[Mina] For nearly a decade, I worked my butt off
renovating Indianapolis one rundown house at a time.
This is tragic. Come on in.
Oh, my gosh.
-[all cheering] -Oh, my gosh.
Wow.
[upbeat music playing]
But now, after all that hustling and grinding,
it's time to set a new pace.
I'm heading out into uncharted waters.
-I love that there's space for the kids to play. -Yeah.
Slimming down my business.
It's empty. Seems crazy.
Renovating fewer houses.
We're going to have to move a lot slower
-as more income comes in. -Yeah.
And creating a slower life on the lake for my family.
Welcome to your new world.
[pop music playing]
Aw.
[Mina] It's time for a fresh start.
Oh, my gosh.
[upbeat music playing]
Where did you say this house was?
-Okay. -This is in Martinsville, which is about 30 minutes away
from downtown Indianapolis.
But it's on the water.
It's probably more house than we need, but the idea is that
it could be for friends and families and the grandkids.
Steve and I have been looking for an affordable fixer-upper
on a lake for about three years now.
I mean, really, after focusing so hard
on our careers for so long, I just kind of had
this light bulb moment that the kids aren't going
to be young forever.
So we really wanted to figure out a way
to have a lifestyle where we're living more
and working a little bit less.
So I made the choice to slow down and scale back
the renovation business a bit, which means I didn't need
headquarters anymore.
So I decided to go ahead and list it and I got an offer
that I just couldn't refuse.
So now just really feels like the right time to find
a lake house where we can have a little bit
more calm and make some memories for our kids
that they're never going to forget.
So, this is the house that we saw
and really liked. We made an offer,
but lost out to another buyer.
But lucky for us, the other buyer's offer just fell through.
The seller's agent reached back out and was like,
"Hey, would you like to see it before it's listed again?"
So I think it's five bedrooms, three baths,
five thousand square feet with the basement.
-Okay. -And it...
was listed at $525,000.
It's a cool mid-century house, never updated,
so it needs renovating.
But it's really hard to find anything under $700,000 on the water,
so the price is right.
I think we have enough in savings for the down payment.
-With HQ selling, we could start the renovation. -Gotcha.
That still sounds like a pretty good deal to me,
-on the water. -Yeah. Yeah.
[screams] God.
It's a cicada. It's fine. It's just giant.
-Got you like that. That freaked you out? -[screams]
-Oh, good luck. -Okay.
We're in nature.
If those freak you out, welcome to your new world.
Whoo. Okay.
It's got that really beautiful mid-century modern vibe
going on.
I love the stone. I love the front door.
I think it just needs a paint job
and some updated landscaping.
Yeah, I love it.
I love, like, the country feel and kind of getting
a bit of away from downtown.
I love the door.
I remember this a little bit now.
The living room seems to be a pretty good size.
-I love the light that gets let in. -Yeah.
-Well, that's going. -That's going, 100%.
Not sure what was sitting here or here,
-but this is all going to go. -You got that fireplace going.
If this was, like, crappy stone veneer,
I wouldn't keep it, but it's...
-I absolutely love this. -I love it.
-Because I can see, like, Christmas tree, fire. -All the kids.
-They're all lined up here. -I had this, like, growing up.
It was brick.
Well, we're going to have to get a mantle because
we got to hang the stockings with care.
-[laughs] -Yep.
I don't want a mantle. I want a mantle.
So where are the stockings going to be hung then
-if you don't have them with the mantle? -By the hung with care?
You're stressing me out.
We'll put that over there for now.
This is not a joke. This is not a drill.
If Steve cannot, in his brain, figure out where Christmas
is happening, there is no point in having this house.
And that's just how, like, sentimental
and, like, family-oriented he is.
-Let's go see the kitchen. -[Steve] Okay.
-So we've got a dining area, a bar top area, the kitchen. -Yeah. I like--
Kids can eat.
-[Mina] And then a breakfast nap. -Get some bar stools.
-But not there. -Yep, right here.
-So, no. -Because they've got to be looking.
I think what I would prefer to do is...
I want to straighten this out so we just have a run six inches
in from the door, six inches in from the window.
-Okay. -And I think we could keep
the sink under the window, obviously.
Stove could fit here, and then fridge could fit here,
and then just a big island.
-Well, I like the ideas that you got so far. -Okay.
-Want to check out the bedrooms? -Show me the bedrooms?
-I do. -All right, let's do it.
-So I see this one. -This room as?
-Being Jack's big boy room. -Jack's big boy room.
[Mina] And then right next door being Charlie's room.
-This one's a little bigger. -Oh, okay.
[Mina] And then these two bedrooms share this bathroom.
But I think this is going to be pretty simple,
because although the things all need replaced,
like behind the drywall, this was functioning.
Sounds good.
-This room is huge. -Huge.
-This view is... -Is amazing.
Do you like the wallpaper?
-No. -Okay, good.
Just checking.
-See where we're at. Yes. -Let's move on to the bathroom.
This really isn't a main en suite bathroom.
-Needs to have two vanities. And the shower is very sad. -Okay.
We'll figure this out.
The downstairs is mostly cosmetic, but it's huge.
It all needs updating.
The living area, the kitchenette,
the bathroom, the bedrooms.
It's a massive house for just us.
But I really like that there's plenty of room
for friends and family to enjoy this place too.
-Yeah. -I don't want to go back down by the water.
Let's go down there.
-I love this. -Yes.
-I love that there's space for the kids to play. -Yeah.
And then I kind of see, like, out at the point,
that being where there's, like, a small dock
-along the property line. -Okay.
Maybe some, like, chairs and a...
-Even, like, a simple fire pit. -Yeah, sounds good.
I want to gauge your interest because...
Well, I hope you love it because it's a great price.
And so I just went with my gut.
-I just re-sent our offer. -Well, surprise, surprise.
-I just re-sent our offer. -Oh, um...
-So... -Surprise, surprise.
The first time that we kind of came out here, like, I liked it.
-Yeah. -But now, I really love it.
I can see the vision and having all the family
-and the friends out here. -Yeah.
Like, weekends, holidays, things like that.
But can you tell me how much it's going to cost?
[Mina] Well, if they accept our offer,
I think this is mostly a cosmetic renovation,
but it's a big one.
Every space needs updated.
I think we should update the exterior,
and inside we need all new flooring, new paint,
and I want to do a brand new kitchen.
And then there's renovating all the bedrooms and bathrooms.
And then in the backyard, I think we should build
a dock, and maybe a fire pit,
and then maybe even add a hot tub.
