathroom
that Farrah and Matt want.
Start hauling this stuff up. We'll get carpet out of here
and in another, you know, two to three weeks, we'll have all the demo done.
-Phew. -[Tim] Oh, I'll be sick.
-Oh, I'm getting sick already. -[Tim] I feel...
-I feel a fever coming on. -[man laughs]
[Dave] Inside this house,
we have so much demo that needs to be done,
so we can start building it back.
-There's a lot of demo, a lot of heavy demo. -There's a lot of brick.
[Dave] There's loads and loads of bricks,
and soffits, and tile,
and drywall, and trim work.
We're basically gutting this interior.
So, between labor and dumpster costs,
the demo alone is going to cost $35,000.
But we don't wanna compromise on the design.
So we're gonna have to think creatively
about how the money is spent along the way
to make sure Matt and Farrah get the amazing house they want.
[Jenny] Demo's taking longer than usual
and I'm really ready to get some of the design
elements moving forward.
I'm looking to find an old piece of furniture
that we can make into a hutch
for Matt's mom's china.
This beautiful china that they love
and they use often, and it's special to them.
So, I'm gonna find something where I can put it out so everybody can see it.
I could have a piece built, but custom cabinetry is expensive.
Typically, spend a couple hundred dollars
on a piece of furniture versus several thousand on a custom built-in.
So, even if I have to do a little modification...
Well, if Dave has to do a little modification, it'll still save money.
So... I can't hurt Dave's truck.
Uh-uh. Am I gonna hit that?
Okay. Good enough. Who cares?
-[Mike] Hi. -[Jenny] Hey. How are you?
Is there anything I can help you with?
[Jenny] Well, I'm actually looking for a china hutch.
Oh, we got a couple over here...
-[Jenny] Oh, you do? -...I know of. And there's some in the back.
-Okay. Perfect. Thanks. -[Mike] You betcha.
[Jenny] I'm just looking for a hutch that's tall, that has some character.
It's just kind of plain. I don't know.
The size is better,
but this is a little too formal.
No, not right.
I'll know it when I see it.
Oh, it's kind of cute.
The size is nice.
I'd wanna get rid of this 'cause we're doing
much cleaner lines.
We'll change out the hardware and I'd probably put glass on it.
If we paint it, then Dave can add the doors.
We don't have to worry about the exact
match of the wood and the stain.
So, I think that's perfect. Yeah.
I wonder what the price is. $250.
Well, that's not bad.
This hutch, once we kind of transform it a little bit,
all inexpensive, easy fixes, it's now an antique piece
that we're utilizing in the house,
but it also saved us a ton of money.
-I found one. Yes. -Great.
-Back in the back, yes. -Awesome.
[Jenny] You know, it's all about splurging where we can and saving where we have to
in order to maximize every dollar to give Matt and Farrah their dream home.
-There's your receipt. -Thank you.
-Okay. -And let me get a cart and I'll help you out.
All right. Perfect.
[Dave] It took three weeks, but it looks amazing.
[Chris] Oh, yeah. So much more open.
[Dave] And the floor is all one level now, which is so great.
This house has gone through a transformation.
But we've moved all this plumbing, all this electrical.
We've got all the headers in,
which is another major expense to this project.
It costs $10,000 to fully open up this main living space.
But you can look from the kitchen now
and look right up at the beautiful beams.
I know the Jennings will love it.
It's the way this house should have been.
It looks wonderful.
We have got the framing all but wrapped up.
We had to completely rework the main bathroom.
By combining the old bathroom space with the bonus nook,
we'll be able to give Matt and Farrah everything
they're wanting in their spa bathroom.
Where the old tub and shower were,
there will be a new steam shower with a hidden sauna.
They'll have a soaking tub and a double vanity.
It's a lot more usable space than what it was.
All right. We can get the drywallers working.
[birds chirping]
-[Chris] Yeah. -[Dave] Watch it, watch it.
-[Chris] Go straight behind you. -[Dave] Go down. Go down.
[man] Yeah, okay.
We have got all the cabinets here and there is a lot of 'em.
