Original subtitles

[upbeat pop music playing]

[Giada] Do you want any buckwheat cereal, Shane?

I'm gonna pass on the buckwheat cereal.

- Is that a shocker? - Too healthy?

Yeah.

I kind of like it.

Hi, buddy. You want to taste some bagel?

Get all the cream cheese off me. Now you have it on your nose!

[Shane] What's your day like today?

I'm gonna go meet the homeowners and surprise them

because we're renovating their kitchen.

Oh, a Giada surprise. I love a Giada surprise.

He definitely doesn't know I'm coming. His wife knows, though.

[Shane] That's cool.

[Giada] He makes this really yummy Mexican dish

that he's known for in his neighborhood.

Cochinita pibil.

But his kitchen, you know, needs some renovation.

And his wife basically nominated him

and said, like, he's so inspirational to our family.

So I'm really looking forward to meeting them.

[Shane] This dish he makes is known in the neighborhood?

- Yeah. - So everybody in the neighborhood's

winning by him getting a new kitchen.

He has so many people over, and it's not a big kitchen.

[Shane] Have you ever surprised someone and they don't know you?

Yeah.

Guess who they thought that I was.

- Rachael Ray? - Yes.

[laughs]

That was like 15 years ago.

- That was not 15 years ago. - It felt like 15.

I don't think that's a nice thing to say.

- [laughing] - I don't think you tell somebody,

"It feels like we've been together longer."

- Honey, come on. - Feels like three weeks.

When you say, "This feels like 15 years."

That's not what I meant.

[Shane] Even Enzo shook his head like, "That is horrible."

All right, see you later. Bye, boo-boo.

[upbeat pop music playing]

I'm Giada De Laurentiis,

and for the last two decades, I've been cooking.

Between being a personal chef for over five years

and filling my food shows...

Ta-da!

and constantly traveling and cooking while on the go,

I've cooked in more kitchens than pretty much anyone.

So I think I know a thing or two about setting up a great kitchen.

[upbeat music continues]

And you know what's frustrating?

Is seeing so many cooks just stuck

with a kitchen that isn't working for them.

So we're having loved ones nominate deserving home cooks

whose kitchens need serious help

so they can finally have a functional and beautiful kitchen.

[upbeat pop music playing]

[phone line ringing]

Whoa, these houses are big.

Whoo!

- [Erick on phone] Hello? - Erick!

Hey, Giana.

I'm about, like, five minutes out.

I was wondering where you were.

I'm not too far.

Erick Garcia is a fabulous interior designer,

and he has celebrity clients like Hailey Bieber,

Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas

and Jen Atkin.

He can be funky, but he can also be traditional.

And I think what's important about an interior designer

is that they don't just have one look.

They have many looks depending on what they're feeling

from the home.

And he has a Latin background,

so he gets that the heart of the home is the kitchen.

So it's really fun to work with him.

He's helped me visualize what's possible in this space.

So don't go in because I want to surprise Michael.

[Erick] Does he know what's happening yet, or...?

He doesn't know. He thinks he's gonna be on a show

featuring delicious family recipes.

And he doesn't know we're coming. He doesn't know I'm coming.

He's gonna be so surprised.

I'm so excited to, like, change their lives.

Well, at least their kitchen lives. Ha!

[Whitney] Do you want me to start making tortillas?

You want to? That'd be really good.

I don't really want to. I'm very intimidated. But I will try.

Excuse me.

[Giada] Today, we're gonna go meet the homeowners,

Whitney and Michael and their two kids, Guy and Gwen.

Michael is cooking his special heirloom family recipe,

cochinita pibil, for his family and friends.

And I really want to see, how does he move in the kitchen?

What is the functionality?

And Whitney had told me it's total chaos in that kitchen.

[Whitney] First, should we do guacamole?

[Michael] Yeah, I'll make some guacamole.

I need to clear off space before we get to that.

Oh. [Whitney laughs]

I know that Giada is coming to our house,

so I'm doing my best to hold this big secret in.

I cannot wait for him to find out that we are redoing the kitchen.

I knew I had to apply for Michael

because he puts everybody else first.

When we were dating,

I got wined and dined, like, to the tens.

And then last year, at the beginning of the year,

I was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer.

There were days I'd be way too tired to cook or take care of the kids.

And he pulled us all through, all while he was working full time.

My husband really saved my life.

So if there's one person that deserves a cool kitchen, it's my husband.

[Michael] How are you guys doing in there?

[man] Really good. Mike.

Just me by my lonesome.

[Giada] We can design a nice kitchen.

Just because it's a pretty kitchen does not mean it makes a chef's kitchen.

I want to design a functional kitchen that really works for Michael.

I know how much it means to me to have a kitchen of my dreams after building mine.

It's gonna transform their lives, which he deserves.

- Hello. - Hi.

- Good to see you. - It's nice to see you!

- Are you ready? - Yes.

- I'm excited to see the reaction. - I'm so ready. I know.

[knock on door]

[man] Do you have anybody else coming?

What? Oh...!

[Michael laughing]

No way. What the...?

Oh, my gosh!

- [Giada] Can I come in? - Yes!

What are you doing here?

- Hi! - I'm Giada.

I know who you are!

- This is so surreal. - And this is Erick.

- Hello. So nice to meet you. - Hi, how are you?

- [Giada] We're crashing your house. - Oh, my God!

- Hi, everybody. - [all] Hi!

[producer] How are you feeling?

Shocked. This is crazy.

Giada, she's like celebrity chef royalty.

