Original subtitles

[Drew] From feisty Tarantino convict to Coen brothers' leading lady

and a diabolical roommate in Single White Female,

the award-winning Jennifer Jason Leigh

has played good and bad on screen...

[Jonathan] How long have you been an actor?

Probably longer than you've been alive. Um...

[Drew] ...but in real life, is as sweet as they come.

Nori grew up in Jennifer's home...

I've known Nori since I was 16.

She had both her children while she was living at my mom's house.

[Drew] ...and for the past 46 years, has been like a sister to her.

When my mother was dying,

my mother lived with me for 14 months,

Nori was there.

She was losing a mom, too.

-Okay. -This is the house.

[Drew] So Jennifer signed us up to help give back...

[Jennifer] She's impossible to give anything to.

So, it had to be done while she was away

and before she retires.

[Drew] ...to the woman who always puts others first...

[Jennifer] I've always wanted to give her the moon.

So, now I get to give her something that she can't return.

[Drew] ...with the gift of a lifetime.

I mean, you're pretty fierce.

Long-distance high five. Let's keep going.

[Jonathan] That looks better than when I do it.

I can't think of anyone that I would want

to give something like this more to.

-[Jennifer] Hi! -[Nori] What are you doing here?

How are you?

What's happening?

[gasps]

Here we go.

[squeals] Oh, my God!

[theme music playing]

[Jonathan] How long have you been an actor?

[Jennifer] Probably longer than you've been alive, um...

-That's crazy. -I mean, I started really making my living at it

at 17, 18.

What was your very first paid acting gig

where you were officially like,

-"Oh, wow, I'm doing this. I'm real." -[Drew] "It's real."

It was Baretta.

It was Baretta? Oh, wow. Okay.

[Drew] What would you say from your experience

would be the most fulfilling role that you've played?

-Oh. -Single White Female?

-Which, by the way... -Most fulfilling.

-Most fulfilling. -I couldn't... I was... That was terrifying.

You make a great psycho.

-Do I? Thank you. -Uh, yeah. Oh...

Wait, wait. Is that the real you?

Or is it more Daisy from Hateful Eight?

We need to know.

[Jonathan] Well, fortunately, the most disturbing thing

you'll probably have to do in this experience

is tear down a wall or rip out a kitchen.

-I'm there. So good. -Find some old plumbing.

You were saying that Nori has a beautiful home,

but it's...

It probably needs some updates.

[Jennifer] Yeah, she loves her home

and I've known Nori since I was 16.

-She lived in my mom's house for 10 years. -Oh, wow.

She had both her children while she was living at my mom's house.

She's known three generations now of my family.

So she's just a huge, huge part of, you know,

my family and my life.

She's seen me through every relationship,

she's seen me through every apartment.

She knows where all the bodies are buried.

I mean, like I trust her with everything,

and she can trust me with everything.

[Jonathan] Yeah, that's amazing.

[Drew] And it sounds like she's been through a lot

as well with her family and the loss of her son,

and that you were really like a sister for her,

to be there for her.

Yeah, when she first had her son,

they didn't think he was gonna live,

you know, maybe a few days.

A few days became six weeks, became two years,

became 26 years.

-Her son was only supposed to live for a few days... -Yeah.

-...and lived 26 years? -Yeah.

-Oh, my gosh. -Oh, wow.

And then she had a daughter

and her husband. Like...

She's just a really phenomenal woman

and I'm so excited

to be able to finally give her something...

-Yeah. Yeah. -...like this.

And it's so meaningful to me.

-[Jonathan] Yeah. -[Jennifer] And she's a master cook.

[Jonathan] Oh, really?

So she'll have, like, 12 people over, 14 people over,

and I'm thinking, like, "How is she cooking in that...

-little kitchen?" Like... -Tiny, little kitchen.

[Jonathan] So, then, the kitchen is the biggest concern in Nori's house?

[Jennifer] I think so, and I think it'd be nice

if, from the living room there was more...

Mmm-hmm.

An easier flow or-- I don't--

I don't know. You'll see.

-[Drew] Where is she from originally? -[Jennifer] El Salvador.

[Jonathan] Oh, okay. Is that where she is?

[Jennifer] That's where she's now.

It's her sister's... it's her sister's birthday.