[Chris] I think this is the fridge.
[Dave] Kitchen cabinets are the one thing
we definitely did not wanna skimp on.
Matt and Farrah love to cook.
So we're installing $15,000 worth of beautiful
new custom cabinets that Chris made.
-Holy cow. -[Chris] That's the back of the island, there.
We got in a 10-foot long, 5-foot wide island.
This is the biggest island I think we've ever done.
Even though we removed a wall of cabinets on it
and the Jennings didn't care about losing cabinet space...
Go that a way a little bit more.
[Dave] ...we were able to make sure they still have a ton of storage.
We just gotta keep knocking one board after another.
[Chris] Just slide it over in place.
And we'll be done in no time.
Whoo.
[Dave] Pull this out now and slide it in.
It'll fit now.
-[man] No. -[Dave] No?
[Chris] That's not gonna fit.
[Chris] Yeah, that won't fit in there.
Yeah, I made that left side trim big.
Wanted to make sure we had some to trim off.
We have one cabinet that is just not quite fitting.
But luckily, Chris gave us some wiggle room on the trim.
So we're just gonna cut that down and we should be good.
Luckily, this is nothing
that will really delay us too long.
[Dave] I love it. I love it.
Oh, yeah, the secret pantry walkthrough.
We repositioned the entrance to the Jennings' large pantry
to better utilize the square footage of this house.
Throw some doors on here. I love it.
[Jenny] This looks amazing.
-Oh, hey. -[Jenny] Oh, my gosh. It's gigantic.
Look at all the storage.
This island is incredible. Wow.
-[Dave] Yeah. -It looks so good and it looks right out
into the living room. Love it.
So these are samples for the fireplace surround.
-Oh, nice. -So I'm having a concrete fireplace cast.
[Dave] So check it out?
A lot of people when they hear the word concrete,
they think cold, modern, industrial.
But it's actually a really versatile material, and it's...
Has a natural feel to it, so it fits really well
with both Farrah's coastal and Matt's farmhouse aesthetic.
[Dave] All right. What do you got?
[Jenny] Well, I have a bunch of colors.
No. I mean they really like light colors,
so I don't think grays work. But I like...
Just like a really clean white.
I think this is nice.
-So this is the one. -[Chris] Okay.
I'll go order that.
Done. Okay.
-I'll get colors today. -[Dave] Love it.
[Jenny] I just broke a nail. Dang.
[country music playing]
♪♪ I took the long way ♪
♪♪ But I get up around ♪
♪♪ All of the hard days ♪
♪♪ Are over now ♪
[vocalizing]
[Jenny] So the plans for the exterior,
we're gonna German schmear the brick.
[Dave] What about the front door?
[Jenny] It's a really pretty door, and the arches are nice.
I need to see if I can replace the glass
in the middle part with just clear.
And then paint the door and the garage doors.
[Dave] So then it's just lighting
-and cleaning up the landscaping a bit. -[Jenny] Mmm-hmm.
Those types of things really do make a big difference
and honestly, don't cost a lot of money.
So we can put all the money inside for the budget.
[Dave] The schmear is gonna be awesome.
-[Jenny] Mmm-hmm. It'll look good. -[Dave] Love it.
[Jenny] Farrah and Matt, they mentioned
that they really wanted to lighten up the house.
They love the coastal farmhouse feel.
So, a German schmear versus painting the brick.
I think this is gonna be great because the schmear still brings
the color of the brick through.
It's not completely painted,
not just a white house
that has a lot of the charm
that I think they're looking for.
[upbeat music playing]
[Chris] We got a whole 'nother look.
[Dave] A lot of cabinets.
We've got all of the cabinets ready to install
that are going into the main bedroom.
-Woo. -[Chris] All right.
-A lot of books, man. -[Chris] Yup.
[Dave] Lot of books.
[upbeat music playing]
[birds chirping]
[upbeat music playing]
So, another one of Jenny Marrs' finds
that I actually I don't think will be too bad to modify.
