Original subtitles

Karen: I feel like this could be the perfect place for an artist.

Me, too. Open up the porch 'cause they've closed it all in

to interior space. It'll be cute.

Get it, tad!

When it rains, it's gonna pour in our basement,

see how the floor dips? All of these joists need to come up.

-Yikes. -Hearing the house creak.

The whole house creaked.

[ bangs ] whoo!

Okay, let's go check out the inside. Alright.

Ta-da! Oh, wow.

It's just gorgeous.

♪♪

mina: Mom and I take on some of the nastiest houses

you've ever seen.

♪♪

karen: We're not afraid to tackle the worst of the worst.

That is so gross!

Holy cow!

Then we turn those run-down houses

into some of the nicest homes in the neighborhood.

-Wow. -I love it.

♪♪

♪♪

I love this place.

Well, hello! Hi! Welcome to tube factory artspace.

How are you? Great.

Mina: Today, we're stopping by the tube factory

to meet with jim and shauta

who run a local nonprofit for artists in the area.

There are a lot of artists to showcase their work here.

In the wintertime, they show movies.

They've got public spaces inside and outside --

all kinds of cool stuff.

Mina: This is so cool!

Shauta: We also have other galleries.

That we switch out monthly.

Jim and shauta's nonprofit not only runs this cool gallery,

but they also provide affordable housing for local artists.

And it just so happens that our next project

is one of those homes.

Mina: How often do you change this out?

The space we change out every three to four months.

Karen: The tube factory is really close

to the property we're working on

in garfield park, and I would love to incorporate

some of these artistic elements into the house

to make it attractive to all kinds of artists.

Like, there is this old store called artsy fartsy.

Like, that's what's in my head.

Do you remember artsy fartsy in broad ripple? No, no.

Does anyone remember artsy fartsy?

Can you give us a description?

What was the store like? There was the title -- artsy fartsy.

Oh, so it's an artsy fartsy neighborhood? Yeah.

I could bring the farts. Yeah.

Mom can always bring the farts.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

mina: So, we are super close to the park.

There are so many events

in garfield park that draw artists.

I feel like this could be the perfect place for an artist.

Mina: Garfield park is just south of downtown indy.

The neighborhood, though, has had some tough times

and it's really making a comeback as an artist community.

And we already renovated one other property

on this block of nelson.

♪ the best days of our lives ♪

so, of the houses we have on nelson,

this is the closest to the park, closest to the bus line.

So, this project's a little different

than what we typically do.

The nonprofit hired us to renovate the house,

which will eventually be rented out to local artists

at affordable rates. And because of that,

the budget's gonna be fairly small on this one

since the nonprofit can only afford so much.

The house was bought for $6,000,

and it's around 790 square feet,

and has one bedroom and one bath.

The house is not big.

You first walk into an enclosed porch

and then you enter the living room.

There's a bedroom on the left and straight ahead

is a dining room.

To the right of that is the bathroom and kitchen.

And I think we need to flip some things in the plan,

but it's gonna stay one bedroom, one bath. Okay.

[ squeaky voice ] oh, my god, look at the little baby dachshund.

She saw a dog. That's why that noise happened.

Oh, so it's not -- oh, yep. No curb goes unnoticed.

No curb left behind!

It's cute, right? Yeah.

Just need to open up the porch

'cause they've closed it all in to interior space.

It'll be cute. Yeah, it needs a front porch.

Steps all need some love.

Possibly paint the limestone. Who knows.

Alright, let's go inside.

♪♪

[ drill whirring ]

I'm not struggling.

This one isn't coming out.

I feel like we might need a pry bar.

Do those need to come out -- those two? No.

Ooh, a penny.

Alright, I'm done. I can go home.

Alright. Now try.

Oh, there you go.

[ kicking ]

what? Don't we have a key? No.

Nice work. Here we go.

Who needs a key?

So, old porch.

Look how pretty that front door is.

It's beautiful. -And this is where

the original front door was, right? Right, right.

And so make this a front porch again. Yeah.

Living room? Um...

So, we've got... Oh, that's pretty.

...Like, these cool, old windows.

Look at the interesting dirt pattern on the ceiling

from never cleaning the fan blades.

So, this is the one bedroom up front here.

It's got the other half of the porch closed in.

So, this is my idea. Whoo-hoo!

There's a boatload of money all around you.

This is a, uh... What is this, a quarter?

Yeah, some went... Holy cow.

...Through their change jar. I'm gonna get rich here.

Can I have your... This is fantastic.

