Every forever home has its own story.
[Drew] Yeah, and we can't wait to help tell it.
It's been in my family, you know, for generations.
Let me smash! Let me smash!
-[man] This is the next step. -[woman] The next chapter in my life.
-[crashing] -I love it. Whoo.
After you. Welcome home.
-[woman] Oh, my goodness. -[man] Look at this.
Oh, wow.
-Let's go! -It feels like home.
[grunts]
Come on, it's a group hug. [laughs]
[all] Welcome to our home.
We've been married 12 years.
Together for 15.
We met in college in astronomy class.
[Nick] And she asked me to be her lab partner.
Worst grade I got in college by far.
-You were very distracted. -But it was worth it.
We have two daughters. Kensington,
she just turned nine and Everly is six.
They're very energetic and very fun.
[Nick] It's a huge property, which is unique for L.A.
Jas, she's from the Midwest. So she's used to a lot of land.
[Jasmin] This actually looks like the house that I grew up in.
And so when we saw it, when we drove up the long driveway,
I just fell in love.
It was really important for my girls to have space to run and play.
[Nick] The house is well over 100 years old.
I think it was built in the 1890s.
The historical charm and character just felt
really unique.
[Jasmin] When this house was built,
there were a lot of restrictions on where
African Americans could live and us living here together
with our interracial family
just kind of represents a full circle moment.
[Nick] This is our forever home.
But it's also not quite updated for the 21st century.
[Jasmin] This house has so much potential, history,
and charm and it would be very hard pressed
to find something else. So we are never leaving.
Oh, my gosh, look at this. You have the mountains,
-the palm trees. -Yeah, and you don't usually see lots this big in L.A.
And we rarely get to work on houses that are
-100 plus years old. -So cool.
Cannot wait to get started.
I think that Nick and Jasmin have the perfect place.
-Hello. -Yay.
You have no idea how much this is like our family farm
growing up. This is amazing, this property.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
How long have you been here now?
A little over a year.
-About a year and a half we've lived here. -Oh, wow.
You guys feel like there's lots of room to play here?
Oh, yeah? What's your favorite part of this house?
-Our play house. -Does your play house need a renovation?
I hope not. It just got built.
-[all laughing] -Oh, yeah.
Now, this house looks gorgeous.
-It does. It does. -On the outside.
-Yeah. -Looks can be deceiving.
[all laughing]
You guys want to come with us or you gonna play?
-We'll play. Play. -Okay, Jonathan. See you later.
Come on, Kens.
All right.
-Come on in. -Oh, wow.
Talk about big.
[Jasmin] Yeah, so that was one of the things I noticed about
the room when we first walked in.
Right? And it feels good. I don't know,
it's hard to explain. Like, we love the charm of it.
I can already tell you, though, that this wood work
here is not original.
This was put in at some point.
-Do you like the wood cladding on the walls? -Are you being serious?
-[all laughing] -I'm just asking.
-No. -Whoa.
Don't say the word shiplap.
-That's, like, her... -Yes, no, I do not like wood paneling
of any kind or color.
-It doesn't match the house either. -Right.
[Jasmin] I think there's a lot of potential in this space.
But it would be great to have, like, a mini foyer or something.
And the girls love to read.
-So even like a little... -Reading nook or something like that.
-Yeah. -That would be great.
Well, some of the benefits, you might just come from
having built in storage.
And you think there's something wrong with that? Is that...
Adorable, yeah. It's better than most that you see.
But, yeah, built in storage would be great.
I can tell that you're hiding something?
No, no, no, we're not.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-A little bit of wear and tear. -Little bit.
Yea, these floors are really old and creaky.
And if it makes more sense as you guys get in there
to completely re... you know, replace them? Great.
And I love the idea of having this fireplace.
But if it doesn't work, it would need to be rebuilt
from, like, the attic up.
If you switched it to a gas unit,
it would be cheaper than a full rebuild.
Or what if I just get you one of those TVs
that play a fire on it?
Perfect.
I want to ask you a very specific question.
What is your design aesthetic?
Because I see amazing color here.
And I see that you have this style.
And you dress like Jonathan.
So, Nick, you have a certain style.
-Is that a compliment? -What I'm saying though
is then I look at your house, it is a blank slate.
-Yeah. -It almost looks like you want to throw
some color in here. So what do you like?
So I would describe our style as, like,
modern, farmhouse, eclectic?
-Okay. -Is that a thing?
-Sure. -We'll make it a thing?
Yeah, I mean, I think maintaining the historical charm
and character of the house is really important to us.
But I also want it to be, like, fun and, you know,
pops of pattern or design, you know, here and there.
-Like... -Let's get your personality in.
-Yes. -Yeah.
