Keeping tabs on the real estate market
getting you down?
There's gotta be a better way!
I'm Jack McBrayer,
and we bring you eye-catching,
unique homes on the real estate market
that satisfy a hunger for...
color! - Yay!
- Texture. - Oh!
And outrageous surprises.
Touch me.
What's happening?
It feels like I'm home for the holidays.
You're kind of, like, punched in the face
with Christmas.
In a good way.
One house will be crowned--
the wildest!
So join now!
About 16 miles across Puget Sound from Seattle
lies Olalla, Washington.
A forested haven of traditional rural homes.
And hidden among the trees is a purchased property
that I hear casts a spell
so irresistible, you simply can't stay away.
OK, this looks like a children's storybook
come to life.
Hello!
- Hi. - Liz?
- Jack. - Yes, nice to meet you, Jack.
- Hi. - You too, I'm so excited.
- This does not look real. - It does not indeed, but it is.
I'm Liz, and I bought a storybook cottage.
How does one find... this?
It was the beginning of the pandemic.
And it was my now husband
and our four children
all cooped up in two-bedroom, one-bath
in Portland, Oregon.
And he sent me the Zillow link and said,
"Hey, do you want to go look at this Snow White cottage?"
And I was like, "It's just magical."
And I'm seeing four bedrooms aloft
and five bathrooms on five acres.
It looks like a deal to me.
We definitely realized, like, we followed our hearts here.
Oh, my God, this does seem like a fairy tale.
It's amazing.
Even, like, coming up here,
like, I'm going over, like, little cobbled bridges,
and I'm seeing wishing wells,
and, I mean, you are transported
before we even see the house.
100%. We were here for two years,
and then we decided to rent it out for a couple of years,
and we went to Phoenix and loved it there.
But once you live somewhere this magical,
it's just impossible to live anywhere else.
We're back now, and we get to live in it again,
and this is our home.
- Can I take you inside? - Please.
Let's go.
Ooh.
- Look at this! - Welcome.
- Pretty cool, huh? - Is this real wood?
- All of it is real wood. - It's so shiny.
Mm-hmm.
Look at these funny-shaped doors.
Yeah. Everything in here is handmade.
I mean, it still retains a mystical quality
when you go inside, but I was expecting,
like, furniture made out of, like, thatched branches
or, like, a bunch of twigs spun together to make a broom.
Nah, this is a real house.
OK, so y'all walk in, and you see this place,
and we're like, "Bingo this is who we are now?"
It was just exciting.
- That is exciting. - And it really just brought out,
like, the child, like,
wonderment in you. - Yeah.
I appreciate an emotional connection to a space.
Oh, my God, is that a tree?
It is a tree that the house is built around.
Let's go. Head through the tree.
Oh, my gosh. And this was here.
This is crazy. Look at this kitchen!
It's just beautiful. It's a great place to be.
It feels good. Ceilings are nice and high.
What is the story behind this storybook house?
A young couple in the '70s bought the property,
and then they just kind of built it by hand. - Yeah?
The wife said, "OK, we've done everything there is to do,"
and so they put it on the market.
They even, like, formed stalactites
in the kitchen. - Mm-hmm, yeah.
Like, this is crazy.
OK, so I see these unique stairs here.
Where would that take me?
These would lead you up to our loft bedroom
that my husband and I share.
And I want to show you a more amazing room
straight through here.
We're going to go through the dining room hallway
and down into the hall. - Great.
- Right through. - Going through.
All right, so come back. I see a living room.
And this is your dining room?
Yeah, we've got a nice eat-in area, beautiful view
of the front. - View!
The room will be right to your right.
Oh!
- Is this a bedroom? - This is middle kid's bedroom.
Whoa!
So is this just like a little lounge area?
I mean, I would prefer it to be an area
where children sit lovely
with their crisscross applesauce and read.
I've only heard parkouring come out of here at times.
So...
And a lot of like,
"Don't tell her, it's OK. You're OK, get up, you're OK."
Yeah, I've heard a lot of that.
But you know what? Like, that's what makes it fun.
It's worth a few broken arms.
Absolutely.
They'll break them anyway. Break them doing something fun.
How'd you break your collarbone?
There's stalactites hanging in my room.
Oh, it's amazing. There's so much more to see on the property.
- Would you like to go see? - Yes, please.
Come on, follow me.
- It's beautiful, isn't it? - It is.