- I'm Whitney. - Hi, Whitney.

[laughing] I'm Michael. Again.

- It's a pleasure, you guys. - Wow!

[Giada] Well, I'm here because your wife told me

you make great cochinita pibil, and I want to learn how to make it.

This is crazy!

Let's go see.

- [laughing] Oh, no! - [Whitney] No pressure, Michael.

[Michael] No pressure.

- Kitchen's this way? - [Michael] This way.

Welcome to our kitchen.

- [Giada] Oh, wow. - [Michael] So this is basically

my little hub right here.

[Giada] All right, tell me what to do.

So we'll pull out the blender, actually. It's right over here.

And where do you usually put the blender? Over here?

Usually over here. I disconnect one of the juicing pieces.

I'm gonna rest this over here.

[Giada] So the laundry room comes in handy.

[Michael] The laundry room is kind of like

where I keep extra ingredients and stuff like that.

Cooking for Giada was excitement and also a little fear.

[laughs]

Do you need this pan?

- I have a cast-iron here. - Okay.

- I could put this away. - [Michael] Yeah.

And kind of embarrassed because I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, I got these knives."

"I know they're not sharp."

I don't even want to hand her a knife because it's not a chef knife.

So these are chayote

we have to roast.

So while you're doing that, I'm gonna marinate this.

[Giada] Okay, let me see what you're doing.

[Michael] So this is recado rojo.

Basically the marinade for the dish.

Oh, it smells so good.

This is like my heritage in a bowl here, basically.

When I'm making it, there's a sense of pride with it, too.

[Giada] Yeah. All right, so you're gonna massage it and put it in the bowl? Okay.

- So did you grow up eating this dish? - [Michael] I did.

So my grandmother would make this dish during Christmas,

and it's a traditional dish that we carried on.

So it brings back a lot of memories.

Cochinita pibil is literally a labor of love.

It's part of my family history, but it's really difficult to make.

It's got a ton of ingredients.

I take a mortar and pestle.

I mean, we're talking about smoking garlic and different spices,

and grinding it into a fine paste.

So this has got to marinate for at least two hours.

[Giada] Okay.

[Michael] I have a banana tree,

and we're gonna harvest the banana leaf together.

- I love that! - Then we're gonna roast it in banana leaf.

- So this is our backyard. - [Giada] Beautiful!

And I'll grab a ladder and I'll pull out a leaf.

And this is what we're gonna use for the cochinita.

Michael as a cook is very fun

because he gets very excited and passionate, but he is a purist.

When we had Gwen's birthday party,

he wanted to make crepes for everybody.

So I got crepe mix.

And Michael's like, "Send it back. We don't need that."

[Michael] I wanted it done right, so I got all the correct ingredients.

And then what made it all worthwhile was...

[sighs]

[splutters and laughs]

Are you gonna cry right now?

My daughter Gwen came to order the crepe from me.

And she was just so happy.

She said, "This is like... This is the best, Daddy."

And so that's what's kind of going in the mindset,

it's like all of this love and care is going into these moments.

- That was fun. - [Michael] That was different. Right?

So we're gonna actually toast them over the burner.

And that's gonna make them nice and soft when you heat it up.

- [Giada] Then do I put it in there? - [Michael] Yes.

So I would say layer it just like that.

Kind of like we're wrapping a present.

- [Giada] It's like a little blanket. - [Michael] Yeah.

So we're just gonna layer, like that.

Wrap that bad boy up.

What Michael and I share so much

is that we express our love through our cooking.

Cooking for our family, cooking for our friends.

I love having my friends over.

That is the way for me to express

my gratitude for their love and friendship.

And the door is always open. Always.

[Michael] Okay, everyone, time to eat.

- Oh. Hey. Hello. - [woman] Oh, my goodness!

- What? Thank you. - Amazing. Thank you.

- Okay, let's do it. - [man] Okay.

[woman] Oh, my gosh. This is gorgeous, Michael.

I love the banana leaf. I just... It's so beautiful.

[contemplative music playing]

Oh, my goodness.

It's so good.

- Oh, my gosh! - [man] Congratulations.

- Oh, my gosh. - There's so much flavor in this meat.

The pork is so tender. It just kind of melts in your mouth.

- [laughs] - [Giada] I also love the onions.

Citrusy, but vinegary.

So it's, like, sweet, but it has a lot of acid.

- And has a crunch. - Thank you.

That means a lot coming from you.

What's so amazing

is what you just cooked out of that tiny little kitchen.

[laughing] It is challenging with the kitchen.

Having said all of that...

Uh-oh.

although I loved learning how to make your traditional Yucatán dish,

Erick and I came over today to tell you

we're gonna give you the kitchen that you've always dreamed of.

I am here to renovate your kitchen.

[laughing] Oh, my God!

I can't believe this!

Oh, my gosh. They're gonna renovate our kitchen.

- [woman] Oh, my God! - [Giada] Erick, come on in here.

Erick is an amazing interior designer.

Amazing interior designer.

Now that I've had your beautiful taco,

you get a new kitchen.

- Thank you! - [Erick] Yeah.

Let's go in there. Shall we go and check it out?

I don't know if we all fit in there, but we can try.

[laughs]

[upbeat music playing]

This is the aftermath.

I mean, this kitchen gives me, like...

I can't tell you what it makes me feel like.

I'm speechless at, like, how much stuff is everywhere.

What I really want for Whitney and Michael is the kitchen to have flow.

Where is the sink in comparison to the stove?