...Focus for a minute? Sorry. Sorry.

I know you were talking and it was super interesting... I'm sure.

...But, you know... Enthralling.

This is good luck.

This is my thought. I'm listening.

This is opened back up to the porch.

We drop in french doors here. This is the kitchen. The kitchen right now's

in the back, and we'd pull it up here... Put the kitchen up front.

...So it'd be like an "l" around here.

We could use that little closet.

As the pantry. Okay.

Mina: It's very hard to keep mom focused

when there's change on the ground.

Karen: What? I like to collect pennies.

I am capable of listening

and collecting pennies at the same time.

Karen: I need to see the rest of the house to see what you're thinking. Okay.

So, if we can open up

between the kitchen and the living room,

I think if this is open, it's big enough

for the public space,

which then means this is our bedroom. Okay.

♪♪

mina: I think we're gonna have to adjust the windows

for egress 'cause they're too high.

They are definitely more than 42 inches from the ground.

Yeah, so we can figure that out.

These windows are cool. I would love to keep these.

I would like to keep these ones and storm them

and then maybe replace the other ones.

But then this becomes the bedroom.

And the kitchen area...

...I think you turn into...

A walk-through to your exit

so, your bedroom has access to your bathroom,

and then this is just like laundry room.

This is gonna take a lot of love.

There's some weird things going on.

We need to figure out if we can open up the space

between the living room and where we want the new kitchen,

so we just need to figure out if it's load-bearing.

We need to look at some joists so we know

if we do open it up, how much it's gonna cost.

I found it! You found what?

The attic access.

Know what?

Mom!

♪♪

they actually might not overlap.

It's a clear span. How big are they?

They're big.

We are at our little artist's house on nelson,

and our current plan is to move the kitchen

from the back of the house to the front of house

where the bedroom currently is,

and to take down the current wall

between the bedroom and the living room

to make one big open space, but we need to check

and make sure that that wall isn't load-bearing.

So, they're overlapping

like to the other side of this wall.

By popping up into the attic access,

I saw that ceiling joists are going east to west.

The wall below is definitely supporting them.

So, if we want to take out that wall,

we're gonna have to spend a couple of grand on a header.

So why not make this the kitchen?

This is the living room, kitchen room, dining room area

and make that the bedroom? And make that the bedroom

and have it eat into the kitchen some.

Okay, so what you're saying is instead of moving

the kitchen up, we move it over,

so this front room with the french doors is the bedroom,

and you walk into your living room

and then come into your kitchen/dining

if you walk straight ahead.

The old kitchen space is still our mud/laundry room.

Bathroom still's where it is.

I feel like that's good

because this is already open, right?

Now we don't have to put up a header

between the living room and the bedroom.

Which is gonna cost us a couple of grand.

That makes sense.

And then just keep these windows.

That would make the kitchen fantabulous.

And then we don't have an egress issue.

Oh, yeah! Look at me! Solving problems all day long!

Should listen to your mama. You really should.

Yeah, one out of every -- she's got some things up there.

[ laughs ]

mina: So, outside we want to turn the enclosed porch

back into an open one

and replace the paint and siding.

Inside, we'll move the kitchen to the current dining room space

and turn the current kitchen into a laundry and mudroom.

I think will be good. Yeah.

Yeah, we just need to get to demo.

Kind of like to hit the ceiling with a pressure washer,

maybe you get that old plaster off.

So, the nonprofit we're working with bought the house

for $6,000, and we have to stay within

a budget of $90,000 for the renovation.

But I think once we're all done, the house will appraised

for close to $120,000,

which I'm sure the nonprofit will be happy about.

♪ living my best life every day ♪

♪♪

♪ living my best life every day ♪

♪♪

-oh, my god! -Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!

-Yay, demo day! -Yay!

Demo day! Yay! I like the energy!

Somebody's got to bring it around here.

[ laughs ]

that would be you and me.

It's not that cold.

It's probably hovering around freezing.

It's warming up, for sure.

Yeah, which to me is not that cold.

As long as it's around freezing. It gets down in the 20s... [ exhales deeply ]

see, not even any breath. Yeah-huh!

Where? [ exhales deeply ]

oh, yeah, got a little dragon breath, alright.

First thing, you look at me.

I would like you... [ chuckles ]

...To focus -- no, you. -[ laughs ]

look at me.

I am going to remove these windows.

I am gonna set them daintily in the dumpster.

You are not to touch anything glass or resembling glass

until it is in the dumpster. And then you maniacs

can do whatever the hell you want with them.

Tad is notorious for breaking glass on demo day.