- And this is all yours? - All of it.
What is this? This is bonkers, Liz.
It's just magical.
It's a little tree house.
They're trying to figure out what to do with it.
It came with the home, and I think it was one of
the last things that the original owners put in.
- It is for viewing only. - Got it.
Structurally, like, we just want to make sure
it's always safe, but no,
it's an amazing hollowed out tree that was brought in.
Wow.
And then they built a little fireplace.
This is fantastic and so unique and so original,
and I love the fact that you let your emotions lead the way.
There's really nothing else in the world like it.
This house drew Liz in.
She came here. She set up camp.
Brain took her away. Heart brought her back.
I get it. Look at all these trees.
I said, "Look at all these trees."
Thank you so much for the afternoon.
Thank you for coming and spending time in our home.
- The pleasure was all mine. - You're welcome, any time.
And I wish you continued success with this place.
- Thank you, ma'am. - Have a good one.
- Yes, ma'am. - Bye.
How will this tale unfold on the wild dial?
The storybook cottage facade
turns this family home
into something playful
and completely unexpected.
Hand-crafted beams,
stone, and ironwork
show a strong dedication
to bringing the fairytale design
to life.
And, real or not,
stalactites all around the house
really bring in cave-like craziness.
From the greenery of the Pacific Northwest
to the gateway of the Smoky Mountains,
I've come to the small town of Newport, Tennessee.
With only 7,000 residents, this community has a home
for sale that would make any DIYer stop in their tracks.
I am really out here,
and this house is really in there.
Ah!
- Hey! - Hello, Rena!
- Rena. - Jack.
- Nice to meet you. - You as well.
- Thank you for having me. - Yeah.
We're kind of out in the middle of...
- In the middle of nowhere. - Your words.
This property was in my husband Steve's family
for over 200 years. - Oh!
And my husband built this house for me.
I'm Rena. I'm selling my home,
which is a piece of me and Steve.
A little over a year ago, Steve passed away.
Steve and I never had any children.
And it's difficult to be able to live in this house
for one person to take care of.
Well, I can't wait to hear the whole story.
- Can we get in? - Let's go.
All right.
Oh.
- Oh, this is big. - Yes.
This house is almost 5,000 square feet.
- What? - Yep.
That's why I'm selling,
with the acreage and the house.
You tried to clean 5,000 square feet?
Whew!
- I wouldn't do that. - Yeah, me either.
But I mean, I got to say, like, walking up,
I was not expecting this expanse of residence.
It's deep. It goes back into the hill.
Got it.
So you said your husband Steve built this?
- He did. - Is he an engineer?
- How does he know how to do this? - He is not.
He did not--
He didn't even graduate high school.
He was not intimidated by anything.
He would take on any project, i.e., the house.
- Look at this staircase. - I know.
Oh, my God. It looks like it's just, like,
carved out of a tree.
It is a big oak tree.
Ever since I was young, I always wanted a big,
grand staircase. - Is that true?
That's true. And this is what he built me.
Well, you can't get grander.
This log right here he found in a creek, sliced it up,
made steps out of it.
This he found in the neighbor's yard,
was driving by, and said,
"Oh, hey, that would serve as a really good banister."
- Banister? - Yep.
If I saw a big old tree like that
fallen in a neighbor's yard, I'd be like,
"Well, thank God it's not my yard."
He was just winging it the whole time?
Mm-hmm. We just built it as we went.
All these beautiful glass blocks that are here?
There's eight different colors of glass blocks.
I mean, the light is just fantastic.
It is. You want to go up?
- Yes. - Let's go.
I love it. You know what?
- I'm going to use the banister. - Why don't you?
Look at this. This is so sturdy.
And I see another spiral staircase here?
Yeah, that one's modeled after this one right here,
only on a smaller scale.
And all that wood you see, that was found on the property,
and Steve just thought it looked neat.
OK, and I mean, there's so much space here.
We have a game room over there.
- OK. - Pinball machines,
pool table, and all that.
And this was our bedroom.
I mean, and it was just me and him,
so we really didn't need any walls.
Is that like a little closet? What is that?
That is our bathroom.
When you only have two people living here,
you have a barn door.
- Oh, my gosh. - Yeah.
There's a great deal of trust going into not having
a full door here. - We were married 40 years.
- That's beautiful. - There you go.
You're like, "I've heard his farts before."
I really have.
You want to see more house?
- Always. - Let's go.