How do you move there when you have a hot pan?

Talk to me about the design.

What's not working for you?

- Whitney loves the dated... - No.

The beautiful granite?

Look, if I could have designed it myself, it might have been a little more personal.

- Unique to us. - Uh-huh.

- Your family's a little eclectic. - Yeah.

Color? Are you guys afraid of color?

- I'm not afraid of color. - Really?

All right, Michael, you said it.

- I mean, I'm open... - [Erick] That's it.

How are you feeling about this wall? Can we talk about this wall?

Let's talk about it.

Because, for me, it's the one thing that I want to knock down.

When you're cooking and your friends and family

are either in the dining or living, there's no connection.

So by taking down this wall, it's gonna open up the space.

I feel like the kitchen and the dining room

are really gonna then speak to each other and really give you guys more surface.

I think that is the one thing that they need, surface.

[Giada] Oh, for sure. You definitely don't have enough space.

And you like your spices by the stove?

[sighs] This is kind of the bane of my existence.

You have to kind of dig through to get to spices.

It's just a mess.

Storage in this kitchen is a high, high priority.

He needs more counter space,

way better storage, pantry space,

shelving for his spice racks.

- And I think we're gonna redo this, too. - [Michael] What?

[Erick] And maybe that's where we need a coffee station.

That sounds amazing.

You're, like, sign "yes."

[Giada] When I look at that laundry room, I see there's a lot we could do in there

that I think would be really helpful to them.

What else? What other things are you dreaming about in this kitchen?

[Michael] I mean, I love our breakfast nook, but it's so closed off.

It's like a wasted space, unfortunately.

And it was one of the features that we really fell in love with, with the home.

Whitney works in there with her real estate.

Where, Whitney? [laughs]

Well, it's work light.

- By the way, we have to move out. - We have to move out?

Yeah.

[Erick] The renovation will take about six weeks,

so we need to arrange for you guys to stay with your mom.

Um, I just...

It's kind of unbelievable that you're even here, to be honest.

I thought we were just cooking and, um...

I just feel really, really lucky.

Um... [mutters]

- [Whitney laughing] We can't cry again... - [Erick] Oh!

Just, like, coming out of, like, a really tough

challenging couple of years.

Like, I'm just super happy. Like, these are tears of joy.

I mean, at the end of the day, Michael, you're so deserving of this.

You've made so many people so happy with all your fabulous food.

You deserve to have a space without tripping all the time.

Yeah!

Which is what I felt like we did today.

Just can't wait to see what you guys have envisioned.

I think we've all decided we're gonna take this wall down, right?

- Yes. - Yeah.

The wall's coming down. It's gonna be so amazing.

[Michael laughs]

[upbeat pop music playing]

- Erick! - Giada.

You beat me here.

Ta-da!

[laughs]

- Dude, this is huge! - Right?

- Okay, the walls were right here. Right? - Yeah.

Remember, it was like a narrow space, right?

The stove was here facing this way.

[Erick] Now that it's all kind of pushed back,

we have complete freedom to create. [laughs]

Yes!

We should definitely start space planning a little bit.

[Giada] I think an island would be amazing, to give them counter space.

- Island here. - Yeah.

I love the connection between the island, the dining...

- This would be the dining room area. - Dining. Yeah.

[Giada] Then you don't have this feeling of isolation.

[Erick] Exactly.

So if the island is here,

we put the sink here.

Sink. Stove.

Then maybe fridge goes here?

Maybe we do French doors so that it doesn't take up a lot of space.

And then that way...

- And they're shorter, too. - Exactly.

- I like that, Erick. - [Erick] Sink will be here.

So it's a nice little pivot.

- [Giada] You don't even have to go far. - Yeah.

Kitchen triangle is the most important thing.

Stove, sink, refrigerator.

What does it look like? How far is it? How easy is it to access?

Can I turn around and just dump things into the sink?

Like, that's what I'm looking for.

So when I was watching Michael cook,

he had by his stove

all of his spices and stuff.

And I don't think he really liked the contraption they were in.

So I think, like, we could do a little cubby.

Yeah, we can do the nice little spice niche on the side.

- Yeah. - And then have all the spices at hand.

And maybe it has an archway.

And maybe that's where we have tile or a special finish.

[Giada] Oh, I love that.

But what the heck are we gonna do with this?

What do you feel?

[sighs]

[Giada] These can go. I don't think they'll ever miss them.

Should we put a big blue tape over it so we know it's gone?

- I feel like that's gonna be fun. - That's gonna be fun.

Let's get it out of here.

Covering the window is a power move.

The only way to kind of get the flow we're looking for

is to put a wall there and cover up those windows.

Now that the room's not closed off, you've got so much natural light coming in

from all the other areas.

Bye!

- Then there's this great area. - She works from home.

So maybe I was thinking, could we do some kind of desk thing here?

- [Erick] Yeah. - [Giada] And then we could do

a little sitting area.

[Erick] Yeah. I feel really good about that.

- Check. - For now.

Okay, great.

A lady's allowed to change her mind, right?

All the time.

[upbeat pop music playing]

[laughs]

- [woman] Good morning. - [Giada] Hi.

Could I get four of the hot dogs

with the grilled peppers and onions and mushrooms?

- Sure. - A.K.A. the Giada.

Yeah.

It's the best hot dog.

[Giada] Pink's is an LA icon.

I've been going since I was a teenager.

That was sort of my spot after a night out.

And I did a shoot there.

So they have a hot dog named after me.

It's actually really good.