-Shall we continue? -Yeah, great.
[Drew] What do you use this for the most?
And what would you like to use it for?
So the list of things that we don't use it for
is probably shorter. Because right now,
it's the only place downstairs where you can sit at a table.
So, the girls do homework here.
Obviously, meals happen down here.
So it's this table is kind of everything.
And if I'm in there cooking, I can't run damage control, you guys.
-Right, you need that sight line, right? -Yes.
I think that this is a big flow changer over here.
I don't love this wall to begin with.
So if that had to go, I'd be okay with that.
-Don't listen to her. -[all laughing]
She's cruel.
How about that kitchen?
Yes, it's a great size. I love to cook.
I do a lot of cooking.
But this stove is the bane of my existence.
-Yeah. -The burners don't work to turn on just naturally.
So we have to do it the super old school way.
Oh, keep your head, your hair back.
This is what she's talking about.
Yeah, look at that. Here we are.
So, yeah, working appliances.
I think it'd be great to have, like, an island space,
or, you know, the kids can sit.
I always end up having to, like, either, like, sit up here,
or stand. It would be great for even me to be able
to sit somewhere and I can like work while she's cooking.
-And we can talk. -Is it too much to have dad ask
for a place to sit?
It's so interesting to me, like, this kitchen is so separated
from everything.
-Yes. -Old farmhouse properties that all tend to be
really choppy and closed off.
Let's get the best of all worlds.
Like, opening up this kitchen to the dining room,
so that there's lots of flow.
Appliances that work, an island, better configuration,
this house will be great.
Yeah, there's so many elements about this house
that are obviously aesthetically really beautiful,
but also really emotionally relevant to us.
My dad passed away at the end of January, suddenly.
And the first thing that he said when
he came to this house was how much it reminded him
of the house that I grew up in.
Um...
So completing this renovation just feels also really,
really honoring to him.
Wow, and you're creating a wonderful opportunity
for your kids.
And eventually can pass this on to them as well.
Yep, absolutely.
I think there's a lot we can do to still keep the charm,
but make it so much more functional for you guys.
How much are you looking to spend?
So our max budget is $215,000.
215, okay. There are so many things
that could be hiding behind the walls in a house this old.
So I think that your budget gives us some good flexibility.
We will give you options.
I'll also show you a house for some inspiration because
I really want to understand what that...
How did you say it again? Modern, farmhouse, eclectic.
-Okay. -This is all good to know.
-Right. -We could save a lot of money
by the way, if we just let the girls do all the demolition.
Yeah, that's already happening.
[all laughing]
[Drew] 215k seems like a really large budget.
But in a century home like this,
it's almost guaranteed that we'll run into issues
once we open things up.
So we'll likely need every penny.
What's the number one problem in old houses?
-Choppiness. -They're all compartmentalized.
Every single room is chopped up.
So we have to find a way to connect the spaces
-a little bit better. -But how do you connect the spaces
and keep the original charm? That's the real puzzle for us.
Fortunately, I'm a genius.
Who is ready for some demo?
-Come in, coach. -[all laughing]
You're up, you're in.
I would love to see us rip out some cabinetry.
I want to go through that wall to show you how connected
it would feel to the dining room.
-All right. -Yeah.
-Let's hit it -It feels right. Okay.
Being able to, like, go into the kitchen
and just start tearing things down.
Like we've been looking forward to this day
for a long time.
[Jasmin] Yeah, and growing up for me, like,
the kitchen was the hub of the home.
So I just, I'm excited for my kids to be able to experience
that even more fully.
I don't want to get in your way.
-[grunts] -Yay.
-Timber. -[crashing]
-Isn't it satisfying? -Yeah, do I need to see somebody?
'cause this is so pleasurable to me.
Christmas came early. How many years old
do you think that might be?
-Ooh, lots. -I'm not gonna put that in my mouth.
I'll pay for your whole renovation if you eat this.
Ew.
-She'll do it. -[all laughing]
No way.
No matter what options I present,
it's going to involve getting rid of that wall
between the dining room and the kitchen.
That's what really closes everything off.
Three, two, one.
-All right. -Yeah.
Hey, hold up. Hey, wild woman.
-Don't take the wall down. -Take a look.
-Okay. -Right now, it's literally like the heavens
are shining in.
[all vocalizing]
Seeing that there's nothing hidden in here that
we're going to be dealing with other than just the structure
makes it a lot easier for me to put options together
that I know are going to transform how you use the space.
-Yes, amazing. -Oh, my gosh, it's gonna be so great.
I know. I wish my aggression was always this productive.
[all laughing]
Nick and Jasmin are completely invested
in making this home feel like their home.