Head's up!

♪♪

[ shouting ]

he just can't seem to help himself,

but it makes a mess that someone has to clean up.

So, my thought is if I just don't let him touch the glass,

he can't break it, and then I can show him

how to remove windows without actually breaking glass.

Don't touch them until they're in the dumpster.

-In the dumpster! -Mm-hmm.

-So, don't touch, okay? -In the dumpster.

I was her megaphone echo.

The porch gets opened up,

the wall in between gets open up,

full kitchen gut, full bathroom gut,

all the flooring up.

Good news is, though, we do have a heater inside.

There's a heater in there!

-That's fantastic. -[ karen whooping ]

alright, let's go inside.

Man: Yeah, let's get to the heater, please.

Man: Oh, that's fantastic!

♪♪

hit it, tad!

[ grunts ] hit it!

♪♪

pull it. Yes.

♪♪

are we keeping this door?

No, 'cause there's not gonna be a door to the porch.

This is all open.

Karen: We're turning the old enclosed front porch

into an open front porch.

That makes it feel more like a neighborhood

when you can sit on the front porch and greet the passersby.

Karen: Yay, mina might have one window!

[ cheers ] -yaaay!

Yay! [ laughs ] -10 hours later...

The first window took like...

An hour? ...Damn near an hour.

[ laughs ] I don't understand,

but I was very committed to not shattering the glass.

Whoo! I figured it out!

Karen: Yaaay!

But the next window I moved to, I figured out the technique

and the rest came out very easily.

You having fun taking out the windows? Yeah.

One by one? Yeah.

There's a bunch over here that you can put in there.

Hey, austin, give me a good lob of all three of these

in front of the dumpster,

three...Two...One.

We broke it in the dumpster, so that was fun,

that was cool, but, you know,

it wasn't like shattering glass

when it's in place and the mayhem that causes.

It's missing a little something. It's missing a little something,

a little spice of life, a little flavor.

Karen: Demo day is when you really learn

about the bones of the house. And in these old houses,

you just never know what to expect.

Usually a lot of wonky things.

And clint, are construction foreman,

calls me down to the basement

to show me something unexpected with the foundation.

So, the concern is the front porch

is over foundation? Right here.

So...

Ohh...

Oh, my.

♪♪

there we go.

♪♪

yeah.

So, the concern is the front porch

is over foundation? Right here.

Ohh...

So we have to waterproof

the living part of the porch.

Seriously waterproof it.

Ohh... Oh, my.

Because the front porch is contiguous foundation

with the rest of the house

and joists with the rest of the house.

It has to be waterproofed and impervious to the elements

or we destroy the bones of the house.

I mean, you have to seal it completely

and nothing seals completely.

It's gonna be whichever's more cost effective.

The money the nonprofit has for this renovation

just is what it is. We cannot go over the budget,

so we're just gonna have to be really careful

with how we spend the money.

We do what we need to do to leave it open

and create a waterproof situation on the base,

or we put windows back in

and treat it like a sunroom

and like have it open to the house.

I don't know which would be more cost effective.

So, I'm hoping we can keep it open.

Mina: I'm so confused 'cause why would it have siding here

if it wasn't an exterior space at one point?

So weird.

It's a bit of a conundrum.

There's a lot of weird stuff in the houses we renovate.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

that's it? You're done?

♪♪

[ singing indistinctly ]

♪♪

maybe we should take this stone off. No.

We can't afford to deal with whatever's under it.

It not in the budget.

Cory! Hey, yo!

What are you doing?

-Oh, you're lunch... -Oh.

-It's pretty hard. -Nom, nom, nom.

Mom and I are popping by our nelson house

to have a quick chat with cory

because we need to make some decisions

about the porch/non-porch situation.

So, upon further investigation,

you see that hvac duct right there?

It's indicative of having a basement

or crawl space under here. -Yeah, we knew that was a thing.

So, with that being said, when it rains,

it's gonna pour in our basement.

We're gonna close this puppy back up is the short of it.

When we were taking it out with clint,

he was like, we might have a way to be able to, like,

rubber membrane it and make it act

as like whatever space -- no.

It's not a porch.

It's an interior room.

There's no decision to be made.

We just need to acknowledge the facts and move on.

That's what we need to do. Right?

I'm not wrong here.

We just need to acknowledge the facts.

It's got ductwork running to it,

so it's gonna be climate controlled in here, too,

like a three seasons porch -- whatever affordable windows

and then another door here. It's basically just gonna be like a sun porch

at the end of the day. Nice!