Oh, I can smell it.

Pink's is around the corner from Erick's studio.

And when I saw it, I thought,

"I don't think he's gonna mind my being a little late."

- Thank you. Enjoy. - Thank you.

Amazing.

[uplifting music playing]

[Erick] Hello.

- Hi! - Michael, Whitney,

- good to see you. - You too.

[Giada] Erick is a very artistic person.

He's also an art expert.

He has a gallery, and he tells a story

through the art that he has in his studio and through his interior design.

So we can take a seat here, and then we can review

all of the finishes, samples, colors.

All the good stuff.

- I'm so excited. - I can't even... I cannot even...

- Hey, guys. Sorry I'm a little late. - [Michael] Oh, my goodness.

I had a little detour when I thought of something fun we could all nosh on

if you feel like it.

Just grab. It's all the same.

- There you go. - [Whitney] Should we cheers our hot dogs?

[Giada] Yeah, let's cheers our hot dogs. Cheers, you guys!

[laughs]

That's fantastic.

- Now that you've got sustenance... - [Whitney] Let's do this.

Yeah. So if you see the mood board, this gives you an overall look

at design direction that we want to go in.

So keeping that Spanish California style

and bringing in a little bit of your heritage, Michael.

- Yes. - But still making it contemporary.

You guys are both young.

- There's energy in there. - Yes!

For me, the most important thing is function and usability.

And it changes with each person, right?

So, what I want to show you,

I think you'll really like, Michael.

We switched where the stove is gonna be,

and we put a sink where the stove was.

- [Whitney] Okay. - [Giada] We got rid of the window,

and we're gonna create a little inset as well.

- Oh, my gosh. Do you see that? - [Giada] Um, a little inset there

so that you have that space.

And in there we can put spice racks, we can hang all the pots and pans.

So again, every area has purpose

and it isn't just decorative.

- I'm on board. - [Erick laughs]

And we'll have a beautiful pot filler that we're gonna put right here.

[Erick] Window... pot filler.

- Window... pot filler. - Yeah.

It'll look so rich.

[Whitney] Yes.

I think you might pull your bed in there.

[laughs]

Um, another good finish for the walls.

We're treating all of the interior walls in a beautiful lime wash

just to bring in a little bit of depth and character.

And it gives it great texture, right?

- Exactly. - Compared to this smoothness.

[Erick] Yup.

We want some things with texture,

some things that are a bit more sheen and shiny

so that it all marries really well together.

That's pretty.

[Erick] And then we came across these stunning handmade tiles

that brought in a lot of color,

but still muted enough where it didn't really overtake the design.

And pairing it with this beautiful artichoke cabinetry.

[Giada] Erick and I really wanted to make sure

that the kitchen felt like it was always there

and it really was integrated into the style of the house,

which is, you know, Spanish colonial.

And so I think the Mexican tiles really help

bring his heritage in as well as the house itself.

Your floors are getting all re-stained.

- Wow! - My God.

[Giada] They weren't in terrible shape. So we're gonna keep those,

sand them down, give them a nice finish.

[Erick] This is gonna be your new stain,

which, again, pairs so beautiful with the green.

- Maybe we should show them... - [Erick] Yeah, the hardware.

- [Giada] This was a big discussion. - Oh, wow.

[Giada] The hardware was a big discussion.

[Erick] Yeah. I ran this by Giada, and she had a really great point

that if you're baking, if you have flour in your hands,

some of these that felt a little harder to just kind of grab on.

So we ended up with this...

- [Michael] Egg knob? - Yes.

Because it felt really easy to grab and pull.

[Whitney] I never would have thought of that.

If we were having to design this ourselves,

I would have never considered the functionality.

Everything that we put, there's nothing there just because.

Everything has a function and a form and a purpose, yeah.

There's very detailed minutia of functionality

that in the big scheme of things you don't think matters,

but when you're in that space every single day

it drives you crazy when it doesn't work right.

That's what I'm adding.

And then I'm leaning on Erick for, you know, some of the style.

This is just, like, screaming "Castillo."

- [all laugh] - I love this.

I think it's fun. But, Michael, we have a surprise.

It's not just a renovation.

Cook to cook, we're gonna trick it out.

All new appliances, new tools.

- So you have everything you possibly need. - Oh, my gosh.

Is this real life?

We've always loved the character of our home,

and this is staying true to it, but, like, elevating it.

And...

[splutters]

You're speechless. We love that. That's what we wanted, Michael.

Just give us, like, five weeks and then wait till the reveal!

[Giada] Yeah! It's gonna be so amazing!

[uplifting pop music playing]

I know, doesn't it feel so cool?

- I mean, look at all the options. - [Giada] Yeah.

- [Dale] Hey, Giada. - Hey.

- So great to see you. - Nice to see you, Dale.

- Hey, Dale. How's it going? - Welcome.

This is like being in a candy store for me.

- So, what are we seeing? - [Erick] All right, Dale,

so we're looking for something that's durable.

- Okay. - Definitely natural.

Nothing's printed, laminated,

- nothing like that. - Elevated.

- We have an island in the... - Yes.

- Okay. Let me show you some options. - Okay.

- So this is a Brazilian quartzite. - [Erick] Nice.

[Dale] Quartzite's a little bit more like a granite.

[Giada] I have it in my laundry room.

It's incredibly durable.

But still looks very rich.

Right, and then the great thing about the natural quartzites

and the marbles is they're both a little bit translucent.

So it gives us that depth and richness.

That's what I like so much.