[Jonathan] How long will she be away for?

Um, she'll be away about, I wanna say...

three and a half or four weeks.

-Okay. -Is that enough?

-Well, that's... We have to see the place first. -[laughs] It'll have to be.

[Jonathan] Like, let's have a look at what the scope is.

So how are you getting... Do you have keys to the house?

-Yeah. -Okay.

[Jennifer] So we figured-- I figured it out with her daughter.

[Drew] I see they have the ramp still.

That was for Joshua, yeah.

Okay.

This is the house.

-[Jennifer] This is it. -[Drew] I like it. This is a beautiful spot.

I mean, you have a lot of room.

-So, paint the picture for us. -[Jennifer] Yes.

You'll see lots of pictures of Joshua

-and Ashley. -[Drew] You can see so much pride of ownership here,

but this house is showing its age.

I'm noticing the floors are in a bit of rough shape.

It looks like they need to be either refinished or replaced.

You can see they're wearing down through the seam.

And I see quite a few nails and gaps.

So, you know, that would be nice,

that the first impression when you come in

is something that feels clean and continuous

and is not a trip hazard.

-Yeah, right. -What's behind the door over there?

That is a special room she made for Joshua.

They did an addition and also a special bathroom for him

so it had the space that was needed.

Do you know anything about the HVAC?

Is this still in... Oh, it's actually loose.

This is... oh, this is probably not even in use anymore.

-Why? -There's... there's new HVAC running up.

That's all AC. So, this would have been

-an old supply... -Oh, so, it's coming out there.

Yeah, so we could actually add tons of extra storage.

She needs storage for sure.

What would be more important for them?

A TV this gigantic

or maybe something a little smaller

and some nice built-ins? Because we could encase it

and do some storage down below--

Smaller TV? [scoffs]

-You barbarian. -[Jennifer] Are you out of your mind?

Um, and I think they all--

it looks like they watch TV here.

So the main focus then will be this living area

and into the kitchen.

[Jennifer] Yes, as I said, like, Nori loves, loves to cook.

[Jonathan] How long have they have this house?

-I wanna say about 34 years. -[Drew] Oh, wow.

[Jennifer] Nori came to this country when she was 16.

Didn't speak English.

She started working for my mom when I was 16.

So by then she was, like, 21.

She lived at my mom's for 10 years.

And, of course, she's just brilliant at everything, you know?

I mean, she's been just a godsend to my family,

and I really lean on her.

And I... like, just two years ago even,

I ended up like having an emergency,

like, gallbladder thing,

and she just stayed in the hospital with me.

And when my mother was dying,

my mother lived with me for 14 months on hospice.

And Nori was there

and always making my mom like the favorite foods,

and just so, so loving.

And, you know, she was losing a mom, too.

Because that's how entwined our lives are.

And so much of Nori's life has been geared towards taking care of Joshua,

who was really the light of her life,

and she really lived for him.

But all the home improvements she made were for Joshua.

So I want to do home improvements that were really for her,

and she's impossible to give anything to.

So it had to be done while she was away

and before she retired.

There is a problem. She doesn't want anything.

She'll need things.

But if I try to give them to her--

like, sometimes, I can be sneaky and do something,

but this is insane.

I mean, this is like beyond a dream of giving her something.

I tried to give her a car,

but she drove it home and then she called me

and she said she couldn't accept.

I've always wanted to give her the moon.

So now I get to give her something that she can't return.

So, they've done a lot of the work.

-They've obviously done this tile. -[Jennifer] Yeah, and this.

They would have put these countertops in.

They'll have added some of this stuff, too,

because some of these drawers are newer.

I can tell these are painted out.

-These are old. -[Jennifer] Uh-huh.

These are actually a little bit newer.

-So... -[Jennifer] Oh, interesting.

Yeah. You can see.

But you can tell the ones they don't get to often.

The broken doors up here.

-[Jennifer] Yeah. -You do have the opportunity to open up.

Because right now,

the table's actually a bit too big for the space,

so it takes up so much real estate.

It kind of blocks the access to the door.

And it's essentially in the kitchen.

It would be probably nice to have it...

a little more size-appropriate.

How big are the get-togethers that they have?

The other day, I said, "What are you doing?"