I like a sun porch I mean, my preference

would be for it to be open, but we can't do that, so...

So we need to address this all up,

reframe it, and we'll be on our way.

Although esthetically and like lifestyle-wise

I would've liked to create an outdoor area,

more square footage inside isn't really ever a bad thing.

We'll just put some chairs in the grass.

It'll be fine.

We were gonna replace all the hvac ductwork,

so we're gonna go ahead and keep it now

since it's in good shape.

So, realistically, we're probably looking at

a couple to a few grand to close this back in,

and the cost of salvaging the ductwork

'cause it's in good shape is gonna offset

that couple to a few thousand dollars.

We're zeroed out here. I'll take it.

Alright. Well, if that's the worst

that we've got in front of us then we're okay, right?

-Bye, cory! -Alright, see you!

Mina: In the end, it's good that we discovered

the front porch issue as early as we did.

So, now mom and I can finalize our floor plans

for our little artist cottage.

-Well, hello. -Hi.

Whatcha go there? Our nelson plans.

Okay. I like it when everything's upside down.

That makes me happy. Well, this is the way you walk in.

I know, you're coming in the front door.

And this one's honestly not changing much.

Mina: Since we're working with a nonprofit

and they have a limited budget,

we can't afford to go outside the current footprint.

And this is the current kitchen,

and it's gonna get moved over here.

And then we'll have this mudroom.

Bathroom stays put, bedroom stays put,

living room stays put. Okay.

And our porch gets closed in again.

It's so itty-bitty.

That's a one-and-one.

Well, we've added a little pantry here, which is nice.

Okay. Switch the door on the bathroom

to make that a little bit more functional.

But other than that... Alright, donesies.

Yeah, easy. [ laughing ]

theoretically. Theoretically will be easy,

which means it won't and it'll cost extra money.

♪♪

see how the floor dips? Yeah, right there.

Yep, we need to bring all that up, yep. We're trying to raise that up?

All of these joists need to come up.

Mina: Just when we solve one issue, another one crops up.

While the team is replacing some of the old subflooring,

we discovered that a few of our floor joists were sagging.

So tad and the guys are working on adding supports

in the basement to level out the parts of the floor

that began to sag.

We got to lift it like three inches,

which is kind of dangerous.

Yeah, so, the worst thing that could happen today

is the floor system above us

just comes crashing down on top of our domes.

Cory: So, when we're jacking this up,

we probably just want to go

1/2 inch at a time on each side?

-It'll be alright. -Yikes.

[ house creaking ]

hearing the house creak. The whole house creaked.

[ creaking continues ]

so, we're lifting a lot of weight.

There's three different bottle jacks down there.

Each one can lift up 30,000 pounds.

That's three tons, for you at home.

[ laughs ]

it's 45 tons. No, it's each --

no, it's 45 tons. Each ton is 10,000 --

sorry, each ton is 2,000 pounds.

And there's 90,000. You're right.

Does this side need to come up at all or...

Yeah, take her some.

[ house creaking ] we're cooking.

We can definitely hear the house creaking.

I hate to sound.

[ bangs ]

hearing the house creak. The whole house creaked.

So, we're lifting a lot of weight -- 45 tons.

The worst thing that could happen today

is that our bottle jack slips

along with all of the floor joists

and the whole house caves in.

Does this side need to come up at all or...

Yeah, take her some.

[ bangs ] whoo!

Lord have mercy.

This is looking super precarious,

imagine being down here.

Oh, my goodness.

That was terrifying.

Did you move when you heard the crack?

No? Okay. [ whews ]

I jumped. I did. I'd jump, too.

I'd do a couple more things. No one else jumped, though.

Clint didn't jump, brandon didn't jump.

Clint's probably used to it. Yeah, I'm like,

I'm not ready to get smacked by anything.

Yeah, you were like, "I'm out."

it's not my day.

[ whews ] look at that. Yeah.

It's pulling away from the edge and everything.

So, that noise wasn't the floor joist cracking.

It was a concrete pad underneath the floor jacks

that we had installed to help support the floor.

But when we poured the concrete pad,

we didn't leave it long enough to cure and it cracked.

I think we've gone as far as we can go

'cause without this cured, we can't put anything on it

and we can't get the floor level.

So, let's head out for now and we'll come back

and bust this out, put more concrete in it.

So, basically, we have to

bust out the concrete, re-pour,

wait for it to cure,

and then we have to put the floor jacks back in

to support the floor joists.

We're upsetting the house. [ laughs ]

hasn't moved in a long time.