She does not want...
this scrolly pattern,
but I don't wanna cut anything out yet
because I'm gonna build the doors.
So I got to plane a couple two by fours down.
You know, I love this antiquing find
that Jenny made,
because we can take this hutch
that was really built well,
has lasted a long time,
modify it.
Doesn't need a lot.
And we can make this into something
that the Jennings family can display
the beautiful china that they have.
I need to find some glass.
Any house that we renovate, if we are replacing windows,
I save every one of those old windows.
It was something that was going
to be thrown away anyways.
So, to get that antique look,
I use old wavy glass all the time.
You cannot recreate wavy old glass
with bubbles in it, like 100-year-old glass.
All right, let's break this thing apart
without trying to break the glass.
I have not found a better way
other than plug it apart like so.
These frames,
sometimes it sticks together really good.
There we go. I got that one.
Almost.
[glass shatters]
Sometimes, break it.
All right. Let's go to round number two.
Let's go for round two.
Old glass is very delicate.
Sometimes I break it, but I've got a lot of it.
And once I get that glass cut
and installed in that pine casing,
we'll get it all painted up.
You will never know that it was not an original door
to this cabinet.
And we'll have a cool,
old-fashioned, old glass hutch.
All right, let's go cut the next one.
[upbeat music playing]
♪♪ I'm gonna take A little walk ♪
♪♪ Into the sweet sunshine ♪
♪♪ I'm gonna spread Some love ♪
♪♪ I'm gonna take my time ♪
[Jenny] Well, I am glad you got the hutch done
'cause I really wanna see it in this space.
[Dave] The old glass.
It'll look good.
[Jenny] Things are coming along here.
-It's good. -[Dave] Sure.
All right, let's get it in.
So what started out as a $250 hutch is now gorgeous
with the antique glass doors.
It looks just like a piece of furniture,
so it looks good.
Once we get it painted,
get some hardware on here,
it'll be great. I love it.
We'll have spent $400 total on it.
But again, we saved easily over a thousand dollars
by not building it from scratch
or buying something new.
Now, I need to come up with the color
'cause I don't want it to match the kitchen cabinets.
That needs to be a little different.
The kitchen is mushroom color
and so I think I'm gonna do
like a light blue or something,
so it'll feel like a French antique,
which will look perfect
for the coastal farmhouse look we're creating.
[Chris] Mmm-hmm. Okay.
-[Jenny] Yeah. -Sweet. I like it.
All right.
[upbeat music playing]
Do you wanna grab that nail gun?
So the Jennings really wanted a complete spa bathroom.
They wanted the steamer,
they wanted the tub, they wanted the shower.
The sauna, though, is gonna be super cool.
I feel like our heater goes here.
[Chris] It's gonna be tight with a door there.
[Dave] Most saunas are three foot by three foot.
That's what makes them more efficient.
That's what's great about a sauna.
You don't need a ton of room.
Actually, the smaller space you have,
the better that they work.
Did you bring the foil?
We got to do the foil first.
The sauna, we got the kit.
They're really simple.
We're basically wrapping
that whole room in a foil paper.
So this is the most important thing.
This is gonna reflect all that heat back into sauna.
Bring me a 4-foot bundle.
All of our cedar pieces are pretty much cut to length.
Cedar's awesome
because it's resistant to rot and moisture.
So it's perfect for a room
that's gonna be handling fluctuating temperatures
and high amounts of moisture.
And for $5,300,
this will give Matt and Farrah a perfect spot
to unwind and relax in.
Let's go get more materials and we'll keep rolling.
[Chris] All right, cool.
[upbeat music playing]
Painters are hard at work here at the Jennings house.
For the coastal farmhouse feel,
all the paint colors I've picked
from the warm white in the dining room
to the soft green in the main bedroom
and closet are natural and soothing.
Oh, the kitchen looks so good.
Wow.
[telephone rings]
-[Buddy] Hello? -[Jenny] Hey,
I have a project for you.
-[Buddy] Okay. -My friend Buddy is an artist.
Can you do a little bit of that with the shapes?