The house is listed for $525,000,
but I put an offer in for $510,000.
It's going to take at least $200,000 to do the renovations,
so we'd be all in at $710,000.
And I think we hold onto this house for as long as possible
and let our kids grow up here, and we make this place
our home away from home.
-We're buying a dream, not a house. -Yeah.
We should bring the kids back.
-Oh, my God. They're going to be so hyped. -Yeah.
Steve and I don't live extravagantly.
We don't have expensive clothes.
We don't drive fancy cars.
We've really, like, scrimped and saved.
We've worked our butts off and held onto most of
what we've made.
And even this house is a fixer-upper,
and it's what we could afford, and it's a smart buy.
It's going to take a lot of work.
And luckily, with the pending HQ sale, we're going to have
some funds coming in to be able to do the work.
♪♪ Can we make this last forever? ♪
♪♪ You and me together ♪
♪♪ In this life We can't deny ♪
All right, it's getting there.
When are the movers coming?
They're coming for the big stuff at the end of the week.
I have a lot of mixed emotions this morning.
Unexpectedly, I got an offer on HQ,
30-day close, so we are moving out.
-Hey. -How are you guys?
-What do you think? -It's empty.
I haven't seen it empty like this in so long.
-Since before we moved in. -Yeah, seems crazy.
It was only a couple of years ago that
we built this headquarters for my home renovation company,
Two Chicks and a Hammer.
But it really got to be a little bit too much,
so I decided to scale back pretty dramatically.
And instead of renovating a dozen houses a year,
I now only have a couple of projects going on,
and I only have one employee.
On the bright side, with this going under contract,
it's going to free up some cash for the lake house.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
-I feel like it's kind of-- -Meant to be.
Yeah, maybe meant to be.
So we can probably be done for now.
We'll grab those last three. We'll rock and roll.
Closing HQ and downsizing the business
really has been a big change.
But I think it's definitely going to be good
for our entire family.
And so while, yes, it's definitely going to be a change,
it's a change that I'm ready for.
Come on in. Take her all in.
The sellers accepted our offer of $510,000 on the lake house,
and now we are ready to get to work.
We're putting in some sweat equity.
We've got some friends coming to put in some sweat equity.
MJ and Austin are helping.
The fact that they were previous employees of yours,
and they're willing to come help out.
And they don't hate me enough to not come back.
Yeah, I think that says a lot.
Hit it, girl.
This is the last of the carpet.
[Mina] Last piece.
Two of my favorite things, mid-century modern house and a lake.
I'm very strong on lakes are way better than beaches,
oceans, trash.
-100%. -Awful, salty, sand.
Sand's bad. I don't like sand.
And this is just so much better.
It's so much better.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Hey.
[upbeat music playing]
Wow, what a mess.
-Uh-oh. -I hope you guys got cleaners.
Yeah, you're looking at them.
[laughs] You're looking at them.
I feel like we worked harder today than we did
-when we were full-time employees, to be honest. -Uh...
I would say at the beginning, no.
It took me a long time, but it wasn't that hard.
But then I ended up looking like this.
So yeah, kind of. Yeah.
Aw.
It was beating.
Now our toilet will sit here.
I can't.
[Mina] There are no floor plan changes happening at this project.
Everything is staying where it is.
No walls are moving, except I am going to put in
some floor joists over the open staircase
to the basement so I can add a bit more room
to the main bathroom.
And we're ditching the pony walls in the living room
to open it up a bit more and make the entrance more welcoming.
Hey, buddy. Oh, where you going...
-Group hug. -Are you ready to go swim?
Yeah.
Well, let's go change, and we will go swimming.
[babbles]
How's that feel, guys?
-Hey. -Feels good.
-Are you excited to be able to do this every day? -Yeah.
We've been living in the city for so long now that...
Mmm...
we don't ever get to do stuff like this.
So it's pretty awesome.
There you go, little baby. All right.
-Let's rock and roll. -Hold me like a baby.
-You like the lake house? -[babbles]
The lake house is going to feel very healing for Steve
because he's lost so much.
Steve's little sister passed away after
both her and Steve's parents had died six months apart.
He's going through life the best way he can
after just some really, really epic loss
in a very, very short amount of time.
And because his time with his family was cut short,
that's really why we wanted this lake house for Jack and Charlie,
really for the long term, for like the memories,
for the experiences.
So that's, I think, why it's really important to both of us.
With demo and our small amount of framing work finished,
we're at a little bit of a stall until the money
from the HQ sale comes through.
While Two Chicks may have downsized,
we still have a few projects on our plate.
This is Birch, and the main house
is finally getting built.
Last year, this project came to a screeching halt
when the foundation didn't pass inspection.
The foundation team that did this did not do it properly.
The foundation is below grade.
Steve and I actually decided to hold on to this property
as a rental.
And to help offset the costs of the duplex delays,
we decided to move forward with building two rental units
in a carriage house on the back of the lot.
-This is it. -Oh, wow.
But every day this main duplex isn't rented
is costing us money.
At least now, it's finally coming along.
And Brittany can't get down here today,
so I'm doing our daily pictures.
And we got footers, which is exciting.
It looks massive now, but there'll be a raised porch here,
which will make this place a very charming addition to the street.
-[cell phone vibrating] -Hello.
-Hey. -All the footers are in.
There's no posts.
I put everything in the app, so there's pictures.
[Brittany] Did you go in?
-No, I haven't gone in. -Oh, okay.
What did you need?
The sale of HQ is not happening.
The bank called, and that cashier's check
was fraudulent.
And that money is no good.
Jesus.
[tense music playing]
[Brittany] The sale of HQ is not happening.
The bank called, and that cashier's check
was written on a fraudulent account,
and that money is no good.
[Mina] Jesus.
This obviously changes some things financially for the business,
but also for Steve and I, so...
-This sucks. -All right, thanks, Britt.
-I'll talk to you later. -Bye.
This is definitely not good.
Steve's not gonna be happy. I'm not happy.
And we gotta figure out what exactly we're gonna do.
[door creaking]
-Oh, hey. -Hi.
What's going on?
Uh, well...
-the bank called. -Uh-huh.
The sale of HQ fell through.
Mmm.
It's totally...
-It's... -Done.
...was too good to be true. Headquarters is, is empty.
-Right. -We're moved out, like at the very worst case,
we can rent it if we don't have another buyer,
but, obviously, our plan is changing.
We don't have these funds to pay for the renovation
-at the lake house. -Mm-hmm.