♪ every day's the weekend ♪

♪ come on, now, live this up ♪

♪ we don't need the reason ♪

♪ we do what we want, want, want ♪

brought you a little living inspiration.

Lovely.

Those are pretty pictures. So this is the kitchen

in our little nelson artist cottage.

You can really see how many windows we have.

We really, really don't have any upper cabinet space.

The one above the microwave is all we have.

So, my thought on that is to do...

Open shelves, yeah. ...Like, float some shelves above the windows,

just something simple to give some storage

or a place for decoration.

There are few things I like better

than open shelving in a kitchen.

And with those beautiful windows,

this is going to be fantastic.

Mina: We'll do some, like, raw-edged shelves,

maybe with some more rustic brackets

to kind of play into that cottagey vibe we're going for.

We're gonna have white cabinets,

butcher block countertops, and then this is our backsplash.

So it's just gonna feel very... Clean.

...Bright with all the lovely windows, clean, crisp.

Okay.

And then these are our colors.

Everything's gonna be very neutral.

And that makes it easier for whoever lives there

to adapt it to their own use. Mm-hmm.

Since this house is so small, I think it's really important

to keep the colors light and neutral

so it doesn't end up feeling cramped or claustrophobic.

And because it's intended for an artist,

the light, neutral colors will be like a blank slate

and they can add their own creative touches.

And then the exterior we're not gonna do a ton to.

I know we talked about painting the limestone.

I don't know if we'll end up needing to,

but just I think switching out the little bit of siding

that's left for vertical board and batten

will be cute and help freshen it up a little bit. Yeah.

Since we're working with a nonprofit,

our budget on this house is pretty small.

So we're gonna go with new vinyl on the outside

to save a little bit of money,

but we're gonna go with the board and batten pattern

that I think is gonna give us a little more oomph

while still staying within the limited budget.

And if we go with a light or slightly medium gray,

I think it'll bring out some better color from the limestone

and then we don't have to paint that.

Fantastic. This one's pretty simple.

Alright. Cool.

♪ we're taking it over ♪

♪ we're tearing it down ♪

mina: We aren't moving any walls in the small house,

so construction is flying

at our little nelson artist cottage.

Tad and clint replaced the cracked concrete pad

and were able to level out the sunken floor joists.

New drywall's up in the kitchen,

and all the interior walls are getting painted

a fresh coat of light gray to keep things bright and airy.

Our new bright white kitchen cabinets have been delivered,

and outside, our cool gray board and batten is going up.

So, mom and I are stopping by to take a look at the progress.

It looks so different

with the windows and the board and batten.

And I haven't been here for ever.

Yeah, I was bummed we had to close the porch in,

but more square footage,

and I like the board and batten a lot. Yeah, it looks really good,

and it makes the stone look better.

I mean, right now it pulls out all that gray

and it looks really good. -Okay, let's go inside.

[ gasps ] the kitchen is so pretty. Whoa...

This wing wall being white instead of that dark brown

makes all the difference in the world.

Yeah, and before when you walked in,

there was nothing interesting

'cause it was hidden around the corner.

Mina: During demo, we uncovered this old brick chimney,

so we thought we'd leave it exposed

to help add a little rustic charm to the space.

You'll get a little peek of the brick,

which needs some love.

I don't know if you want to do something to it.

That might be a good opportunity to clean it and whitewash it.

Yeah, whitewashing, that's a great idea.

So, our french doors are in over here, which is lovely.

Oh, they look nice.

I'm glad they're wood.

And are we bringing the flooring all the way out?

Yeah, we'll use the same flooring throughout.

Alright. Let's get out of here.

♪♪

mina: Steve and I have been trying to get pregnant for months now,

and we've already had a failed ivf cycle.

I used everything I had and threw it all at you,

and you got two eggs, and we got one embryo.

The other one ain't good.

♪♪

a couple of weeks ago, we got a second opinion,

and with our doctor's blessing,

we decided to roll the dice and do an iui,

which is another form of artificial insemination.

It's just unmedicated and a lot simpler than ivf.

We're supposed to wait two weeks before we take the pregnancy test,

but the two week-wait is killing me.

Today is day 10, and even though it's a little early,

I could not wait anymore.

I was in a restaurant bathroom on my lunch break

and on a whim decided to just go for it.

♪ do I, do I, do I, do I ♪

♪ want to see the sunrise ♪

we're supposed to wait two weeks before we take the pregnancy test,

but the two-week wait is killing me.

Today is day 10, and even though it's a little early,

I could not wait anymore.