And so anything we have to do to get us from point A
to point B, they're on board to help out.
There's a lot we can do to freshen this up.
-Anyway, I'm excited. -I'm excited about
-all of it. -I'm more of, like, an internal excitement.
What does excited Nick look like?
-When the Dodgers won the World Series. -That, I was really excited.
Just like jumped up and, like, screamed.
I think you're gonna have the same reaction
-when this place is done. -I agree.
-Anyway, grab a hammer. -Okay.
We want to hit up from underneath and knock
the top plate up.
Working on a century home is so interesting,
because you get to peel back the layers of decades
of previous renovations.
It never gets old for me.
-Wow. -There you go.
-Wow. -All right.
Do you want to take a peek behind here?
-I really do. -Yes.
The suspense is killing me.
It's another kitchen!
-Hooray. -Oh, wait, it's our existing kitchen.
So this means that there must have been at some point
in time two doorways into other rooms.
So if you want, I can play with an option that has
this open.
And then maybe if we need the wall surface space
for cabinetry,
I can play with another option that has this side still closed off.
-Okay, that would be great. -Yep. Sounds good.
All right, you guys can call it a day.
I'll work through this with my crew.
And we'll open it up and get you back for options.
-Awesome. Thank you so much. -Awesome. Good work, guys.
-Thank you. -We've been in a holding pattern for so long,
and we bought the house we thought we were going to remodel it right away
and everything because of rising costs and all that.
It took so much longer.
And so it finally felt like, like, it's happening.
It like went from an abstract concept to, like, no, no,
this is real. Like, this is, this is really the change
that's going to happen.
I know this house doesn't look the same as yours.
But I think there are a lot of things inside
that will inspire you.
Jasmin and Nick say that their style is modern,
farmhouse, eclectic. So I'm taking them to a house
that's rustic, has some farmhouse touches.
A little bit of modern in there too.
This is going to help you hone in on what they're really looking for style wise.
-Oh, wow. -Wow.
[Jasmin] I love this.
[Drew] Well, one thing I do love is this open flow.
It's more of a modern take on what this house was.
Yeah, it still feels a little rustic, but just upgraded.
Yeah. And I really like that.
Yeah, I think for me, the first thing I noticed
when I walked in was the floors.
-Yeah. -I've also seen lighter colors that I like.
I actually liked the floor color as it is.
-I think, I think it's good as it is. -Yeah.
That looks nice. That almost sounds like you're, like,
you would like the floor color as is because I do.
I know, he's got his own opinion as long
-as they're mine. -[all laughing]
Come on in here.
So what do you think of this living space?
[Jasmin] I like this fireplace.
I think this looks great, but maybe something
that's slightly less distressed.
And I love the idea of tile.
-Yeah. -Around the fireplace.
-Okay, -Well, what if we use some tile
or some slab to create a wood facade around here
that gives you a nice mantel?
But it just can be a bit more modern.
We can even paint it out, so that it matches.
It doesn't have to be a raw wood.
Yeah, that would be great. That sounds great.
We still do love, you know, wood, wood tones.
I love the white walls, but probably not, like,
-white upholstery. -Right.
I mean, I think we want it, like, super inviting, warm,
-welcoming, comfortable. -And no shiplap.
I'm gonna put that at the top of the page for Jonathan.
No shiplap. Can I repeat no shiplap?
-We don't need shiplap. -Yeah, I'm not married to that.
-I'm married to you. -That's right. Yes. All right, babe.
Come on.
All right, I want to take you into this kitchen.
-It's beautiful, isn't it? -Oh, this kitchen is like a dream.
An island in our kitchen is, like, a huge, huge,
huge wish.
Having the kids there to, like, do homework.
Place for me to sit and hang out with my wife.
-I know, I'm always like-- -She's always, like,
trying to get me to stay in the kitchen,
but there's nowhere for me to sit.
Yeah, I always hold him hostage in the kitchen. It's true.
I love this stove though. And I love that it's gas
and I love that it's large.
I love the farmhouse sink. I love how deep it is.
How about the color of the cabinets?
[Nick] I would love to see, like, a blue or green,
some kind of pop of color on the cabinets.
I think would be great.
[Jasmin] Yeah, and I like this black hardware,
but I would prefer brass, I think...
I feel like it adds an element of refinement.
It just feels a little, a little fancier.
-A little more refined. -Sure.
Come on into the dining room.
[Drew] What do you think of all the added storage?
[Jasmin] Um, it's like a dream come true.
I cannot tell you how often our dining room table
gets taken over by coloring books and homework.
-To be able to shove that away would be a dream. -Yeah.
And I love how this is clear.
I feel like it kind of elevates it a little bit.
And you can store pretty things in there
that you want people to see.