[Jenny] I was thinking I could have him
create a really special painting for Farrah and Matt.
I am at a house that we are working on,
our homeowners tragically lost their daughter.
-She was in her early 20s. -[Buddy] Oh, my God.
[Jenny] I know. It's really, really sad.
And her name is Hannah.
I would love to have a piece of art
just to honor her.
I think art is the type of thing that conveys emotion.
It tells a story.
It's really important to have in your home.
Let's just stick to four by four.
I think a custom piece would be really special.
And I know Farrah and Matt will really appreciate this.
One thing they said, of course,
is they want to keep her name alive.
So I thought if there's a way to incorporate her name
into the piece, not obviously glaringly.
[Buddy] Okay.
And then Farrah said
butterflies remind her of Hannah.
-So I thought maybe... -[Buddy] Okay.
...to incorporate a butterfly.
[Buddy] Well, of course I can do that.
-Okay. Thanks so much, Buddy. -[Buddy] Thank you, Jenny.
I appreciate it.
-[Buddy] You're welcome. -Okay. Bye.
-Wow. [laughs] -[Matt] Oh, wow.
-Oh, that is a [indistinct] -[Farrah] There's too much.
Yeah. [laughs]
[Matt] Thank you for honoring her this way.
She would love it.
[upbeat music playing]
[Dave] We're in the final two weeks of this renovation.
So we have a lot going on at the Jennings house.
We're doing everything to make sure
Matt and Farrah have their dream home.
In the main bathroom, they want a spa-like retreat.
So they're getting heated floors
under the large format tiles
that stretch up the walls and into the shower.
Porch countertops are going in
including a massive slab for the 10-foot long,
5-foot wide island, and it looks amazing.
Let's try out a little schmear.
I do paint brick sometimes, but if we can schmear it,
you still see the brick underneath.
It lightens it up.
It changes the feel of the house completely.
And it won't feel like every other house in the neighborhood
'cause this is a neighborhood of brick houses,
so it's gonna look a lot different.
Yeah, I think it's gonna look good.
[phone vibrates]
[woman] Matt Jennings.
-[phone vibrates] -Oh, whoa.
-Hello, Matt? -[Matt] Hello.
What's up?
[Matt] When you came into our home,
you saw her wall of gratitude
with all the old pictures.
[Jenny] Oh, yeah. Love that.
[Matt] Well, basically 99% of those pictures
are my family.
Farrah is really not represented well in there.
I came across pictures of her grandmother
and her grandfather.
So if we're going to create another wall
what a great addition
and wonderful surprise it would be
for Farrah to see her grandmother
and her grandfather on the wall.
Oh, I love that.
Absolutely.
Any heartfelt moments, I love,
I always wanna include,
you know, the family story into the house
and this is part of their story.
And I love that Matt thought of this
and thought of this for Farrah.
I think... Well, I know she will appreciate it.
We will absolutely... Let's...
-Yes, let's do it. -[Matt] Thank you. Excellent.
Oh, I love that.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jenny] Hey, how's it going?
[Chris] I was looking at the fireplace mantle.
-So excited to see this thing. -[Chris] Oh, goodness.
-They're heavy. -[Jenny] They're heavy,
solid concrete.
-Um... -Yeah.
Can you grab that side?
[grunts]
[Jenny] This mantle, it was custom made.
Compared to the massive brick fireplace
that was here before,
this mantle is more minimalistic.
It's a perfect fireplace for this new house.
Oh, my gosh.
It is beefy, to say it nicely.
It is like...
-Heavy. -2-inch...
-It would be nice-- -2-inch. 2-inch...
[Jenny] I think heavy would've been nice, not beefy.
Beefy is not really a nice adjective.
2-inch thick concrete.
[grunts]
It's testing the guns.
[upbeat music playing]
[Chris] That is heavy.
[Chris] Oh.
-Oh, man. -Oh, it's pretty.
We just have to attach it to the wall
and then we can check that off.
-Ready to put these on? -[Chris] Yeah.
There's just a lot that still need to happen.
We need to get the pantry doors installed.