So we're gonna have to move a lot slower
and do the projects pretty much as...
-more income comes in. -Yeah.
-We for sure have to cut back on a lot of things. -Yeah.
I mean, backyard, back deck, like none of,
-Yeah. -nothing needs to happen there.
I also think we leave the basement as is.
I mean, I think a good first kind of chunk for us
to bite off is getting like the outside,
just like a refresh and then inside all
the flooring, all the paint.
And that gets us like a nice shell to then be able
to kind of reset and be like, okay, let's look at our budget
for the kitchen and the two bathrooms.
Cause that's, those are obviously the big ticket items.
And while it would have taken $200,000 to reno
this entire property inside and out,
slimming down the reno to just the main level is
going to get us closer to the $100,000 budget,
which is still a lot and still going to take some sacrifices
to pull that money together.
The nice thing is that we're not on
any particular deadlines.
You always tell me when I get worried about money,
we can always make more.
So let's just go with that mindset.
That is the whole point.
It's for the kids to be able to, like,
-have great memories and grow up and say, -Yeah.
"I remember doing this and, you know,
playing with sticks and starting a fire."
Life's about memories, not money.
-Yeah. -So,
that's what we're going to do.
Despite the setback with HQ, we're pushing forward
with giving the front of the lake house a refresh.
With a more modern look in mind,
we're going to go with an all-black exterior.
[upbeat music playing]
I definitely love the mid-century vibe
of this house, but I want to use more muted colors.
So the flooring I'm going with is a very light blonde,
which modernizes the whole main level.
On the exterior, we installed oversized lantern fixtures
to break up all the black, but we need to figure out
an accent color for the door.
[Jack] Mom.
-Yeah, buddy? -We need you.
-You need me? -[Jack] Yeah.
You don't need me.
You just want me.
I got to paint the front door.
I brought the kids up here a few weeks ago
and had a bunch of different paint chips for the front door.
And I gave Steve the option of which one he wanted of those,
and he picked slate green.
-Yeah. -All right.
-Let's go for it? -Let's go for it.
-I feel like he would wear that color. -Yeah.
[Jack] Hey, mama...
Yeah. [gasps]
Oh, Lord. What'd you find?
[gasps]
Oh, God. I thought it was paint.
-Come here. Show your daddy. -[Jack] Mom, come and see this.
-Come here. -Oh, Lord.
I panicked, 'cause I see Charlie come out,
and I thought she had paint all over her.
And I was like, if she has paint all over her,
then something else has paint all over it.
And it's just Styrofoam.
[exclaims]
We have to paint, so you can't do that with
the Styrofoam or it'll get in the paint.
Why don't you go play with sticks?
[exclaims]
The children are having a ball with the Styrofoam.
And you know what?
-It's keeping them busy, so it's fine. -Yeah.
So it will dry darker, but I don't know if it's going
to dry as dark as... This does not look like the swatch.
It has, like, blue. Yeah.
-In my head, I had the... -The swatch was gray, green, like black.
-Yep. -It was almost black.
And this is not that.
-This is not the right color. -Yeah.
I'm just so confused.
It's very possible that it was, like, mis-mixed.
-Actually, that is kind of it. -That is kind of it.
That is kind of it.
But I don't want it. I think.
We'll go the next color down.
Honestly, that's probably what we thought we were doing.
-I'm good with that. -Okay.
So we're going to make a different selection.
You know what?
Remember when we were at Auntie Kelsey's and there was the fire pit?
We could make one like that.
Oh, we just need to scratch sticks.
You just need to scratch sticks together?
So we just put one in the middle and scratch it.
With our plans to paint the front door being foiled,
we had loosely talked about a fire pit.
And there's all these extra stones from
-the half wall that we took down. -Yeah.
So just transition that energy into let's build a fire pit.
I kind of thought, like, right there past that tree.
Okay.
I know a perfect spot!
Or even in the middle here, just, like, a couple Adirondack chairs.
I had and still have grand plans for the backyard,
but it would be nice to have, like, a little fire pit area,
and that's something that we can do very easily.
Got to find some more sticks to rub together first.
Eventually, we'll do, like, more of, like,
the bigger backyard project, but I think this will be nice for now.
Oh, it'll be nice.
[upbeat music playing]
Now that I have the new paint color for the front door,
I think we made the right choice to go with the darker bronze color.
It gives the mid-century exterior
a monochromatic modern twist.
Oh, look at that!
That looks good.
And to help us save on budget, I'm going to keep the nice,
clean river rock in the front and spruce up the exterior
with some oversized mid-century modern planters.
This looks good.
The roundness of these makes the giant earrings makes more sense.
The lights I found are massive.
Oh, wow. Those blended in.
You don't notice them until you notice them.
I did not notice them until I noticed them.
-Yeah, they're huge. -All right.
-Now we just need to acquire some evergreens. -[MJ] Yeah.
[Mina] Because we're taking this house in phases,
the inside is about as far along as it's going to get for now.
There's fresh white paint and flooring down,
but I've got something special I think I can add to
the main bedroom that's just for Steve.
I've been assembling and hoarding.
Yeah, all the way up to the front, huh?
The garage is so full with all like the comforters
and pillows and bedding and there's rugs
and all the chairs are assembled.
And they're all the things I've been buying and hoarding
when I find them on sale to help us stay on budget.
And it might be at max capacity now.
We've got the fireplace from Michigan 'cause
-they actually installed like a legit fireplace. -A real fireplace?
The fireplace got a new life when it was put
into a house we did on Michigan.
We had an extremely expensive foundation issue at this house,
so we couldn't afford to put in a fireplace,
despite MJ's begging.
The fireplace is going to really be the focal point.
-No. -I've said no less than 47 times that
there is no fireplace in this house.
Yeah, but do you love it?
And then he surprised me with an affordable alternative.
I love this thing.
[MJ] Yes.
[Mina] So I was thrilled when the buyers didn't need it
and let me have it because it's going to fit
the mid-century look of the lake house perfectly.
And Steve loves
a fireplace.
Like either this corner.
It's like really the only spot for the bed is right there.
I think that could be cute if the chairs fit on each side of it.
And then the bed right there.
The only thing that Steve cared about in the house,
the only thing he had the opinion on was the bed
and it's leather tufted headboard.
I think that'll work.
Everything else in the house is kind of lagging a little bit.
So I might try to, even though the house
won't be done, like get this stage.
So it's like hot mess express out there.
And then you walk into it and you're like.