-Yeah. -China.
-You have to be organized. -We have China.
-Do we have China? -We have China that we've never used
-and we've been married 13 years. -I don't even know...
-I love it he didn't even know. -Yes.
-It's really beautiful. -Okay, I'll take your word for it.
It's so beautiful. It's still in the box.
We can give you a lot of great display.
In fact, at the backside of your kitchen
and dining area.
We can easily build out something on that one wall.
It's not really going to impede the space.
We're gonna put some options together
and before you know it, you're gonna be having
a brand new house for the kids to grow up in.
Oh, my gosh, hurray. So exciting.
Ton of inspiration from them.
They want to be sure that we're cherishing the charm
of the home, some of the original features,
they don't want to just make it look like
it's a modern design in an old house.
-No. -So you tell me where you want to start
and I'll tell you what I think they want to go with.
-Flooring. -Flooring.
-Hardwood. -Kitchen.
I would love to be able to keep their existing hardwood,
but there's no way. There's so much work
that has to happen.
I think this is an opportunity to lighten things up.
To be honest, I actually feel that this looks more like
it could be original to the home than these options.
-Yeah, I agree. -It also looks very close
to the floors we saw on the inspiration tour.
I think Jasmin would love to have tile in the kitchen.
I brought a couple of different options
that would suit her modern, farmhouse, eclectic style.
I have this tile in my house.
-I brought this... -Linda's back there,
"Why are there so many tiles here?"
It's missing two tiles.
But this to me actually just feels gorgeous and rustic.
We could actually even use something like that
for the surrounding the fireplace.
-Oh, yeah. -In the kitchen.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
What do you think for the cabinets?
I think the screen is too dark.
But if it's...
Yeah, I think it was something like this.
This tone to me would just be gorgeous.
But do you think the whole kitchen
in that one color or do you want to do any sort of contrast?
-I think we can go all on the color. -Yeah.
If we go all dark with the cabinets,
it'd be nice just to go very, very light
with just a touch of vein that ties into the cabinet color.
I like it. I like it.
Their main thing is they just wanted that comfort.
This is the thing. It's... I have a love, hate
with old houses because I love that historic charm,
some of the architectural detail.
But there are so many issues typically
and nothing is straight.
So it takes a lot more time and work.
But at the end of the day, this house is going to have
the function, the style, the safety,
and it's going to have that historic look.
And I've been growing up my whole life
getting used to dealing with difficult, so...
-You know, you see, you're a pro. -Totally fine.
-Yeah. -Doesn't even faze you now.
Hello, where are you?
I'm taking Parker to his checkup.
-Remember? -Right.
I was just checking to see how the checkup's going.
Oh, it hasn't happened yet. I'm in the car about to head there.
I can't keep track of Parker's schedule and my schedule.
No, I know, they're both very, very busy.
-But I gotta get going. -Okay, sounds good.
I'll let you know what they pick. Ciao.
I have two great options for Nick and Jasmin.
And I've left a little buffer in the budget
because of any problems that may arise.
Because you never know with a house like this
once you start opening up the walls,
what's lurking underneath.
Here you go.
Whoa.
Well, remember we punched a hole?
-Oh. -Yes.
And it turned out there was a doorway there?
Yes. And you opened it all the way.
Yeah. Take a peek in your kitchen.
-You need to see... -Oh, my gosh.
-What? -[Nick] It looks so big.
Yeah, it looks huge with all the cabinets gone.
No more checkerboard tile.
[Jasmin] And this is really giving me so much life,
this direct sight line between the dining room
and the kitchen.
This is what you get when you tear everything back
and almost start from scratch.
So option one is going to be
a pretty substantial renovation.
We already partially took down the wall at the back of the house
between the kitchen and dining room.
But we'll open that space up completely with
some major structural work.
-Whoop, whoop. -We would connect everything
through there with a nice, clean aesthetic.
Your new floors would tie all the spaces together.
And then brand new kitchen cabinets,
state of the art appliances and an island.
[Jasmin] Oh, yeah.
[Drew] In the living room,
we would keep this fireplace, redo the facade,
so it's beautiful.
Except you would not actually be able to use the fireplace.
You'd have the modern farmhouse vibe
you're craving. Pops of color, great built in storage
and that reading nook for your girls.
Overall, the aesthetic would still feel cozy
like what you expect in a home of this era.
But it will totally have your stamp on it.
That sounds amazing.
I saw like a twinkle in your eye
when I mentioned an island.
Yes, I think having an island gets me excited
because it's just a space where we can all congregate.
And I can be in that space helping cook or do dishes,
and talk with Jas while she's cooking.
Option one would come in at $215,000.