I was in a restaurant bathroom on my lunch break

and on a whim decided to just go for it and...

Total shocker.

♪♪

these are gonna be delicious, by the way,

I don't know. I'm very -- I'm skeptical.

I'm a little scared of the cheesies, I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about these bland oats.

So...

I'm supposed to take my test on Monday... Uh-huh.

[ yelling ]

give me my scoop.

[ deep voice ] give me my scoop. [ laughing ]

you're so funny.

Um...

...But I didn't it, and I took one early...

And I'm pregnant.

Are you for real? Yeah.

Are you really pregnant? Yeah.

Well, come here and give me a hug.

[ laughing ] really?

Yeah! Oh, my god.

Steve's reaction at first,

I think he was totally caught off guard

and wasn't sure if I was kidding.

And I 100% was expecting a negative result

on the pregnancy test.

So, especially after everything we've been through,

I'm really excited for baby number two.

Eh, eh! You're gonna be a big brother.

Ahh! He's gonna be the best big brother.

He's gonna be the best big brother.

♪ I believe in you ♪

♪ ohh ♪

♪ I believe in you ♪

-yep, we're in. -Okay.

Mina: Back at our nelson artist cottage,

the honey colored flooring has been installed,

which will really provide a warm balance

to our light gray walls and all-white kitchen

'ellooo. Cory: Hello.

And today, cory, m.J., and I have a plan

to add more storage to the kitchen.

We had to sacrifice upper cabinets because we wanted

to keep these original windows because they were so cool.

We're installing some open shelving

because the only upper cabinet we have

is the one about the microwave.

The boards are all outside -- I'm taking my shoes off

'cause I'm probably gonna to be operating

standing on the counter a lot.

Okay. The pieces are 120 inches.

Don't look at me like that! [ laughs ]

I don't want to smell your gremlin feet,

so I'm gonna stand back here.

Look, cory hates feet. Like, in general.

You could have the prettiest feet in the world

and he hates them.

They do kind of stink. Yeah.

Your feet are foul.

I'm gonna talk to steve and see if there's anything we can do,

like an epsom salt bath or something to get that off.

It kind of sounds like she needs a doctor. Yeah.

She's got toe-lio. [ gasps ]

m.J.? What is toe-lio?

It can range from smell to a crooked toe...

To some cracked heels.

Okay. Alright, cool.

♪♪

thing is heavier than it looks.

We want the pretty side down, right?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

These actually look really cool.

-Okay. -Huh? How you like them apples?

M.J.: I love it.

Mina: Now that we have the shelves installed,

we just need to figure out a way to make them easily accessible

because they're too high up,

really, for anyone to reach regularly.

I'm gonna move that rung up --

this one -- because it will hold it

dimensionally stable.

So, we found a couple of old ladders

that are gonna work for this project.

Look at that, huh?! Just like downtown.

Yeah, it's cool. And it can tuck away

in that little -- yeah.

We can even put a little couple of hooks here.

I think the ladder idea was a really unique, cool take

on like the library ladder.

So, kudos to them.

-Alright, boys, [indistinct]. -Amazing.

This is so good.

♪ ohhh ♪

♪ ohhh ♪

[ singsong voice ] alright. Oh, yay.

You're all ready. I'm almost done taping.

I got a little more.

So, we're gonna be lime washing/gray washing,

white washing. It goes by many names.

You want to start at the bottom and work your way up. Oh.

Yeah, and you just go.

So, I like a little bit of red in my brick.

Even though it kind of kills me to paint brick,

the only thing that I would do to brick is whitewash it.

The reason that we're whitewashing this specific brick

is because it already has so many variations

of color and wear.

So this'll just make it a little more uniform

but still keeping it kind of on that rustic scale. Yeah.

But it's so much better than just blasting a coat of white paint.

Oh, yeah. Because you've kept the texture

of the mortar and the brick

and you've added a whole nother layer of interesting texture.

I like this is.

This was so easy. -Right?

I believe this is the easiest project

I have ever done thanks to m.J. Showing up

with the right methodology. Yes.

So easy. Anybody could do this.

So, we put the fridge back.

We have this amazing space. What are we gonna put there?

Live peacocks.

[ laughs ]

perfect.

I feel, like, a big copper bucket

or like something that catches a lot of light

from these windows. Yeah.

I don't know what we're gonna put in the copper bucket,

but we'll see. It may be we don't need to put...

Maybe peacocks. ...Anything in it.