Island of solitude in here that's done.
Yeah.
So it's been framed for a while,
-but we couldn't really get into it easily. -Yeah.
Because the porches were not finished till...
I've never seen it with the porch. The porch looks great.
-Last week. -Yeah.
Last we were here, you couldn't really get in
the house because the steps and the porches weren't built.
So now that's all done. The mechanicals are all done.
We actually called in our inspections for
the framing and all the mechanicals this morning.
Then we can move on to insulation and drywall.
Three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath.
[Steve] I like it. You made good space out of it.
So I don't know what, based on our other rentals,
what we could get for a three, two and a half,
because we're kind of at the phase where
we just want to make the final decision
whether this is still something we want to hold as a rental.
When the sale of headquarters fell through,
that was really tough because a lot of decisions were made
based on that money coming in.
But it did make us stop and think,
like, what do we do with Birch?
It's been a big investment, so is it something that
we want to sell?
Is it something that we want to hold long-term? Like, I don't know.
This area is just growing so much.
I think there's definitely strong possibilities
that it would be super successful as rentals.
I think we could figure out a way to hold it.
I think it's worth it for the last year or two.
All these decisions have been super, super hard.
The whole conversation about finances...
leads me into the store, and I'm thinking about closing it.
Closing the store?
Yeah.
The whole conversation about finances
leads me into the store.
And I'm thinking about closing it.
Closing the store?
Yeah.
Why is that?
We're not losing money, but we're not making money.
-Yeah, yeah. -And it just doesn't seem like...
the right thing to keep doing anymore.
We opened District Co. at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
And the original dream was to have a place
where the neighbors could come and have a glass of wine,
work in the morning on their laptop with coffee,
come get the gift for the birthday.
The main goal was really to be like a cornerstone
in the neighborhood.
And it never quite got its footing,
so it's been a struggle.
Yeah, it would just be a bummer,
'cause I feel like that was, like, our family...
-For the kids to grow up. -Yeah.
Are you going to cry?
-Oh... -Well, I just...
The store's kind of been like a family affair, so...
Um...
You know, it's just, it's tough for me.
But, you know, if you...
Like, when you said that it's, like, not your passion anymore,
then you got to move on.
Yeah.
Just do what you got to do.
I mean, one big win, HQ is rented.
-That's good. -For 18 months.
And so its mortgage is covered,
and then a little bit sums.
That's some good news.
[Mina] HQ is actually rented. We have a signed lease.
We have a security deposit and first month's rent.
For an 18-month lease, it's enough that it's going
to cover the mortgage there, which is great.
That makes our conversations about this
and the lake house a little bit easier,
because I'm not going to have to worry about any of our money
-Right. -going towards supporting headquarters.
I feel much more comfortable about finishing out
in the lake house.
A little bit of weight off your chest.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Man, a lot going on.
Yeah.
I want to get the bed put together now that it's here
because the bed's not as tall as I think
I would have liked it. But I don't know.
I think we need to get it together
and then see on placement.
While the main level is white boxed and painted
and the floors are in, there's still a long way to go.
But this bedroom is low hanging fruit.
It's something that I've got the pieces for.
It'd be really easy to pull the rest together
and make it look pretty and have something to show Steve.
So I'm going to have him come by in a couple of days
just to see the final exterior,
but then surprise him with the finished bedroom.
-This can be an easy lift to get this wrapped out -Totally.
with the front of the house.
And I can show this to Steve, give him a little like...
nugget
while we're working on the rest of this house.
-Yeah, this is just a little, "Look what's happening." -Mm-hmm.
Steve's mom, like, hunted forever
and got us lions from in front of our house.
They mean a lot of things, but it's supposed to be, like,
protection and strength.
-So cute. -Steve had to get some for the lake house.
I love them. I love these. I love the height.
-I love the color. -It worked out well.
We did good.
Oh, wow.
I'm super excited.
I love it.
[upbeat music playing]
-Looks great. -What do you think of the planters?
I love the planters.
-Good job. -Isn't it perfect?
[Steve] It's perfect.
I absolutely love the front.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
-Okay. -I think it's like the best in the neighborhood.
-It's moody fun, like the dark. -Yeah.
So we're going to go inside.
Just keep blinders on.
-I have a surprise for you. -Okay.
And I want to show you that.
-Let's check it out. -Okay.
You don't have to keep your hands over your eyes.
-Yeah, but I want to. -Okay.
Open.
Holy moly.
[upbeat music playing]
♪♪ See the look in my eye ♪
♪♪ Don't let go away ever ♪
-What do you think? -I love it.
-Oh. -I got you a fireplace.
You got me a fireplace. Good job.
-What do you think of the bed? -I absolutely love it.
-Okay. -Perfect.
-Tufted leather. -Yes, tufted leather.
-I want to sleep here tonight. -Okay.
Maybe not yet, because there's no running water. But we'll get there.
Okay.
Bummer.
I want to take you out back, though,
'cause you can see, like, a little peek of our fire pit.
[Steve] Excellent. Oh.
Isn't that nice?
It looks great. I love it.
So it's just, like, a little something
we can do for now, since we're having to,
-like, wait on all the, like, bigger outdoor projects. -Yeah.
Looks good. I like the lights.
Perfect size. You guys did good.
[Mina] Obviously, there's a ways to go.
The bedroom probably wasn't even really necessarily
ready to stage, but I just wanted to have
a little bit more to show you.
-Yeah. -But it's starting to come together.
-It's starting to come together. -Yeah.
Now that HQ is rented, we have the finances
to finish out the main level so the four of us can enjoy it.
It's really just putting everything together,
so putting the kitchen together,
putting the bathrooms together.
It's all the things that take it from,
like, white box to a finished house.
All right, I'm going to kick you out now so I can finish.
-You're going to kick me out? -I'm going to kick you out.
-But I don't want to be kicked out. -I know.
[upbeat music playing]
Now that I can turn my attention to the inside,
I want to tackle a very important issue for Steve.
At the store, when we flip the store for Christmas,
we have a mantle that we use for staging.
So why not look at it that way like we don't need
our stockings hung by the chimney with care all year round.
-Right. -Uh, I suppose not.
When we decided to buy this house,
Steve was immediately drawn to the mantle
for sentimental reasons.
-But I... -I absolutely love this.
-I love it. -Well, we're gonna have to get a mantle
'cause we gotta hang the stockings with care.
-Yeah. -[laughs]
I really like the idea of not having a mantle,
like the sleek look of it.
But I think I have an idea that we can both live with.