And it would take 10 weeks to complete.
Wow.
Option two may financially sway you a little bit.
You would still have the same beautiful kitchen,
gorgeous flooring throughout. Amazing finishes everywhere.
Except in between the kitchen, dining room,
instead of completely removing that wall the entire way,
we'd have to leave a few feet on either side.
The savings by not having to do the same steel beam work
would allow us to completely redo this fireplace.
So it's a working gas fireplace, flick a switch,
-enjoy the comfort. - [Nick] Wow.
[Drew] And with both options, if we can open up the wall
from the living room to the kitchen, we will.
Okay, that is very compelling.
Option two, not only could we complete faster
at only eight weeks, it would come in
much cheaper at only $200,000.
-So... -We're supposed to choose?
Yes.
I don't know, what do you think?
I don't know, it's a little bit less money.
It'd be nice to maybe not to hit our max budget.
Yeah, money is...
But the traffic of our lives to have that wall
completely gone will really significantly
streamline things for us.
Yeah, that's what we had hoped for.
-Yeah. -I know, but then he goes and mentions the fireplace.
So sorry.
I'm a pretty decisive person.
Jasmin is a little less decisive.
She can have paralysis of analysis.
Doesn't take much. [laughs]
So what is it gonna be? Option one or option two?
Option one, you want the sight lines?
-We want the sight lines. -I'm in.
I mean, I feel like as much as I would want a fireplace.
It's not as functional for our day to day lives
-as having that wall gone would be? -Yeah.
I'll get you an extra blanket, so you don't need the fire.
[all laughing]
Can I get, like, baseball game excited from you?
Um...
How about when we, when we see it?
-[all laughing] -Then it'll be a World Series reaction.
-All right. -To be able to have a space where
conversation can flow and meals can be shared
is going to be a game changer for sure.
-Thank you so much. -See ya.
if I catch you peeking, you're in trouble.
[both chuckle]
Jasmin and Nick are now out until the project is done.
And I love it because we now have direction.
So we're going to race to that finish line.
The main thing Nick and Jasmin want
is for this house to feel more open and less choppy.
I love the fact that we're connecting the dining room
with a kitchen because now it'll be a space where
everybody can be together.
In order to open up the space completely,
we're going to have to put in a massive beam.
And that beam will have to be supported by two big posts,
which are also going to be supported by brand new footings
that we dig into the soil beneath.
What's interesting is there's... Wait, is that a rock
or is that concrete?
-That's a giant boulder. -Yeah.
With a home that's over 120 years old,
you are coming across building practices
that we don't do anymore.
For example, maybe using boulders to hold up the house
instead of a foundation.
Okay, all right.
A little worried.
There's no way the bearing strength of one post
coming down onto that would be able to pass.
-Yeah. -So are we going to have
to jackhammer out the rock and then pour concrete?
I don't know how we're gonna do that exactly.
Well, this will be our form, right? So maybe the form
will be just around it. So we got to go underneath
the footing, 12 inches underneath the dirt.
-Underneath the rock? -Mm-hmm.
Yeah, It's intimidating. The amount of work to do it.
That isn't ideal.
Nick and Jasmin love the character
of their 120 year old home, but with two active girls
and a choppy floor plan.
It just doesn't work for 'em.
So first on the agenda is fulfilling their dream
of completely opening up this main floor between
the dining room and kitchen.
In order to do that, we have to put in a massive beam.
But in a century home, it's not as simple
as just putting it up.
We'll need to make sure that this old foundation can support it.
That's going to take a few steps and it won't be easy.
First we have to jackhammer and dig our way around
and underneath the giant boulders, we found
under the floor to make way for the big footings
that will support our posts.
Once the path is clear, we'll form for our footings.
And we want to make sure that all that concrete
we pour in makes solid contact with the earth below.
They're going to be big, so everything is rock solid.
All of this headache, all of this struggle,
it is so going to be worth it because when it's done,
this is going to be seamless.
I have to do one last thing to make sure that
these footings we're putting in are unshakable.
[grunts] Holy... awkward.
In a house like this, that involves a little
twisting and crawling.
Wire me.
-Check. -Thank you.
When this house was built, they did a mix of concrete
and just rocks, giant rocks.
And so in order to put in this new footing,
we have to tie our rebar into any existing foundation.
So we're tying into boulders.
But the engineer says it'll work.
This is going to be so solid when it's done.
It'll be like Fort Knox.
I feel like we're in structural purgatory right now.
Because I don't like not knowing what's
going to happen. Obviously, when we discovered that
there was an old door here, we're like,
"This is great, let's open this up.
This will be fantastic," only to realize that
we might not meet our calculation
for shear strength from the engineer.