We need to get the cabinet hardware on.
[Dave] All right.
We're good there.
We're so close.
It's just like stuff
that just takes time
and just needs to get done.
I think I like that. Okay.
I'm gonna go work in the...
Make a list... I... I'm gonna...
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
We have one week left
and I know Matt and Farrah are ready to get out
of the apartment they're renting.
-I gotta go make... -Hey.
-[Jenny] ...a furniture list. -Make a list...
-I gotta make-- -...and just do one thing at a time.
-I know. -It's all you can do
-is one thing at a time. -All right.
[Dave] It's really important to Matt and Farrah
to have the same flooring throughout.
So we'll have a premium LVP going in.
It'll be durable
and makes this house feel much brighter inside.
Everything is coming together.
We're wrapping up for the spa-like retreat
in the main bathroom with a soaking tub.
And the sauna has been finished off
with a pebble tile floor.
-Oh, the schmear looks good. -[Dave] Oh, it looks amazing.
[Jenny] We didn't do anything structurally,
we just added a schmear
and it makes a huge difference.
And the door looks really good.
[upbeat music playing]
We have all these pictures.
These were already on the wall
but these are Farrah's grandpa and grandma.
-[Dave] Oh, wow. -So we're adding those
to the wall.
[Dave] I just love that they honor their family like this.
[Jenny] Install day. It's a big day.
For the next couple days, we'll be really busy
but we're getting really close.
-[Dave] Buddy. -Hey.
[Jenny] Buddy's here with the painting I commissioned
to honor Matt and Farrah's daughter Hannah.
[Jenny] So pretty.
The name, is it in there?
[Buddy] Hannah is in here, H-A-N-N-A-H.
-[Jenny] Oh. -[Dave] Oh, my gosh.
[Jenny] Wow. Oh, I love that.
[Buddy] It's kinda hidden.
[Dave] That's so cool.
[Jenny] But it's there.
That's so sweet.
Thank you. They're gonna love this.
[upbeat music playing]
[Dave] Are you guys ready for this?
-[Jenny] Nope. -Okay.
Just set it here.
We got a lot of hands here
and getting everybody to work.
[upbeat music playing]
[Jenny] Already feels
-completely transformed. -Yeah.
If you think about this living room before,
there was no way you could've fit
a sectional sofa in this living room.
It was so crowded with all that brick and everything.
Like, now, it's so open,
so much more space, so much more functionality.
-Yeah. Yeah. -Looks amazing.
Okay. Let's keep going.
[upbeat music playing]
Last chair.
We are just wrapping up the last minute details
so we can give the Jennings back their home.
I mean, this is a spa room.
[Jenny] I know.
Matt and Farrah, they weren't wanting to move.
They've moved a lot over the years.
-They're a military family. -Yeah.
And this was the place that they wanted to stay in
because it has memories of their daughter Hannah,
but the home itself wasn't working for them.
They didn't love this home.
So we are able to make their budget go a long way
with this transformation
and make this house feel more open,
and more beautiful, and bright.
For the main bedroom,
it's just serene and relaxing.
[Dave] The fireplace is amazing.
The bookcase is incredible.
The kitchen, it doesn't look anything like...
-[Jenny] No. -[Dave] ...what it used to.
-It's open. -It's wide open.
[Jenny] It's amazing.
Gigantic island.
And now, I think they will really love this home.
I do too.
I'm so glad I went blue on this.
It works perfectly with the china.
All right.
We're ready.
[Farrah] I'm so excited.
Oh, we're getting close.
I can see our roofline.
-Oh, look at that. -Look at that.
Oh, it's fantastic.
Oh, that looks amazing.
-[Matt] Uh-huh. -[Farrah] It looks like
a completely different house.
-Hello. -Hi.
-[Matt] Oh, my God. -[Jenny] Hi.
-[Dave] Shut your car off. -Let me turn the car off.
[laughs]
-[Jenny] Hi. -You look so nice.
Thank you.
[Matt] Oh, my gosh.
-Look at the fixtures. -Come on. Check it out.