So what about doing a removable mantle here?
And that would not be a permanent fixture?
All it's going to do is hang the stockings,
and then it can go up like with the Christmas decor
and then come down.
-I think it's a good compromise. -Well, of course you do.
If we can get a mantle up during the holidays,
two and a half months of the year.
I like this beautiful and simple.
-Okay. -Are you planning on using the fireplace?
Yeah.
Heck yeah.
Even if we have a compromise on the fireplace,
the big challenge in the property is marrying
this mid-century modern style with my style that's a little bit
more muted and definitely a little more cozy.
-This is what I have. -Okay.
This is a good, like, general idea of the vibe.
It's kind of this mash-up of mid-century modern,
-Mm-hmm. -but also cabin.
-I do have this. -Oh, lovely.
I bought our silverware because this is,
like, how I can do mid-century modern.
Because this green color is very mid-century modern,
but I want all the things that lean into that
to be more impermanent pieces, because it's not really my style,
-it's not really your style. -Right.
But the house is so cool, I wanted to have a little bit of it.
-Yeah. -The kitchen is definitely like a riff on ours.
You're in my shirt, actually.
-Somewhere in between is the cabinet color. -Blend that together
-and that's what it is? Okay. -I want to do a simpler door.
-Right. -That'll be all cabinet pulls.
One thing I love that we did here,
even though I don't cook a ton, you cook a little bit more,
having the backsplash go up behind the stove
I think has been huge. It's so much easier to clean.
Would you like to replicate that?
-That we have now? -Yeah, like instead of tile.
-Yeah, tile. -Yeah.
And I do want to do a much simpler hood.
I don't have my heart set on anything in particular.
And I haven't picked out the stone yet for
the backsplash or the island, but the island
is going to be huge.
So we can do chairs around all three sides of it.
[laughs] Why are you laughing at me?
People will sit in the chairs.
Okay.
We're gonna have parties,
people are gonna sit in the chairs,
and they're gonna love them, and they're gonna be wipeable
-when they spill stuff on them. -Mm-hmm.
Steve isn't convinced that this is ever gonna happen,
'cause we historically haven't done a lot of hosting,
but I've just been working so much,
there's just never really been time.
But the hope is with a little bit slower lifestyle,
we can host extended family.
So I want the kids' rooms to function for the kids,
but also be grown up enough that adults could stay in there
and then work for them.
-For Jack's, we've got this. -Mm-hmm.
A lot of like the sagey greens, these various plaids,
-and then a pop of leather. -Hmm-hmm.
Jack is going to be much more adult.
So I'm going to have to throw some fun things in.
So when we actually show it to him, he's excited.
We're going to throw some dinosaurs in there and be fine.
-Yeah. Okay. -And then Charlie's room.
Gotcha.
I want to do something cool on the ceiling.
Right. Yeah, you've been talking about that for a bit.
I think she'll get a kick out of just painting the whole thing pink,
and then everything else will be just as fun.
Ooh, Charlie with the unicorn.
We have to have a unicorn in there for her.
All she cares about is unicorns and pinks.
Feels like it's going to be a very relaxing space.
-Yeah, I'm excited. -So I want it to be comfortable.
Think you're on the right track?
[vocalizing]
♪♪ Show me what you got ♪
I want the kids' bathroom to be easy to maintain
and not a budget buster, so I'm installing
an inexpensive tub surround.
And I also wanted to have some whimsy that still feels
grown up for when adults come.
So Brittany and I right now are putting in
a mid-century modern kind of vanity.
Cute!
And I want to go a little wild with the mirrors.
The mirrors are massive.
[screams]
They don't fit between the lights.
The mirrors I have are massive.
[screams]
-They don't fit between the lights. -[Brittany] Oh, my God.
-But they're so cool. -[MJ] Oh, wow.
What is happening in here?
It's not that it's ugly or bad.
It's just these mirrors are so frilly and whimsical
and not your typical sleeker style.
And I feel like I don't know you anymore.
That's what I was going to say.
-It's probably not something you ever thought I would pick. -Yeah.
-So he's confused about me as a human at this moment. -Yeah.
Looking at it now, because I have not seen the vanity,
I kind of like the...
-The glossy? -Yeah.
[Mina] The mirrors are large.
And with the mirrors up,
the lights don't fit.
Worst case scenario, I'll have to get a different fixture
and get one that's more like a tube.
I like the mirrors enough that I would adjust the lights.
-Totally. -I think it's great.
I love the texture. I love the shape. These are great. Nailed it.
[Mina] Okay.
While I think I have a good plan for the lake house,
Brittany and I need to figure out a plan
for wrapping up District Co.
Good morning.
Hey, what's going on?
[Mina] Because I've made the tough call to close its doors.
It feels like a failure, but we got to do it.
And while I want to talk through the plan
-Okay. -as we are getting closer,
like these big shelves I'm a little worried about
-just 'cause they're so big. -Yeah.
We could probably try to sell them to someone else
who has a store.
The small furniture pieces, I think we can clearance
-until we get to close day. -Okay.
Now that I've made the decision to close the store,
I think the emotional stuff will come in waves.
So really going into problem solving planning mode
is I think what has to happen now.
But when I'm in it, when I'm in my head about it,
I feel like I'm failing at everything.
I mean, we opened literally like smack dab in the middle of COVID.
Brick and mortar's hard enough as it is.
Yeah, it's a lot.
Steve's very upset about it.
I know.
He hates to see it go.
Owning the building and the store has been
a really cool experience for my family.
Jack and Charlie have grown up there.
They play hide and seek like they're at home.
I feel like I have an emotional attachment to it
just because there are memories there.
It's hard. It's hard to see it not prosper
and be what we thought it was going to be, but.
So kind of a plan, an idea of a plan.
The main plan is just keeping it full until we need it empty.
Okay.
To save costs, I'm installing as many of
these kitchen cabinets as I can myself.
But I have a couple custom projects for this house
that are gonna be worth the extra little splurge.
Good morning.
-Hey, Mina. -Good morning.
Good morning.
I'm in Osgoode today, and I'm meeting with the boys
because I've asked them to do three custom projects
for the lake house.
So I had them come out earlier on in construction,
and we brainstormed some ideas.
And the first one is a sleek kind of coffee bar thing
right off the kitchen in the dining room.
So my thought is some kind of built-in.
The one that I liked had...
doors that came open and then slid back down in on the sides.
With light wood and some caning,
which is going to give it a little bit of that mid-mod vibe.