And then let me show you something that has a little bit more color in it.

This is another quartzite.

[Giada] It has a little more movement to it.

- A little more natural... - [Erick] Yeah.

- Yeah, more gray ray coming through. - A little gray,

but also just a touch of green or sage.

[Giada] I like this one.

Let me show you another kind of idea, too.

So this is a marble calacatta from Italy.

- Well, that's a winner. Done! Sold! - [laughs]

Just kidding.

Seal of approval, done.

It just gives us that classic timeless look.

- It's stunning. - [Giada] It's beautiful.

- Should we pull timeless classic out? - Yeah.

And let's pull that one out and see both.

- [Giada] Yeah, can we see them both? - Yeah.

[upbeat music playing]

Okay, so this is the quartzite.

- [Erick] You see how it feels leathered? - [Giada] Yes, I love that.

But now that I, like,

I'm all the way out, looking at it, it's so green.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

That one looks like it might be a little brighter.

- [Erick] Calacatta? - [Dale] This is the calacatta.

I think this will look better in the kitchen.

- What do you think? - I agree.

One of the wonderful things about having marble,

if you make doughs, whether it's pastry dough or pasta dough,

the marble's cold all the time,

so it keeps the dough nice and cold.

So you've already got a whole surface there that is easy to bake.

It's easy to make doughs, and I know Michael does that.

Think about it. Beautiful counter, waterfall island.

And then it goes right into an integrated sink.

We got to talk about integrated sink, don't we?

I was waiting for that conversation.

It's so beautiful, it's so luxurious, it's so sexy.

- Having said all of that... - [laughing]

I even chose not to have it because I cook a lot.

And you do have to be a tiny bit delicate with the corners

of an integrated sink.

An integrated sink means that the whole sink

is the same material as the countertop.

That's where I'm worried it's gonna be too delicate

when I put pots and pans in there.

We're gonna undermount that sink anyway.

So I don't think we're gonna have an issue with chips and wear.

Convinced?

- [laughs] - Okay, I'm gonna give it to you.

But then you're gonna have a conversation with Michael and Whitney.

- I will. - "Ah! I don't want to touch it

because it seems too precious."

No, they're gonna love you for the rest of their life.

Now I'm sad I didn't do that in my house.

[upbeat pop music playing]

[Erick] Knock, knock.

- No one's home. - [laughs]

Oh, wow!

[Erick] What?

Giada, it looks like a completely different house.

- [Giada] Look at the tile! - [Erick] It's looking stunning.

- I love this. It turned out nice, too. - Yeah, the little niche.

And we can add all the spices. We'll dress it up beautiful for him.

And then we'll do reclaimed wood shelves that came from an old church.

- Well, you can definitely do here... - And here.

Yeah, the sink will be here. So it's a nice little pivot.

[Giada] What about a pedal sink? Know what I mean?

[Erick] Make it feel elevated? Yeah.

Push-pedal sink.

It's sort of a chef's kiss for the kitchen.

We have it in restaurants,

but they make it now for a home cook and for a home kitchen.

And I thought it'd be really cool for him because his hands are always dirty.

So you can just use your foot to do it. And I think it's gonna be fabulous.

[Erick] Those are the moments that make the space feel a little bit more updated.

- [Giada] It's gonna be great. - [Erick] We should look at the hardware.

- So those are pantry handles. - These are a great weight.

[Erick] Aren't they so good?

And then it'll just be a nice open grabber.

[Giada] It's really beautiful, this artichoke with the...

- With the brass. - It's very rich.

- Really gorgeous - We love that word.

I think they're gonna flip.

[Erick] And then on the island, we'll do the same thing.

This feels so much bigger than I thought it was gonna be.

And it's nice and deep for storage.

- [Giada] Great job. - [Erick] Looking good.

- [Giada] All right, can we see the floors? - [Erick] Oh, yeah. Do it.

Oh!

- [Erick] Oh, wow. - [Giada] Oh, wow, baby.

That looks great.

- [Erick] Giada approved? - [both] Boom.

If you're up for it, we should test out the wall color.

Yeah, let's do it.

Once they apply the lime wash with all the brush stroke,

it'll just add more depth and character.

[Giada] Lime wash is great.

It's very much what you find in Italy, actually.

I did a whole wall at my house with it.

Creates this beautiful texture.

And the way the light can kind of bounce off all the texture in the wall,

that's what's gonna be so stunning about this spot.

It's gonna look so rich.

That one's a little, like, muddy.

- Makes the house a little sad, no? - It does.

This one's okay, but...

- I like it. I mean... - Oh, wow. I think I like that one.

- Should I just stop now, and that's it? - It's a no-brainer. I like that one.

I know that you're a perfectionist. I can see you gotta get that corner!

- Let's finish that tiny little corner. - Gotta get that corner!

I think kneading dough is similar to painting.

- Oh. - Because it's repetitive.

Anything repetitive feels very soothing.

All right.

So the winner is...

- I still like the furthest right. - Yeah.

I feel like it's gonna make the finishes of the wood really stand out.

- Yes. What is the color of that? - Cashmere.

Can you go wrong with cashmere?

I mean, you should have started with that. That's it. Love it.

[upbeat pop music playing]

[Whitney] This is the fun part for me.

You know, getting to shop.

Yeah, and it's great for me because I'm gonna start getting to see

what you and Michael gravitate towards.

[upbeat pop music continues]

What I would love to do

is start looking at the hero pieces, the bigger pieces.

- Dining table. Chairs. - Okay, sounds good.