-[Farrah] Wow. -[Matt] I love the schmear.
-[Farrah] Wow. -[Jenny] So does it feel
-a little more coastal... -[Matt] I like that.
-[Jenny] ...and softened up? -[Matt] Yes, it does.
It doesn't look like every house in the neighborhood.
-[Jenny] Mmm-hmm. -[Matt] We wanted that pop
and it's got that pop.
Oh, it's fantastic.
-[Jenny] We can-- -[Farrah] We can stop now.
-No. God. No. -I'm okay.
And there's a lot more to see.
This is all we need.
[Matt] Look at the door.
[Jenny] So it's the same door, we just changed out the glass.
[Matt] It's beautiful.
Just to have that clear glass
and able to see through it.
-[Farrah] Yeah. -[Jenny] Yes.
Are you ready to go inside?
-Can we see it? -[Jenny] Okay. Yes.
Let's go. We'll follow you.
[upbeat music playing]
Wow.
[Matt] This is amazing.
The drop soffit's gone.
This is beautiful.
And we have this column, we paired this back,
painted the bricks just to brighten it up.
We have the lighter floor.
[Farrah] I love the light fixture.
This is fantastic.
-[Farrah] Love it. -[Matt] Do you notice anything
-with the pictures? -Do I notice anything
with the pictures?
Oh, my grandma and grandpa.
-[Matt] Yes. -[Farrah] You added them
to your old dead people wall.
-[laughter] -I love that.
-Surprise. -Aw.
We both love this wall.
We love the concept of it.
We love the way you remember where you came from
and honor that.
So... And it's really, really beautiful
and I love that it's the first thing you see
-when you walk in the door. -[Farrah] Me too.
It's beautiful.
[Jenny] Let's go check out your bedroom.
-[Farrah] All right. -[Matt] All right.
-Oh. -[Farrah] Wow.
Oh, wow. Look at that.
Look at that.
Oh, that is amazing.
With the ladder and everything.
[Farrah] Yeah.
That's awesome.
[Matt] I love this.
There was this little nook here
-in the wall that-- -Yeah.
-With the drop soffit? -[Jenny] Yes.
-[Matt] Yes. -[Jenny] Once we got rid of soffit,
we're like, "This needs something."
And I just love built-in bookshelves,
they add so much to the space.
You can display all your favorite things,
have your books handy for reading at night.
We cleaned up the ceiling and all the extra trim work.
-Flat ceiling. -So much better.
Much better.
And then remember, you had this corner here.
Yeah, it was a lot going on,
so now, this room is actually just a square,
this is just your bedroom.
When you wake up in the morning,
you don't have to look at all these other stuff
in the space.
It really is focused for just relaxation.
And I'm very jealous
because I've always wanted a fireplace in my bedroom.
I love it. It's so soothing like a spa.
Continuing with that spa-like feel.
Now, behind that door is your new spa-like bathroom.
Wow.
Oh, my gosh.
-Look at this. -[Matt] Oh, look at that.
[Farrah] Wow.
I love the tub.
The floating tub is beautiful.
[Farrah] Look at the floor.
-This is classic. -Yeah.
-Yes. -Isn't it cool?
-Spa-like. -[Farrah] I love it.
-[Jenny] Yes. -[Matt] Absolutely.
Inside the shower, there is a steam shower.
I know you wanted that but go ahead
-and check out the shower. -[gasps]
And the sauna.
Oh, look at that.
[laughter]
Yes. Wow.
Oh, that is fantastic.
I don't ever have to go on vacation again.
[Matt] Absolutely wonderful.
Notice how big the bathroom is now
as opposed to that little galley we had before?
-This is really nice. -Yes, it is.
And then here you have your closet.
-[Matt] Oh, look at this. -[Farrah] Wow.
-[Matt] Oh, it's nice. -[Farrah] It's our closet but better.
Love it.
Your kitchen and living room, oh, my gosh.
Enough with the closet. Let's go.
[acoustic music playing]
Wow.
Look there's no step down.
-Wow. -[Matt] Oh, my gosh.