The second is a really nice, modern, sleek coffee table
for the living room that basically just looks like
a sheet of slightly bent metal.
And then I also want them to build a lightweight,
removable mantle as a good compromise for
Steve and I around the fireplace.
There it is.
You made this in your sleep, didn't you?
-[man] I did. -[man 2] No, no, he didn't.
[Mina] I mean, it's super simple, but that's what I want.
I feel like with the mid-century modern
that the house leans to, it needs to be a little more simple.
The only thing I'm thinking is, like,
maybe flattening the 90 degrees so we have,
like, a little bit more detail.
-It's lightweight. -Mm-hmm.
-It's going to do its job, which is to hang stockings. -[man] Mm-hmm.
This is its only purpose, because this comes down
when it's not Christmas.
I like it.
-Sweet. -I'm excited to see the cabinet.
-Okay. It's beautiful. -[all laughing]
This is beautiful.
We're waiting on the pivot door slides,
-[Mina] Okay. -you know, to open and slide back.
And I think they're coming in today.
That's a beautiful box, you guys.
You want to know what's even more beautiful?
-The coffee table? -The coffee table.
-You want me to say it? -Yeah.
-Yes. -Okay.
-Can I take this off? -Yeah.
Nice! So then, like, the metal will just overlay,
-like, just drape onto it. -Yeah.
The single sheet down here, and then...
-I love it. Yeah. -...the sheet that curves down to the floor.
I love it.
-So... -Do you have chips so we can look at color?
-I have three. -Okay.
Because I'm thinking just, like, a creamy color.
-The shape and the size are perfect. -Okay.
Right now, it looks very industrial
because it's not been powder-coated,
but once it's powder-coated, it's just gonna look like
this nice, smooth, like, creamy waterfall.
We could go over to the CNC and cut the plate
that's gonna be laying over top of this.
-So, here's some glasses. -Thank you.
Who else wants some?
These always make us look so cool.
[machine whirring]
I looked at it.
I jumped.
All right, you can control this.
Literally, you see this? Go ahead and click it.
-It's not a touchscreen. -Nope.
Okay.
-Ready? -[Caleb] Yeah.
-Oh! Oh, no! -[screams]
That's not good.
Oy, oy, oy.
Okay.
-Ready? -[Caleb] Yeah.
-Oh! Oh, no! -[screams]
[Mina] That's not good.
My job was literally to press two buttons,
and one of the two I pressed was wrong.
So instead of cutting this way,
I cut into the top of the coffee table.
Unless you want, you know, maybe that's just like
a small detail, you know?
-I'll just use the other half for something else. -The shelf.
-Yeah.
That's perfect.
-Yeah, it works out. -It's perfect.
Perfect.
That was so easy.
All right, let's take it over there.
[Mina] Okay.
-I feel like that... -It's pretty tight.
...is pretty good.
-Whoa. -It's not bad.
Not too bad.
-This is ginger power. -It is ginger power.
I feel like we need like a chant,
like a ginger chant or something.
-But we'll workshop that. -Yeah, workshop that.
Let me know.
The lake house is going really well.
The main suite's bathroom is going to be pretty simple
with marble tile and a dark gray vanity.
But I'm probably most excited about Charlie's room.
You have your arm around him. Oh, my God, you guys are so cute.
Will you always be this nice to each other?
[all] Ooh.
We are painting Charlie's bedroom ceiling today,
which is a very unpleasant thing to do.
But she was in love with pink and sparkles
from the time she knew what they were.
Now you guys can paint the canvas.
-[Charlie] Can we do it now? -[Mina] Yeah.
[Steve] Yeah, go crazy.
[Mina] While I was packing up the paint supplies,
I was like, how are we going to keep them busy?
-Because they can't actually help painting. -[Steve] That's a good idea.
So I just grabbed the canvas and threw it in the car.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
So they could paint that while we paint the ceiling.
Now we have art for her room that will match.
Yeah.
You guys are doing great.
[Jack] Mom, I'm doing the edges.
Char Char loves pink, so I'm doing the whole thing.
All the edges pink.
-Char Char. -Yeah?
Are you going to sleep in your crib
or in the big bed in here?
-Big bed. -You're going to sleep in the big bed?
Yeah.
The idea is that they're both the kids' rooms
are going to serve as adult rooms
when other guests come.
Because I don't know how Charlie is going
to sleep in a big bed.
She doesn't sit still. She doesn't know how to sit still.
-She doesn't. -Um...
[Charlie exclaiming]
I mean, literally, I'm listening to her.
I think this is going to look super cute.
[Jack] Yeah, me too.
This will be the best thing in our whole life.
The best thing of our whole life.
So glad.
[Mina] So much has been coming together at the lake house.
We switched out the lights in the kids' bathroom
to something skinnier so we can fit those amazing ears.
The kids' rooms both have sconces installed
where the beds will go.
Charlie's are gold and Jack's are black.
And the rest of our electrical is finishing up.
So that all looks good, but this is where things
are really messed up.
There's a problem with the countertops.
Mainly that they are in, and they should not be.
The green and the brown next to the cream cabinets
-just looks terrible. -Yeah, I don't like it.
I don't want it. And this is $12,000 worth of
countertops that I did not approve.
This is $12,000 worth of countertops
that I did not approve.
-This slab has a lot of green in it. -Lots.
And I feel like a real butthole.
It like stands out in a bad way.
No one's going to think it's ugly.
It's just not working.
[Steve] Why is it here then?
-So there's the supplier and there's the cutter. -Mm-hmm.
They had to bring in two slabs from Wisconsin.
They were going to bring them in,
let me look at them, and if I wanted them,
-they would be a viable option. -Gotcha.
Then I got a phone call from the cutter asking
for the door code 'cause the guys are here
to install the countertops.
-Oh. -And I said, "What countertops?"
He's like, "Your countertops."
I was like, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."
I didn't approve of this. No one ever called me.
And by the time I got here, this was all installed.
[Steve] Hmm-hmm.
And then I went left here and went directly to
the stone supplier.
Brittany and I are at the stone place.
This is the piece that they installed.
This is so much more, like, gray-white,
whereas this has, like, a green color to it.
What I saw was a very, like, creamy, like,
-little bit blush in it. It was very pretty. -Okay.
I don't have a signed estimate.
I didn't have a signed, like, layout of the cuts.
Yikes.
-I told cutter and supplier, this is between you guys. -Okay.
So they had to come uninstall this.