In fact, you can see the original shear structure
they had in here.
The code for a shear wall is different today
than it was 125 years ago.
You can see those diagonal lines,
the way they framed it out.
That's how they used to keep the structure solid.
Yeah, I mean, they, they sort of had their own building codes back then.
Right, they're gonna have these frame members here
and call it a shear wall.
When we build a shear wall today,
we basically put a layer of plywood on an entire surface
to keep things rigid.
I get it, especially having earthquakes here,
I get having the shear strength.
Best case scenario, our wall's structurally sound as is.
If not, we need to board it up and add a much bigger
header above the door to support the load,
which means new city permits and more money
for Nick and Jasmin.
The engineer gets to call the final shot on what has
to be done and then the city has to approve it.
And at this point, we don't know which way they're gonna go.
But we have to follow what they say.
The concrete guys are here.
With our wood forms made and everything
secure underneath the floorboards,
we are finally ready to pour some concrete.
They'll support the posts and massive beam
that will create that open flow between
the kitchen and dining room.
It's really going to be a game changer.
I'm glad we left some room in the budget to cover
the cost of the footings. We knew from the get go,
this house would have some surprises.
That does not look like a solid wall.
No, it doesn't.
What is going on? There's no wall left.
Here, check it out.
This is the exterior wall.
This is the load bearing back of the house.
You should not be able to shake your walls
of your house.
That is... that's called a tent
if you can shake your walls.
If Nick and Jasmin were here, right now,
they would freak out that their house
is jiggling around like that.
That's crazy.
We did... we've got to fix this.
This is dangerous.
There's no sense in us putting a brand new kitchen
with brand new stone on top of an unstable surface.
Or they're going to have cracks
and fractures and everything.
This takes the cake.
This is the worst framing I've ever seen.
So we need to get the framers back in here,
we'll make sure that everything's fixed.
We'll make sure that everything's safe
and it's not going to happen again.
I love the charm of an old home.
But a lot of the rental budget can be eaten up
by what's behind the walls like knob and tube wiring,
which can be a fire hazard.
So with our walls open, we're updating the electrical
to make sure it's safe for Nick and Jasmin.
Well, let's talk fireplace.
-All right. -Originally, I was, like, "Okay,
we'll use the brick as structure."
And then we started to notice how bad it was here.
Like, look at the movement.
-Ah. -Yes, coming down.
If you have any movement at all in your substructure,
your tiles are going to crack or they're going to pop off.
You're going to have endless issues.
So for our purposes, I say we rebuild our mantel,
everything at the exact height that we want.
In the future, if they ever decide to do
a gas insert, it'll be rock solid,
and it will be safe.
So essentially, we're taking down
all of the loose brick and stuff that's unsafe.
And we'll rebuild it, make it look beautiful,
make it look authentic, but it's just for show.
But the end of the day, this is going to be
a gorgeous focal piece.
In an old house like this, the work that goes on
behind the walls takes much longer than usual.
But now that our kitchen has been reframed
and insulated, and all our electrical is up to code,
we can put up our drywall at last.
Once this is done, we can finally get to building
Nick and Jasmine's dream kitchen.
I finally heard back from the engineer about the doorway.
Now I have to deliver the news.
Hey, how are you?
Hey, Jonathan, how's it going?
Good.
Remember, I found that old doorway between
the living room and the kitchen?
Heard back from the city and that's actually a shear wall.
And we can't just leave it open the way
it is right now. So we have a decision to make,
one of two options of what could happen.
Either, we keep that opening.
But we have to put in a pretty major beam up above there,
which can take a couple more weeks,
and it will definitely cost more money.
Right.
Option two is we close it back up.
And that costs us nothing.
Both designs would be beautiful, totally fantastic.
So it's really up to you.
Um...
So, Jasmin, is it worth opening up the wall between
the living room and kitchen?
Or do you wanna keep it closed?
I think the biggest factor, to be honest,
is the time and anything that has the potential
to delay the project.
I don't know that is worth it for us.
And we loved the original plan as proposed.
But I think we're good to just move forward
to not incur any delay and to see
the awesomeness that you guys are able to do.
Okay, amazing.
That actually gives us a nice nook in that corner
where I'll put something very purposeful.
Awesome. That sounds great.
All right, I'll talk to you soon.
-Thank you. -Bye
It's a new day.
Our shear wall opening between the living room and kitchen
is getting closed back up.
Construction trash is going out
and our new beam is going up.
This will allow us to connect the spaces between
the dining room and the kitchen
without any visible threshold.
Pull.
To say installing this beam is a huge feat
would be an understatement.
[indistinct conversation]
To support our steel beam, we've got two solid posts
that will go all the way down to the footings we poured
and those will be tucked away inside the wall.