[ both laugh ]

♪ oh, I'mma turn it up ♪

♪ it's a new day ♪

♪ brush your shoulders, take it over ♪

♪ time to celebrate ♪

-good morning. -Good morning.

I was super bummed that we had to close this in,

but I think it's getting back to cute.

I'm thinking about building

some kind of living garden

like herbs or anything that anybody can grow

with minimal sunlight.

My vision is to be able to step outside,

really maximize that space use the sunlight,

turn it into a dining room.

He wants to be able to walk onto the porch

and make a salad... 100%

...Based on what's in those buckets.

Like, center where the box is 'cause you want like that?

Yep. Okay.

So that goes there.

Mina: What's nice about projects like this is that they're affordable.

M.J. Bought 2x4s,

beverage buckets, and potting soil,

but it's gonna add so much interest

and help set the tone for this space.

Pull it towards you.

♪♪

that is so cute!

Probably gonna have to ask karen

what kind of plants we put in here.

You might be able to transplant some from mom's garden...

[ gasps ] that is genius. ...'cause I know she's got a lot of vegetables,

so you can have mature ones.

Let's hang the pretty stuff on the hooks. Okay.

Boom. Super-cute.

And it's all under $100. That's amazing.

Probably gonna have to hop up on mina's back

and jump over karen's fence

and steal some plants

to keep it under that budget. Yeah.

But... It's nice

'cause she has mature vegetables and herbs,

so we can have mature green things.

Herbs. Herbs, lettuces.

Who knows. Arugula.

♪♪

I like when it turns yellow. That's pretty.

Yep, it's a pretty, pretty tree.

It's very -- what's the word I'm looking for? Fennel...

Hey! Hey, get out of our backyard.

What are you doing?

-Good morning. -Good morning.

What do you got that little basket for?

I was gonna collect some herbs, maybe.

Just pick them and dry them?

Well, I was gonna hopefully get them at the root

and replant them...

Oh. ...Potentially.

What were you gonna use to dig them up?

[ laughs ]

let's just go buy some in pots.

But you know mina and budget,

uh...

This is her solution to that.

[ laughs ]

mina's not above a little bit of petty theft

to save a dollar, and apparently neither am I, so... [ laughs ]

I know a place... Okay.

...That will give us a deal.

I'm into that, yes. Yes, exactly.

That sounds easy. But it's cute that you were just gonna

dig them up with your hands and put them in that basket.

You know, anything to save a dollar.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

verbena? No...

The porch couldn't become part of the house.

It had to stay a porch and had to be closed back up,

and we're bringing the outdoors in.

Salad bar.

I see some brussels sprouts, some more kale.

Do you like that color kale? Do you want some of these guys?

This is overwhelming. How do you pick?

So, your spots are about, I don't know, what, eight inches deep,

and none of these have deep root systems,

so they'll be fine in your pots. Perfect.

M.J.: Karen knows everything there is to know about plants.

I'm kind of looking for shapes and textures and colors

and, like, cuteness,

but that's how people kill plants.

So, you need a pro.

Parsley.

Parsley, that's an easy one, right? Yeah.

Karen: So, we ended up with some basil, some chives,

some brussels sprouts, some lettuces.

These are all like $1 each, right?

Right. I think that's right.

I told you I'd get you a deal.

♪♪

mina: We're almost done with the artist cottage on nelson.

Austin and I have planted and shrubs out front

to give the house some curb appeal...

I think that looks good.

...And mom and m.J. Added plants they bought

to the wall garden.

♪♪

today, we're loading in the furniture

and adding our finishing touches

does this go this way or the other way?

However you want it.

Mina: We're adding a few eclectic touches

but keeping the overall vibe light, bright, and airy

to give an artist a blank slate to be creative.

This is so cute.

I just want to live here.

Tomorrow, our clients, jim and shauta

who run the nonprofit

providing affordable housing to artists,

are coming by to see the house,

and we hope they love it as much as we do.

-Well done. -We're done.

Boom.

♪♪

♪♪

mina: When is the last time that you guys saw

any part of the house?

Probably a month. We peeked in the window.

I'm shauta. And I'm jim.

And we are an arts nonprofit,

and we do also support community development,

so helping our neighborhood here in garfield park

it's the neighborhood where we live, and it's the neighborhood

where our space is -- tube factory --

and then there are a lot of houses around here,

more than 10,

that are affordable housing for artists to live in.

-What do you think? -So good.

It's amazing, yeah. Yeah.

I love it.

♪♪

mina: We didn't have to do a whole lot with outside,

and we did have a limited budget,

so we ended up keeping the stone.