This is not something that I am going to eat, 100%,
'cause there is not a signature
or an email confirming anything from me
to either middleman or supplier.
So I suggested that they...
figure it out between the two of them,
'cause I don't have a dog in that fight.
I think the vein that we have at home,
-I think that's what I want to go with. -Great.
I just don't want to pay this much for counters I don't want.
And I feel badly.
I mess up a lot of stuff, and I didn't mess this up.
The countertops are one of the most expensive things anyways,
and we definitely can't afford to pay for them twice.
-Yeah. -That's what it comes down to.
So the plan is to remove the old counters
and install new ones,
just like the ones in our current house,
the statuario quartz.
It's got a little bit of veining.
It looks more like a marble.
And that same stone will also be the backsplash.
This is our family home.
We're not going to start out with it raw.
Those two tables and then the rugs.
I think that's it.
It's a sad day.
We're moving out of District Co.
And by the end of the day, this place will be empty.
I think the store, it's this nice reminder
of all the hard work over the last 10 years.
And just not going in and seeing that reminder
on a daily or weekly basis is going to be different.
It's pretty empty inside.
All right.
Oh, my goodness.
-[Steve] It's crazy seeing it empty. -Yeah.
[Steve] It's weird. It almost looks smaller with everything gone.
I remember the grand opening like it was yesterday.
[Mina] We bought this forever ago.
Everyone here on our team all did stuff to make it happen.
-It's just really exciting. -[all clapping]
Jack, come here.
Okay. Why?
Look, do you know who that one is?
-The little gummy bear? -That little gummy bear?
-What? -Do you know who that is?
-No. -[Steve] That's Charlie.
That's Charlie.
And that one's you.
Do you see? That's your Auntie Steffi.
Mm-hmm.
And there's your Auntie Steffi, too.
♪♪ Saying goodbye last time ♪
When I got the call that Steff, Steve's little sister,
had passed away,
I was there working at the store.
And when the store was done and we did the big reveal,
Steff wasn't there.
♪♪ When I look up at the sky It reminds me of you and I ♪
It's a lot more than just a store.
It's all these memories
and hopes and losses
tied into this, like,
one place that
we're now walking away from,
and things are very different.
I'm gonna miss coming here with you.
This is our hangout.
[Mina] We'll have a new hangout. We'll make a new hangout.
I think it's really nice to have the kids there
because while this is going to be harder for Steve and I,
the kids have got to have great memories here,
and they're going to make great memories
at whatever the next thing is.
And that's just a nice, like, kind of light,
refreshing reminder that this feels like a really good,
new, fresh start, that it's all okay.
-You want to say goodbye? -Goodbye.
-Goodbye, store. -Goodbye, store.
♪♪ Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye ♪
I'm so excited to see everything.
-She looks big. -Pretty big coffee table.
-Ooh. -You said 10 foot, right?
I love it.
-Clean and simple. -You were able to get it wrapped so nicely.
I know.
-It is exactly what I had in my head. -[Caleb] Good.
The boys are bringing lots of fun stuff today.
So they have the coffee table that
I'm not necessarily ready for.
But it's done, which is great. The fireplace mantel.
-I got a bunch of limestone stacked there. -Okay.
-So we can go set it in there for now? -Sure.
And then, like, the little beverage built-in thing.
It could be a coffee nook. It could be, like, a little bar.
Man, this thing sucks.
[groans]
That's done.
-They put drywall on the inside of that. -Are you too tall?
Yeah.
Nothing ever is easy.
It's like a half inch from going in.
They put drywall on the inside of that.
Oh, okay. Do we need to cut this out?
-Okay. -It's like a half inch.
-Yeah. -From going in.
Demo's never done.
[vocalizing]
-[Mina] We're good? -I'm good.
I gotta go your way.
Whoo!
Nice.
Oh, that's so cute!
So the outside of the coffee nook is just,
like, blonde oak.
When you open it, the inside upper cabinets
have the caning on them.
Caning looks good.
-I do like that. -Yeah.
There it is.
I think it's super cute.
You got me in the car. Where are we headed?
I have a new possible
business adventure.
-Is that right? -In Noblesville.
-Noblesville. -So it's a cute little suburb
about 30 minutes north of downtown Indy.
-I want to take you up there and kind of walk you -Okay.
through it.
How do you feel about the possibility of reopening
the store?
That makes me really happy.
This guy actually reached out to me on social media.
Okay.
He owns a couple local businesses on the square
in Noblesville and sent me some pictures of the space.
I've looked at it online, like what was there.
-Lots of windows. -That's great.
Lots of eyeballs.
I mean, I think the biggest selling point on this space
-is its location on the square. -Yeah.
It's right by so many other businesses.
-There's so much foot traffic. -That sounds awesome.
Yeah, totally different situation.
I'm excited to see it.
I'm gonna show it to you.
Like the little coffee shop's right there.
-That bank is turning into a new restaurant. -Cool.
There's all kind of cute stuff.
So it's these three spaces.
[Steve] Wow.
-So we'd have this whole storefront. -[Steve] Three, right.
Awesome.
Every time I've been in Noblesville,
-there's so many people. -It's popping.
Yeah, it's popping.
The majority of the foot traffic that went by
the store downtown was people walking their dogs.
They weren't out to shop.
Like here, when you come to the square,
people are just like wandering up and down.
They're loitering in like the best way possible.
[Steve] There's so many windows here.
People will be able to see in, see what's going on.
-I think that's going to be huge. -Yeah.
-Would you like to go inside? -I'd love to.
We'll check it out.
So this will be the main entrance, the only door.
Okay.
[Mina] So there's three spaces.
So this space is super cool because it has
-the full-height ceilings. -Uh-huh.
And then over here, this space, it's the smallest.
So this space will be all the merchandise,
-like hoodies, T-shirts, our mugs, stuff like that. -Hmm-hmm.
And then the third space would be, like,
-much more catered towards the locals. -Okay.
So...
-This is the biggest... space. -Yeah.
I want this to be not massive furniture,
but that mid-range, so occasional chairs, dining tables.
-[Steve] I like it a lot. -I think going into this new life
for the store feels easier now just because at the old store,
we were really missing that neighborhood piece
that I think we're going to really get here
'cause people seemed excited that live in the neighborhood.
I was super sad because...
Deciding to close Old Deco felt very much like a failure.
And then this opportunity coming along
-and getting to choose it again... -Right.
is something that
I don't think a lot of people have the opportunity to do.
-Yeah. -So I'm excited.
-New beginnings. -I don't want to mess up.