- Perfect. - Got it downstairs.
Steve just knew what he was doing.
And I love it.
Ooh, what's over there?
What is this? Is this your sofa?
It is.
- Oh, my gosh. - It's a swing, yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
We were visiting Savannah, and Steve saw this
in one of the little shops there and said,
"I'm going to go home and make that."
Of course. I would be remiss
if I'm not pointing out this NASA equipment
in your living room.
- Well, try Blue Man Group. - What?
Blue Man Group was Steve's very favorite...
artist, band, whatever-- yes.
We went and seen a couple of shows, and he decided that
he was going to build a speaker system that was inspired
from the Blue Man Group.
- You know, they played instruments... - Yeah.
...that were made out of PVC.
Out of curiosity, what was his favorite color?
Green.
You would have thought it would have been blue because
of the Blue Man Group, but it's not.
It was green. He wore a lot of green.
His eyes were green, and he looked good in green.
- So, yeah. - You'll excuse me one moment.
- OK. - I'll be right back.
All right.
Ah! Look at you!
- Dude, that was so good. - You liked it?
- I loved it! - Yay!
- Oh, well, you know. - Yeah.
I wanted to do that for Steve.
I hope he would have appreciated it.
He would have appreciated the heck out of that, yeah.
There's so much emotion that went into the creation of this,
and it's a big decision to sell this property. - Mm-hmm.
I hope that whoever moves into this house will love it
and enjoy it just like I have.
And I understand you have an open house coming up.
I do.
Best of luck with your next chapter.
Thank you. See ya.
What a true labor of love.
This home is full of originality
with its nature and southern aesthetic
built into every corner.
Using materials found right on the property
to build each staircase, plant wall, and railing,
shows clear dedication to upcycling.
But a stereo system inspired by an iconic trio
made from PVC pipe and a dream?
I mean, come on!
It's time for Handmade Haven's open house.
Will its distinct craftsmanship,
charm a potential buyer?
There... is a tree,
like, built up in it.
What in the world?
So we've had multiple showings on the home.
Majority of the people looking are from out of state.
They're looking at this type home,
ready to have their homestead
or whatever else they'd like to do.
Does the solar panels have a battery bank?
Currently, it doesn't have a battery bank,
but the amount of solar panels they have
generate enough electricity to power the home completely,
and they sell back to the power company.
You actually have a revenue of about $200 to $500 a month.
So are you looking to buy?
I am not. I'm actually just the neighbor,
and I was coming by to check it out. - Oh, OK.
Possibly sell my house.
And if this house will sell, then I'm going to sell mine.
The home, it gives you the vibe kind of like
you would be in a city in a loft-type apartment,
but it's potential to live completely off grid
and be self-sustained.
We'll check back later to see
if any offers have come out of the woodwork.
Two hours north of New York City is
the historic artist enclave of Catskill.
Nestled among its traditional farmhouses and cottages is
a property for sale with dwellings of
a decidedly more playful, hand-built nature.
Is this a house? Does anybody live here?
What in the world?
- Hello, sir. - Hello.
- Good morning. - Matt.
- How are you, young man? - I'm good.
- Good to meet you. - Good to see you.
- I'm excited to be here. - Yeah.
What is this that I have stepped into?
This is like a little village.
Yeah, this is the B-Home project.
- B-Home. - Yes.
It's a lot of small dwellings and inhabitable sculptures
built from things other people have thrown away.
I'm Matt, and I'm selling my art project.
I'm an artist who's built installation art
at institutions, museums.
- Inhabitable sculptures? - Yeah.
So you can live in this art?
More or less. They're three-season.
You keep the rain off you at the very least.
There you go. I'll allow it.
But now, do you also live here?
Or is this just like an art gallery kind of thing?
I've stayed off and on.
But yeah, this is--
this is the sculpture park aspect of the project.
Sculpture park. This is crazy.
- And you own this? - Going on 20 years.
I'm selling the property because we have a house nearby
with two horses.
And in order to cut down on everything,
I had to list this property on the market.
So this is a 20-year art project?
Yeah, and this isn't the first of my sculptures you've met.
So when your friend Josh Meyers got married at Glen Falls House,
that arbor that he got married under, I built that.
- Are you kidding me? - Yeah, yeah.
- This is amazing, I had no idea. - And-- yeah.
I officiated a wedding of my friends,
Josh Meyers and Mackenzie Rollins
underneath an arbor created by Matt.