[upbeat music playing]

So back here, they have all of their dining chairs.

[Whitney] Oh, look at all these chairs! Hey, this excites me.

- I see some things I really like. - Talk to me.

What... What are you looking at?

[Whitney] Like, this guy? I think I just like the leather...

- Love. - of it.

I mean, that's cool.

- I don't know if it's right. - A bit too contemporary for the space.

Okay, this is maybe, like, too puffy, but I like how slender this is.

Okay. Also, the floors will dictate a lot of it.

- Yeah. - The finish of the floors.

As a designer, I want to make sure

that all the wood tones speak to one another so that they feel cohesive.

The floors in the space are gonna be this honey color.

So if the floor is lighter,

then your dining tables want to be a little bit darker

so that it really just makes the table pop.

There's also this darker one. How do you feel about this?

[Whitney] I like it. I think it's pretty.

Kind of almost something about it feels a little retro to me.

This is gonna age really well.

- Very easy to clean with kids. - [Whitney] Okay.

[Erick] And I love the little arm. Half arm.

[Whitney] There is an arm here.

And it creates a really contemporary younger look.

[Whitney] Okay, this is my favorite, Erick.

So why don't we walk over, look at dining table options.

- All right, take me. - [Erick] All right. Let's do it.

Marble I don't think is gonna look good because you're gonna have a new,

beautiful marble island,

so that's probably not a good choice.

How do you feel about something like this?

[Whitney] Ooh, yeah.

There's something just moody and a little dramatic.

Oh, my gosh. This excites me.

Do you want to sit on it and see how the whole thing kind of comes together?

This feels like a big-girl table.

I mean, we want a big-girl table.

- I like this. - [laughs]

This feels really good, Erick.

I love the cohesiveness of every piece and every finish that's happening

in the space right now,

from the green cabinetry to the marble countertops,

the brass finishes.

And now with all the darker wood tones,

it's just gonna tie everything really nicely and beautifully.

I like that it has enough space for... Look how comfortable we are.

I can fit a lot of chairs. Look, there's three chairs here.

- I like it. - I like it a lot.

- Done. - [both laugh]

[upbeat pop music playing]

- [cell phone rings] - [Giada] Hi.

- [Erick on phone] Hi. How's it going? - It's good.

What's going on?

I just got a call from the contractor, and the lime wash is not looking good.

And we really need to go down there and set eyes on it.

How quick? Like tomorrow?

Yeah, because the other thing

that we really have to get going is the drapes selection.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Whoa, whoa, wait.

- We're doing this again? No! No drapes! - We have to.

Erick, no!

From day one, I said I don't want drapes in the kitchen.

The three big windows there, I'm thinking drapes.

I do not like drapes. I feel like you're cooking.

All the smells, the aroma... Everything gets sucked into that fabric.

- Giada. - I really don't like that, though.

I see, like, a Roman shade there.

But I'm happy to meet you there tomorrow.

But just know I'm coming in with my Roman shades.

- All right. - Okay.

- Get ready. - [laughs]

Watch out, Erick.

I'm ready for you.

Oh, God.

[upbeat pop music playing]

- [Giada] Hi. - Hello.

- Here, I brought you a little treat. - Ooh!

- Buttering you up a tiny bit. - I know.

I'm like, what are you trying to do here, huh?

- [laughs] - That is spectacular.

[Erick] Aaron, you did such a good job.

[Aaron] We had to bring something in

because this gapped out a little bit big on us.

[Giada] So did you just cut more tile?

[Aaron] Yeah, so we try to keep the design,

and we narrowed it down on all of them.

- It's so beautiful. - Yeah, it's just this...

- And the finishes. - [Giada] Look at this.

- How's this sink? Look at that. - I mean...

[Giada] The kitchen's almost done.

It's starting to look so fabulous.

And that integrated sink, it looks pretty sexy.

Okay, so...

- Couple of things we need to talk about. - what is the deal here?

- The lime wash, I'm not crazy about it. - What the heck?

Yeah, it's looking a little blotchy, and it's not reading the way I wanted.

[Giada] It's not rich at all.

[Erick] Yes.

- Oh, my God, Erick. - [Erick] I'm not feeling this.

- It's awful. - Yeah.

- I really wanted the texture. - Yeah.

What... What happened?

Listen, there's a lot of variables that can go wrong.

Lighting can affect it, the way they applied it.

We told them they could move in within a week.

- I know, so... - And that's gonna take more time.

It's a time crunch, so we have to decide something

and get moving,

or we're not gonna make the timeline.

- [Giada] This sucks. - [Erick] No, honestly...

I can't believe how bad it actually looks.

Like, this is a real issue.

Oh, yeah, this is a giant mistake.

One that we really need to fix as quickly as possible.

Okay, well, if you put a solid cover over it,

would you still get the texture we were looking for,

so it doesn't feel like primer?

Because there's that brushstroke that's already there,

you would still get some of that movement behind it.

[Erick] My fear is that this is gonna start looking a bit dirty.

[Giada] I understand what you're saying, but there is no other flexibility.

Just put a regular coat of paint over this.

- Coat it all. - Yeah. Forget...

It doesn't work.

I have faith that it will look good in the end.

But I got to tell you, like, if it doesn't, I'm gonna lose it.

Okay, now let's go to the drapes.

This is why I brought you a treat for these drapes.

Okay, Danny, Danny, Giada...

- Danny and Danny? - [Erick] Danny and Danny.

You cannot forget.

[Giada] That's good. I only have to remember one name.