But I think once we added the gray board and batten,

I think it tied in really well

and made the stone look better,

make a little bit more sense, and now it's really cohesive.

It is. I really love,

like, how modern it looks now with the updates.

The windows on the porch,

I think we're definitely necessary.

No more boards on the windows. [ laughter ]

alright, let's go inside.

♪♪

ta-da! Oh, wow. Oh, nice.

Okay, let's go check out the inside. Yeah. I'm excited.

♪♪

ta-da! Oh, wow. Oh, nice.

♪♪

obviously, a little bit different,

and it kind of still feels like exterior space,

but it's heated and cooled like the rest of the house,

so it's additional square footage,

which adds the value, as well. It's beautiful.

I love that this is really bright and white,

and then just with the plants -- it's just gorgeous.

It feels so good. That's your porch salad.

So, it's got all your herbs and fresh, yummy things.

This would be so nice for people in the winter

just to be a really beautiful, light space for them.

Karen: And also the flooring flows from here

all the way through the house,

so it feels a little more connected.

Alright, you want to check out the living room? Yeah, absolutely.

-Alright. -Oh, wow.

♪ the reason to be me ♪

♪ I found a reason to stay ♪

looks a little different, huh? Yeah, a lot different, yeah.

Wow.

So, this is always the living room,

but looked much, much different.

And like mom said, we were able to carry the floors throughout,

so it all feels really cohesive. And a lot of times,

we just open up walls to make them feel bigger.

But these were too charming to get rid of,

so just a fresh coat of white paint.

Oh, yeah. This is so much nicer.

And I do love the flooring. It's a good color.

Karen: And it kind of warms up the space

without making it feel heavy or dark.

Yeah, this is gonna be really great for an artist

because it's so bright.

My favorite part is the kitchen. So, want to go see that?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

♪♪

-gorgeous. -Yeah.

So, what we did was pull the kitchen over there

into the dining room area

and it was kind of the perfect place

because we could keep all the windows,

make the space more functional,

and have a much larger kitchen.

Shauta: What you did here with the kitchen and expanding it

in this way is gonna be so important to people

'cause people congregate in the kitchen.

Jim: Yeah, this is great.

And I love the upper part here.

Karen: Yeah, the shelves were put in to match

the butcher block-style countertop

and increase your storage space.

So, you've got your ladder here.

It's like a way cuter version

of just a kitchen stepstool. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh. So, you do a little fold-out,

and it rests on the counter. Oh, I love that.

Now you can get your pots and pans down... Jim: That's great.

...And do whatever, and it's super cute.

That is so cool.

Karen: I want you to take a peek over here at the chimney.

M.J. And I limewashed that

because it was different colors of red brick.

And while we were doing it, I asked him,

"so what do you want to put on top of the refrigerator?

'cause now there's this focal point."

and he said live peacocks.

But instead, we just have homage to a live peacock

'cause m.J. Wanted peacocks.

This is just amazing.

Bedroom's next, so let's head this way.

♪♪

oh, wow.

♪♪

isn't it so cozy? It is.

And I like that you have the door

so it lets the light in from outside.

It'll be nice to wake up in the morning to that natural light.

You can open everything up

and have this one big space...

-[ exhales sharply ] -oh, yeah.

...Out to just another dining area,

and it just allows it to feel much bigger and open

with everything painted white except this bedroom.

Everything is just very bright and big,

but also I think it's really cozy.

Yeah, it's almost like a studio, like a one --

but it's got rooms, but it's like a studio whole thing.

Yeah. Really perfect.

Someone's gonna be so happy living here.

It's great. Thank you so much.

It's amazing. -Love it.

Mina: You want to head back into the living room?

♪♪

in this house, the aesthetics of it and how it feels

and not only the brightness of it,

but just the ceilings feel high

because of the way the floor and the ceiling are done.

It just feels like the kind of place that can put you

in a good mindset to get creative.

Just blows my mind what you did with this house

because the shape it was in before,

I was most worried about how this house would turn out

and how would it look great. [ laughs ]

and it looks amazing,

and I love all the light in the house

and the colors

and it's just -- thank you.

Mina: So, the purchase price of this house was $6,000,

renovation budget was $90,000,

and we stayed right around there.

So, we have under $100,000 in it.

And I think value-wise, you're probably looking at

somewhere between $110,000 and $120,000.

It's a happier house.

You've made this house so happy.

I mean, it's so wonderful.

I'm definitely excited that two chicks

is a part of this residential transition

that's happening adjacent to garfield park.