I cannot wait to see the looks on Nick and Jasmin's faces
when they finally get to see their unobstructed view
from the dining room to the kitchen.
One of the best parts about refurbishing a century home,
no more crooked walls, no more dips,
no more cracks.
You get to make everything straight and level.
This flooring is going to transform the aesthetic
of this home.
The old floor's in rough shape.
This is going to be seamless.
Nick and Jasmin said that with their two young daughters,
they need more storage.
So we're building custom cabinets in the living room
and dining room.
Honestly, this gives them the display storage
up top. Closed storage down below.
And with the sconces, it's going to be gorgeous.
Right.
Well the good thing is right now,
we don't need to worry about that.
-We just have to drill a hole and get it in the right spot. -So...
So between these two points.
We good?
Okay.
Drill me. Thank you.
While we finish up the built ins,
our construction team is working hard to install
the kitchen cabinets.
Not only are we going to give Nick and Jasmin
tons of storage, but this island
will finally give them a place to sit and feel connected
to each other.
Ready?
Oh, my gosh, it looks so much better.
-Very nice. -Such a nice finish.
-Yeah. -You know, I'm actually happy
that we closed this up because it's a shear wall
because I actually think, this being an older house,
this is creating, like, a little niche over here
with the fireplace. It's creating its own character
instead of having that open flow on both sides.
Whatever we decided to do, we'll make it feel right.
No one's gonna miss the door that never existed.
-Mm-hmm. -It does give us better placement
for furniture and decor.
Although we couldn't open this door,
there's more than one way to make spaces feel connected.
We're matching the fireplace tile with the kitchen backsplash.
And we've matched the paint color
of our built ins and kitchen cabinets.
Jasmin mentioned she loves brass hardware.
So our design features accents of it in each room
to tie everything together nicely.
And I think it speaks to the vintage of the home.
And in the living room, we'll give them everything they need
for the best movie nights ever.
This home means so much to this family.
I mean, Jasmin grew up in a house
that was very, very similar and they all love the character
and charm of this house.
It's just that we have to update it a little bit,
add a little bit of function and flow and just make it
their own.
This feels like the flow is just tenfold better.
It's gonna blow their minds.
Looking good.
It was a bumpy journey full of twists
and unexpected surprises, but we managed to give them
a home that I know this family is going to love
for all the years to come.
You would never know that this was even open
at one point because now we've given this corner purpose
and with purpose, it just looks better.
Everything is just transformed
and it's perfect for these guys.
Now, it feels like a family home.
-Should we get them? -Let's do it.
Guys, I can't believe today's the day.
It feels so surreal,
-because it's actually happening right now. -Yeah.
I didn't sleep last night, which is pretty rare for me.
I mean, you guys broke the place during demo.
We had to do something with it to fix it up.
-Yeah. -I just want to say thank you for letting us work
on a historic home. You're not going to recognize it.
[gasps]
[Jonathan] Go ahead.
[gasps]
Oh, my gosh.
-No freakin' way. -No way.
This is incredible.
[Nick] Oh, my gosh.
-[Jasmin] Do you love it? -[Nick] I love it.
Didn't you tell me that if you did love it,
there's gonna be a big reaction.
So how does that work? How does that look?
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. This is amazing. Oh, my gosh.
[Jasmin] This is nothing like what was here.
It looks so good.
These are like the exact floors I envisioned.
It just doesn't even look the same.
[Jasmin] These built-ins are beautiful.
Our kids are gonna love this.
-Yeah. -This will be, like, their little reading nook.
[Jasmin] And you even made it a dark color
-because they're so messy. -[all laughing]
You guys just knew.
I love the tile on the fireplace.
You guys did such a brilliant job in retaining modern
and traditional elements.
And that's very much what we wanted.
-Just a cleaner facade. -It's, like, more modern. Yeah.
Yeah.
[Jasmin] Look, are those blueprints for the house?
Yeah, right.
-Wow. -It's important from family photos
to some of the original pieces like that,
we just wanted to tie that in, so it really feels like home for you.
You know, it's such an incredible home.
But it was just let go.
From a design standpoint, there wasn't anything going on.
But now it actually feels ready to entertain.
[Jasmin] I feel like I'm picturing all the memories that
are going to be made here.
It's beautiful with the blues and that even down
to the plants. Like, I love those gold fuzzy ball things.
Which is the technical term.
-Yeah, right. -Of course, totally.
[Drew] We had a wall. We lost a wall.
We had to put the wall back.
Turns out this is a shear wall.
We had to make sure that all of this was structurally sound
in case there was an earthquake.
Well, the good thing is your home now meets
all of today's codes.