[Erick] So I had them bring the Roman shade

so we can see visually what you're thinking.

You see how everything just feels a little bit shorter?

Whereas the drapes are gonna make the space feel taller.

I really just feel like drapes are always on the ground.

They pick up a lot of dust, a lot of dirt.

And, to me, in a kitchen, they absorb a lot.

Like, I know this is also fabric, but it absorbs differently.

I like the Roman shades.

- I hear your point. - But I haven't seen the drapes yet.

So let me see the drapes, in all fairness to you.

- Guys, can we see the drapes? - Yeah.

When I have strong opinions, I like to get my way, yes.

[Erick] Get it out.

[laughs]

[Giada] And clearly, Erick is the same way. [laughs]

We at times butt heads.

[Erick] All right, Giada, look at the beauty of the drape.

It's beautiful in a bedroom, in a living room.

Let me lay out how the visual is gonna play out.

Dining table. Dining chairs.

You're having a beautiful dinner here,

and it's so easy for us to just come walk over,

open the drape.

Also, you can put these in the washer. They pop out...

- You can put those in the washer? - Yeah, it's linen.

Whereas a Roman shade, you can't do that.

No, you'd have to get someone in to steam clean it.

Exactly. Also, you cannot see in.

There's total privacy.

- If you want to go outside and try it... - I'm going outside.

And you won't be able to see me, but I can see you.

[Giada] I stood out there for a second.

And I did not want to see what he was describing.

I really didn't.

And then I let it go.

All right, fine.

People can't see in, but you can see out.

And it's true, the Roman shade

- you're either seeing out or you're not. - [Erick] Exactly.

If you can get light into the space but still have privacy,

that's a win.

See, Giada? Trust the designer.

Thank you for letting me go through the process, Erick.

- Thank you for your patience. - It's important.

- That was easy. - Drop the mic, you win.

- That was not easy. - That took three hours, but... [laughs]

[uplifting pop music playing]

- All right, you lead the way. - I will.

So this is a local market

that has a lot of the ingredients that I use for the cochinita.

[Giada] There's a lot of cool stuff I have never actually used.

I find that a lot of the Mexican spices have different types of flavor profiles.

- For example, like, this cinnamon. - Uh-huh.

It's more fragrant and it's sweeter.

- Mm, it smells so good. Oh, my gosh. - Oh, yeah.

So the other thing that I use is oregano.

- It's kind different. - Ooh, let's smell the oregano.

- Mm, I love it. - There's a depth

to the Mexican oregano, as well as the Sicilian oregano.

It packs a punch. And to me, this is fabulous.

[Michael] You don't know what you're getting in the stores

- when it's pre-ground. - You're okay with this,

- just not with the pre-made... - Yes.

It's a little challenging at times because I'm a purist.

And so when I want to make something that uses a specific ingredient,

Whitney will say, "Oh, we could just use this."

I'm like, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

I remember one time I was making spaghetti and I went...

To put the noodles in the pan, and he said,

"We don't break noodles in this house."

Look at all these breads.

- Okay, this is... - It looks like a giant biscotto.

[laughs] My God!

This is my childhood right here. Conchas are a sweetbread.

But growing up, so many memories,

having conchas across the table from my grandma.

My grandma, she's been such a huge, powerful force in my family.

And she's meant the world to me and my brother and my mom.

So I think the purest part of me is just having respect for the culture.

And it's like I take a lot of pride. It's part of my heritage.

- What's that? - Oh, wow, that looks like a drink.

- Yeah. - Chocolate and, I think, coconut.

- Want to try it? - Yeah, I can try.

I could spend hours with Michael tasting, smelling, talking.

He's just very well-rounded.

[Michael] Thank you.

And one of the things I want to do with him at the end of this

is cook in that kitchen with him.

So I now have some ideas on what we can cook together.

This is actually a first for me, guys.

I haven't tried this before.

- I haven't tried it either! - [laughs]

[contemplative music playing]

Oh, wow, that's different.

Oh.

- It's really... I thought it'd be... - It's bitter.

- Yeah, it's super bitter. - You guys should try this.

It's really interesting.

[indistinct chatter]

[Giada] Perfect. How is it?

It's bitter, right?

Oh, I'm into that.

- [laughs] - [Michael] Well, okay, wait...

[upbeat music playing]

Giada, look how beautiful the drapery came out.

- Let's take a moment. - Done.

I see the vision. I see the vision. I'm with you.

I really like this little touch here.

- Yeah. - And I'm so relieved the paint is working.

The texture's really coming through, and the color looks great.

Yeah.

Erick and I are putting our final touches on this kitchen.

And, to me, a chef's kitchen isn't just a regular kitchen.

So I'm tricking the kitchen out

with all of my favorite tools.

Brand-new knives, all these new pots and pans,

canisters with his favorite dried herbs we picked out at that market together.

I'm gonna put them all in beautiful containers,

label everything so it's clear.

It's like a magic wand. Poom!

- Nice. - Came out nice, right?

Yeah. I just installed this Command double hook here.

That way we don't have to nail into the wall.

- Nice satin brass finish. - [Giada] Looks great.

[Erick] Voilà. And that should be it.

- Dude, we did it. - Done.

Boom!

[sighs]

All right, I think it's time for them.

- [Erick] Let's get them. - Let's get them.

- Wait, let's fix these. - [Erick] Oh, yeah.

We're finally gonna be in our space.

I've been dreaming about the moment.

I can't wait any longer.