Aw! It was really cool.
Now, is it something where you have an idea of what
art you want to create and then you just start gathering
supplies for it? How does this work?
Sometimes the materials come first,
but this is hand-carved trim, old windows, plexiglass.
It could be said, one man's trash is
another man's treasure. Trash, treasure.
Trashure.
But are these just like sculptures to look at?
Some you just look at, but a lot you can go inside of.
Like, we can go inside of this chapel.
Let's go. Let's check it out.
So do all of the structures have names?
- Some. - Oh, my gosh.
You got stairs in this one. Oh, wow.
My neighbors gave me that staircase.
I love that somebody just gives you a staircase.
That led me to build a two-story structure.
I got stained glass windows, somebody gave me some
church pews, so it turned into this chapel for Sophia,
and here we are.
So, I mean, there is so many structures here,
and surely you've had a lot of people join you?
Yes, it's a big collaborative effort.
- Over the river and through the woods. - And through the woods.
Ah! Tower Records.
Whoa!
Maximilian Goldfarb and his son
came out and built this for a summer,
and it's holding up really well.
Let's go see the cabin.
It's through the woods and over the hills,
and I'd love to show you.
Is this the king's castle?
This is the cabin.
- This is fantastic. - Let's go inside.
- Let's check it out. - Yeah.
Oh!
A ceiling!
This is cool.
Oh, my-- Oh, I'm so warm.
Matt, this is clearly a cozy space.
So you can actually, like, live in this space, yeah?
Yeah, this is a four-season cabin.
- It's insulated. - I see stairs here.
Is there sleeping quarters up there?
Yeah, a little sleeping loft up there.
I bet it gets so quiet out here.
It's very quiet.
Did you know how to build a house in the middle
of the woods?
Well, my friend showed me how to build
a post and beam structure.
- And so you... - With his help.
- You bring in found post and beams. - Right.
Yeah, there was a defunct mill that I got all this
dimensional lumber from.
I think about, like, people who contributed this
and, you know, that chest of drawers or whatever that is.
What is that?
As my daughter was approaching,
coming into the world, we made a room in the back.
- Can I see what's in there? - Sure, go have a peek.
This is so cool, Matt.
Oh! Oh, my gosh, look at this.
A few summers ago, my wife and daughter and stepdaughter,
you know, lived here for the summer.
I love this.
OK, so you're not only selling, like, the land,
you're selling a sculpture park.
You're looking for someone who hopefully embraces
the opportunity to continue on just this whole experiment.
- Let's see if we can find that guy. - Yeah.
- Matt, thank you so much. - You're welcome.
- This has been an incredible afternoon. - Thank you, Jack.
- Awesome. - I wish you the best of luck with everything.
- All right, enjoy. - You too.
So where does Stick It To Me land on the Wild Dial?
Originality shines at a property
where each free-form structure is one-of-a-kind.
Spending 20 years handcrafting a village of
habitable sculptures is absolute commitment.
This entire property is wild, reimagining what a home can be.
Before we find out which of these homes is our wildest,
here's a quick update on our sellers.
While Handmade Haven waits for the perfect buyers,
Matt has taken Stick It To Me
off the market?
In Matt's own words,
the land itself wanted him to keep it.
We're excited to see how his journey continues.
It's time to announce the wildest house of the bunch.
Is a happy ending in store for Once Upon A Forest?
Will Handmade Haven make them green with envy,
or can Stick It To Me build its way to the top?
And the wild winner is...
Stick It To Me! Hello, Matt.
Good to see you, Jack.
You should've gotten a little something from us in the mail,
so go on and rip it open.
Whoa!
We have little Jacks coming out.
- You're welcome. - Whoa.
Congratulations.
Your property was chosen as the wildest of the bunch.
It was like nothing I'd ever seen before.
I'm honored.
By blurring the lines between art and architecture,
Stick It To Me really stands out.
As a sculpture park, 20 years and dozens of collaborators
in the making, and a home informed
by the landscape and repurposed materials,
it's impossible to replicate.
Here's to uniqueness, novelty,
and we're all one-of-a-kind if you really get down to it.
But there's still more wild to come.
I can't wait to see what's next.
No!
This is actually considered the tallest,
private rock-climbing wall in the world.
Are you being serious?
This is big. Also, I'm loving
the echo in some of these domes.
Domes, domes, domes, domes.