You get to enjoy the beauty, but you also know that
-it's safe inside. -Yes, it looks good and it won't fall on us.
Double win.
I mean, I just feel like you guys nailed it.
This is so us.
I think just because of what you just said
how we nailed it.
-Yeah! -Yes!
-Oh. -It feels good.
-Now I know why you did it. -Yeah. Right.
-Correct. -It feels great.
All this gorgeousness here and there's still more to come.
-Come on into your dining room. -Okay.
Oh, my gosh. You guys.
Oh, my gosh.
Bench seating. We love benches.
It's a good sized dining room.
And you can fit a lot of people around this table.
[Nick] Yeah, feels like there's so much more space.
[Jasmin] Yeah.
-This is incredible. -Look at the chandelier.
This chandelier is just nailed it.
This used to be a table full of homework and arts
and crafts and crayons and all these things
and to be able to use this space to entertain
and to beautify it.
It's just, I just love it so much.
These built ins, we will never have to trip on
another crayon again.
I mean, the kids still need a place to do their arts and crafts and color
-and all... -No, it's fine.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, they still have that, but at least you can tuck it away.
-Right. -You have so much storage
in all the different spaces now.
You have beautiful shelves to showcase the A class art
and the cabinet is to tuck away the C and D level stuff.
This is only, like, the little teaser
when it comes to culinary entertaining.
-Mmm. -Because with that wall gone,
check out your kitchen.
Oh, my gosh!
[both laugh]
Look at this kitchen.
No way.
This is my dream come true.
[Drew] Yes.
Look at this stove.
-Oh, my gosh. -[Nick] Holy smokes.
-And a hot plate? -Yeah.
-This is incredible. -Wow.
And there's a pantry.
-Wow. This is a lot of storage. -This is incredible.
This is perfect.
-[Nick] Got your sink too. -[Jasmin] My farmhouse sink.
And you know what's funny too? Turn that on.
No. [laughs]
This kitchen is such a dramatic difference
from where it was before. I mean, look at this sight line.
-[Jasmin] It's incredible. -[Nick] It's incredible.
By losing that wall, we wanted to make sure
you still had lots of storage by not being able to open up
from the living room through the kitchen directly.
Actually, it was a benefit because it gave us
all this extra storage here.
Yeah, this is going to be humongous 'cause
even if I'm preparing a meal or something.
I can put it here. People can come over and...
[Nick] Put dishes there. Yeah.
[Jasmin] This is nothing like what was here.
Oh, my gosh, the meals that will be made in here, babe.
The family that will be gathered, like,
-we have an island. -Breakfast bar seating,
something casual for the kids while you're cooking.
Yes, I won't be alone in here while I'm cooking anymore.
-I can sit down. -Yes, you can sit. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I got somewhere to sit.
-[Jasmin] I love the color of the countertop. -The countertops.
-Perfect. -It's just everything blends so beautifully.
I love how you carried the same color
into the cabinets here and I love the glass front.
Do you notice any subtle touches that
pull through from the living room?
The tile. Yeah, yeah.
The backsplash from the fireplace.
[Jonathan] All the way up to the ceiling.
[Jasmin] I love it. Such attention to detail.
I can already picture the girls running around
and just loving the space while you're whipping out
the best meals in here.
It's ready to live in.
-[Jasmin] It's... and we're ready to live in it. -Yes.
You know, it's been a little bit of
a challenging summer.
Um, you know, some things with the kids
and, like, residual grief from dad that's, you know,
manifesting in different ways.
And so it's just been a really hard summer.
But it's been so wonderful to be able to look forward
to this and I mean this, this represents so much more
than just a house that's been remodeled.
It has been a joy working with you guys
and I hope you find this as the backdrop to
so many more memories.
We're gonna take off. We're gonna let you celebrate with the girls,
but you have to invite us back for the first game night.
-[both] Deal. -All right.
We'll hold you to that. Got the girls, see what they think.
Thank you.
It was infinitely better than I had envisioned in my mind.
Like, infinitely better.
-[all exclaiming] -[all laughing]
Are you sure this is our house?
[Nick] Yes.
Oh, look...
It's awesome to think about. Like, our girls
and being able to live in this space.
And it's a nice space. It's a safe space.
It's more open so we can all spend more time together
as a family. And I think it's really going to change our lifestyle.
What? [exclaims]
And just like building memories,
I think that's one of the biggest things.
There's just so many memories attached with, like, home
and what that represented.
And I remember so vividly the house that I grew up in
and I just I want, you know, so badly to be able
to give that to the girls as well.
Also threatened them with their life
if they don't keep it clean.
So there's that. [laughs]
-Cheers. Oh, I love it. Cheers. -Cheers.
[all laughing]