[Steve] Yeah.
The lake house is going really well.
The kitchen's gonna be so grand,
and I don't want the hood vent to draw attention away from that.
So we're keeping it mid-mod by building out
a sleek drywall box, which will be painted
the wall color so it blends in perfectly.
And we're moving in a massive stove,
which will be perfect for all the big family gatherings we'll have here.
[vocalizing]
Now that our appliances are in,
we can finish out this kitchen with a black and gold faucet
and the very sleek mid-century modern light fixture
over the dining room table.
[MJ] I mean, that's the showstopper right there.
That's the very, very first one I bought.
Love that.
-That was the inspiration for everything. -Yeah, that set the mood.
It's like a nod to mid-century,
but it's like the Mina version.
[Mina] Yeah.
Now we're finally able to move in
and show Steve and the kids.
Oh, yeah, this will be great.
I wanna keep some of the mid-century modern elements
and respect out of the house,
but I like much more monochromatic, comfortable,
because that's what I want it to be.
I wanna cozy up on a couch with a bunch of pillows
and put the fire on and watch a movie with the kids.
This is beautiful.
The couches obviously aren't mid-mod,
but I think it all works together.
Are you guys so excited?
-Yeah. -So excited.
What are you most excited about?
-I see our room. -Your rooms?
All right.
You guys want to go inside?
-Let's check it out. -All right, let's go.
Excited.
[Mina] You ready?
-Uh-huh. -Bum, bum, bum.
Oh, my gosh.
You ready?
-Uh-huh. -Bum, bum, bum.
Oh my gosh.
Perfect. I love it.
So the pony walls are gone, obviously.
[Steve] Yeah, I think that was a good move.
I'm so glad we took it down.
[Mina] Didn't change the square footage,
-but it feels so much bigger. -Yeah.
Because it's like this is part of the living room
instead of this awkward entryway.
-You got the right move. -[Mina] Yeah.
-I want to talk about the fireplace, me and Tom. -Okay.
So very simple, very lightweight, and impermanent.
So it could be more like a decor piece
that maybe stays out all year round
'cause it looks good with everything
-or maybe just comes out for Christmas. -Right, yeah.
So stockings hung by the chimney with care.
[Steve] It's perfect for the house.
-The coffee table. -The coffee table is massive.
I wanted something long and dramatic
that leaned a little into the mid-century modern more.
-I love it all. -[Jack] I can see.
Don't look in your room.
Why?
Char Char, I think we need to show you guys your rooms.
[Steve] You want to go check out your room?
-All right. -Let's go to the bedrooms.
[Mina] All right.
Wow.
Holy cow, that's a big bed.
What do you think? Do you like it?
Yeah.
[Steve] Look at the big unicorn.
There's a unicorn. There's a unicorn over here.
We got pink pillows, pink curtains, and a pink ceiling.
Do you like it?
You do?
-Aw. -Aw. I love you so much.
Mom, I'm going to my room.
All right. We'll go. Let's go to Jack's room.
-Jack's room. -[hums]
Welcome to Dinosaur Central,
where all your dinosaur dreams
-will come to life. -[Steve] Oh, my goodness.
[Steve] Jack.
-What do you think? -Cool.
Is it cool?
-It's great. -Yeah.
-So happy that they love it. -Yeah.
I mean, I knew that they would,
obviously, but I'm just happy to see
the joy on their face and to see them, like,
love their rooms.
I'm asking, when can we stay here?
-Yeah. -Let's go show you your bathroom.
After that, I'm going back in my room.
All right, this is your guys' bathroom.
-Ooh, I love it. -Do you like the mirrors?
Yeah.
-I fell in love with these mirrors. -[Steve] Yeah.
[Mina] I was terrified and in love
-with them all at the same time. -Yeah.
-[Mina] Everyone who's seen them is like, "Yes." -Yeah.
Before, the vanity was low because it was that old school,
-like, 30 inch height double vanity. -Oh, I remember. Yeah.
[Mina] Now it's all nice and clean.
And three-piece tub shower surrounds.
Not going to leak. There's no grout lines we have to keep clean.
[Steve] I like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Daddy hasn't seen our bathroom.
Do you want to see our bathroom?
Yeah.
You have shower, Mom.
-Dang. -Ta-da.
[Steve] I love it.
-So different, right? -You have shower, Mom.
[Steve] There you go.
-That looks good. -Nice 72-inch double vanity.
I love them.
-It turned out good. -It turned out great.
You want to come with us to show Daddy the kitchen?
Let's see the kitchen.
Holy cow.
[upbeat music playing]
That's huge.
-We've got the breakfast nook. -Oh, perfect.
I feel like this is more like cozy morning coffee.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. This island is wild.
I love it. It looks great.
-Dining room. -Yeah, I love those chairs.
[Mina] I'm happy with how it turned out.
[Steve] I love it. I think it looks great.
Okay, you can stay put.
-Stay put? -You just stay put, sir.
-I'm gonna stay put. -Just stay put.
So right behind me was just like a random closet.
Yes, I remember.
-And this is a custom coffee nook. -Ooh.
I love it.
-Good job. -Do you?
Yeah, I absolutely love it.
Way to make good space out of crappy space.
Looks great.
-All right, on over to the massive stove. -Yes.
This is intense.
-How do you feel about the hood? -It blends right in.
You don't even notice it.
That's kind of what I wanted.
-That's what you're going with? -It is.
You know, thinking back to the original kitchen...
-Yeah! -...it's crazy.
-[Mina] It's the exact same square footage. -[Steve] I know.
-Didn't take down any walls. -[Steve] It's crazy.
-It feels so much bigger. -[Steve] So much bigger.
-What do you think, little lady? -Isn't this house so pretty?
Mom, thank you so much for building us
this incredible lake house.
Well, thank you guys for helping.
You did a really good job.
Super proud of you.
I'm just glad you guys like it.
We're gonna spend a lot of time here, huh?
We got this house for a steal at $510,000.
And while we had to downsize the renovation
from our original plan, we still invested $100,000 into it
to make the main level and the outside
a calming retreat for our family.
This whole place is for family,
represents family because of family.
And I think although it's just a physical place,
That physical places have meaning
and that this can have a lot of meaning for my family
as a whole, to be able to have room to spend time together
and have new experiences and make new memories.
I don't know what's next for me.
I'm not
content to end
where I am now.
But I don't want to be scared
of what might happen.
So I'm going to slow down.
I probably won't ever go slowly.
♪♪ I'm stronger than ever ♪