[Farrah] This doesn't look like our house.
I don't even know what to say.
[Matt] This is beautiful.
-[Farrah] There's too much. -[Matt] This--
-[Farrah] I... -[laughter]
I don't even know what to look at.
[Matt] Island is fantastic.
-Yeah. Right? -Yeah.
-Remember your little island before? -[Matt] Look at this.
[Dave] This is the widest...
Like, the biggest island, I think, we've ever done.
[Matt] This is beautiful.
[Jenny] Go check out your pantry.
-Where is it? -Right here.
Oh.
-Oh, I love this. -Uh-huh.
Look at that.
It's the same pantry
but it looks completely different.
I love these doors. The way it just kinda hides.
-Yeah. Yeah, just blends in... -Isn't it nice?
-...seamlessly. Yes. -[Matt] Yes.
[Matt] Oh, my gosh. This is fantastic.
[Jenny] And then we have this piece here
that we created for your mom's china, Matt.
[Matt] Oh.
-Look at that. -Yeah.
-It's beautiful. -It does it justice.
-Yeah. She would love this. -Displayed the way it needs to be.
[Farrah] She'd absolutely love this.
[Matt] She loved that china.
Beautiful.
-[sniffles] -Yeah.
-[Jenny] You know, this is actually... -I like it.
...a piece that I found in the antique store.
And then Dave modified the top and added glass doors.
And then I painted it blue so it feels like
a French antique
but it also ties really nicely in
with the beautiful china.
Thank you so much.
-And again, this is... -Absolutely.
[Matt] This really means a lot to me.
The china was a favorite of my mother's.
-Yes. Yes. -And this makes it easy to use.
-Yes, she does. -And it will be used
and displayed, and seen.
So beautiful. Thank you.
-Okay. So... -All right. Your living room.
-Come on. -Let's go.
[Matt] Look at this.
Look how open this is.
-[Jenny] Yes. Right? -This is perfect.
[Jenny] So this floor, obviously, is all one level.
-[Farrah] We're all one level. -It's consistent.
No more brick arches.
[Farrah] The fireplace doesn't take up half the room.
Yeah. So this is a cast concrete I had custom made
for the space.
-Same with the bedroom. -Again, wanted everything
just to feel a little more simplified.
Now, the space is so much bigger,
you can fit a whole sectional in here.
I mean, look back at your kitchen now.
-It makes such a difference... -Oh, really appreciate it.
[Farrah] ...having that one wall gone.
[Matt] It's an incredible living space.
[Farrah] It's a different house.
It's just... It's an amazing living space.
It really is.
This piece above the fireplace,
I have an artist friend of mine, Buddy,
who I told the story of Hannah
and how you said that butterflies remind you of her.
And I told him one of the things
that was really important to the two of you,
of course, is to keep her name alive.
-Yes. -[Jenny] And so if you can see,
-he incorporated her name... -Oh, he put it there.
-...into the painting. -[Matt] Oh, my gosh.
[Jenny] And so it's in the place of honor
and prominence right here.
Thank you.
She would love it.
-[Jenny] Wonderful. -Yeah, she would.
She would love it.
[Jenny] Well, that makes me happy to hear it.
So that completes the room.
-[Matt] Wow. -[Farrah] It sure does.
Yeah.
It sure does.
I'm overwhelmed.
Absolutely.
Thank you for honoring her this way.
The painting is probably one of my favorite elements
of the house
just that it's so personalized
and so special.
Even though she's not here with us physically,
I feel like that was a great way
to have her here with us today and every day.
-Thank you so much. -Thank you.
-Oh, my gosh. Thank you, guys. -This is wonderful.
This was such an awesome project.
-Oh, my God. -We loved it.
-Love it. -[Matt] You absolutely nailed this place.
It is just... We've lived in a lot of houses,
you know, being military all these years
and traveling, and living here, living there.
-Oh, my goodness. -Isn't this amazing?
We're finally home.
-So happy. Yeah. -Over the moon.
I don't think it could've come out better.
Really.
[all] Cheers.
[upbeat music playing]