- [laughs] - I don't know how we pull it together

because I've been a nervous wreck.

Are your hands shaking?

- [Michael] I'll hold your hand? - [Whitney] Yeah, hold my hand.

- [Giada] Are you ready? - [Michael] I'm ready.

Okay, let's go.

- [Whitney] Okay! - [Michael] Can we look?

- Yes, we can look. - Oh, my God!

It's perfect!

[Michael laughing] Oh, my God!

It's beautiful!

[upbeat pop music playing]

[Giada] We wanted to make sure you had enough storage for everything.

We've got a little coffee station over here.

I think you guys are gonna get a lot of use out of it.

- [Michael] Look at this toaster. - Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my gosh!

Oh! This is our house!

[uplifting music playing]

What? Look at the tile, babe.

[Whitney] Oh, my gosh.

They're all hand-painted Mexican tile.

- [Whitney] Wow. - [Michael] I love it. I love the colors.

[Whitney] Look how sweet this is, Michael.

[Giada] We went to your Mexican store.

We got all of the spices that you love.

- [laughing] Hey, look! - [Whitney laughing] I know.

I know.

This isn't like our house, is it?

It's just... It's like a miracle happened.

I didn't know our place could look that big.

[Whitney] Yeah.

[Michael] And the tile

and the range in that space is just speaking to me.

It's beautiful, and it feels like it's really me.

- This is huge! - This is beau...

This is way bigger than I could have imagined it.

Like, I didn't think we could fit an island in here.

[Giada] Once you got rid of that wall,

it just opened everything up for us to be able to do that.

And the other thing is, when you make any kind of doughs,

the marble stays cold, so you just do it right on there.

[Michael] Oh, yes!

And my big surprise:

a foot pedal faucet.

- [Michael] Yeah. - [Whitney] I love that!

[Michael] That is so smart.

My eye keeps wandering. There's so much to see.

It's not just the cool counter,

but then it's like the cool sink within the counter.

Like, I couldn't have dreamed of a better design.

[Whitney] We have a pantry!

- [all laugh] - Oh, my gosh! And the drawers!

[Giada] And the whole idea is strategically placing things

near where you need them.

Pots and pans on the right.

- Pick up, land. - Land.

You're not digging. You're not opening up everything.

I put utensils on this side, and then I put knives on this side.

So you can pick it up and stand right here and do your thing.

And then remember when we were cooking

and you were trying to find the spices that you don't use all the time?

- I set these up. Yeah. - [Michael] Oh, whoa!

- Yeah. - Oh, my God!

- So I gave you a little stock as well. - [Michael] This is so cool!

I just can't wait to get in there and to make something for the kids,

to make something for a family, to have friends over.

Babe, did you see this?

[Michael laughing]

[Whitney] Oh, my gosh!

You've never seen a man so obsessed with a mixer.

It's beautiful!

It's gorgeous.

[Michael] This is walnut. This is gorgeous.

So anyway, Michael has his whole section on this side,

and we wanted to create this space for you.

Where you can work, or just sit with the kids.

[uplifting music playing]

[Whitney] You guys, this is stunning.

Oh, it's so cute. Like, I can see the kids...

- [Erick] Storage. - snuggling up there

and just chilling out.

I love this chair!

- I want to take a sit. - Sit. Experience.

- Oh, this is a boss chair. - [Erick] Yes.

- [Michael] You look like a badass. - Do I? I feel like a badass.

You're gonna lock in so many deals.

- I feel it. I feel it. - So many. Yes, they're coming.

I love that I can now have a place to corral the kids

so I could have them nearby and see them in the dining room.

That's big. Big.

- It's gonna give me peace of mind. - [laughs]

All right, let's go into the dining room.

[new-age music playing]

We have a new dining set for you guys, where you can host.

We wanted something a little darker

just to ground the whole space as you walk in.

I'll let Erick speak to all this because this was really him.

[Erick] We added some family photos.

Your grandma.

We wanted to make sure that she was always there.

And she's such a big part of who you are.

And it was a piece that we had to add.

That was so important.

Now you're ugly crying in front of Giada.

[Erick] We really wanted every little detail

to connect back to your story.

It's perfect.

You guys are like forever part of our home now too.

- It's an honor. - [Erick] Yeah.

You're obviously good people, but you've also been through a lot.

This is just a wonderful sort of token at the end of that long journey.

[Michael] I always knew we were gonna get through the journey,

but I just never envisioned how bright the end of the rainbow was gonna be.

All right, one last surprise.

Michael, do you want to break this kitchen in with me?

- Shall we cook together? - Yes!

- [all laugh] - [clapping]

- [Giada] Let's do it. - I dreamed of this moment!

[upbeat pop music playing]

- Wow. - Right? It's so great!

Having a sharp knife is so different than what I'm used to.

[Giada] Right?

The kitchen is so functional and purposeful.

We're gonna make memories, and it just feels like we're at the...

At the start of something beautiful.

[Giada] Come on in, you guys.

[Erick] What?

[Giada] Hi, Gwen!

[laughing]

[Michael] What do you think?

I love it!

[laughs]

All the kitchens of my family growing up, from Italy to here,

it was the fun place.

Want to see some magic? Step on that.

- Voilà! - [all laugh]

[Giada] The smells and the aromas.

It created so many memories and truly it inspired me to be in the kitchen

because that is where I feel the most empowered.

I am so honored to be able to have the ability

to transform their life the way kitchens have transformed mine.

- You guys nailed it. - We did it!

Yeah, baby!

[uplifting music playing]