She says, "Well, I have 12 people

between the siblings and the kids and the..."

-Oh, wow. -Yeah, so she'll cook for 12 people.

-So we need a bigger table. -[laughs]

So I'm wondering, then, because we could do a built-in bench

or something like that, just to save some space.

But I am looking around,

and I feel that she could probably use more cabinet space.

-[Jennifer] Definitely. -I mean, like a giant island would be really nice.

-Yeah. -Because then you have...

you have more counter space for serving.

You have more cabinet space.

There's not enough room right now to do an island

with that wall there and the table right here.

-Yeah. -So, one of them would have to go.

[Drew] I didn't even notice until right now,

and it's so weird,

the sink is not under the window.

-[Jennifer] I know. -So the sink is facing the wall here

when you actually have--

it's always nicer to have the sink at a window

if you can do it.

That's a great idea. I love that.

-Pantry. We need some pantry space. -Yeah.

There is no pantry at all.

I know that's something that she would love.

-Yeah. -Because it's hard to do--

Her family is her life.

And with Joshua, there were so many things

that they would save up to be able to give him.

-You know? -Right.

I think that's where the attention and all the love

and all of that stuff went.

But this is all-- her kitchen and her home

has always been so, you know, important to her,

and she's put so much love into it.

But she wasn't able to do that, you know?

-Yeah. -Raising him.

-So now I have you guys, and here we are. -Yeah.

So, let's give her a kitchen.

So, we can come up with a way better footprint

that's going to add storage, that's gonna add function.

If you're good with it,

and if we have four weeks...

-We have four weeks. -I think we can pull this off.

Creating a functional open concept

with new durable engineered hardwood throughout

will give Nori a continuous look without a trip hazard.

In the living room, we'll give that TV area a glow

by adding necessary built-in cabinet storage

and open shelving for displaying those family heirlooms.

Then we'll elevate the living room with comfortable seating options

for hosting even bigger get-togethers.

The dining room will be reimagined

with a deep banquette

bookended by two floor to ceiling pantry cabinets

for added convenience and style.

We'll then tuck a generously-sized table

closer to the wall

to improve the flow to the back door and kitchen.

Two-toned cabinets topped with porcelain counters

and panel-ready appliances

will make cooking an absolute joy for Nori.

While a relocated sink will offer her a peaceful garden view.

Finally, a luxurious island

will not only give Nori plenty of extra prep space,

but add a hub for entertaining family and friends.

I would love to pack everything up,

get all the furniture out, and like start demo

in like a couple of days if we can.

So excited.

She's just there for you in a way you just feel completely loved.

And you love her so effortlessly.

I mean, really, I love her so, so much.

And she is like a sister to me,

and she's someone that...

I can't think of anyone on this planet

that I would want to give something like this more to.

-[loud bang] -[Jennifer] Oh!

[Drew] Oh, it's starting! Get another one over here.

I mean, you're pretty fierce.

[Jennifer] Now, the sledgehammer is very, very heavy.

Much heavier than I thought and much more awkward.

And figuring out how to hold it.

-Whoa! I feel it. -Yeah.

You hold it like this.

You put your right hand near the mallet part.

It's going. Between you and me,

we're gonna get this.

[both grunting]

[Jennifer] I mean, it's enjoyable to do it like 10 or 15 times.

I don't know if you did it like eight hours

how you'd feel.

Um, but it is really enjoyable.

-Let's see. -This is where you get kind of nervous.

Like, "Oh, I hope she likes..."

Well, wait.

We did want to remove these cabinets, right?

Yeah, I hope so.

[Jonathan] Hello?

Hello?

-I'm here. -Is that Jonathan? [grunts]

-Oh, my gosh. -[Jennifer] Very late.

Uh, you're gonna be scared.

-[Jonathan] Hi. -Oh! [chuckles]

-I'm ready to help. -[chuckles] Oh, my God.

-Oh, my God. -You're terrifying.

I'm getting...

You're Fonda.

-Yes. -Yeah.

What are you talking about?

-Wait. -I love me like this.

So creepy.

-I can't believe you even know the dialogue! -[all laughing]

-Does this remind you... -That is so creepy!

...of your creepiest role you ever played?

Yeah. Maybe, yeah.

So when... first of all, Single White Female, great movie.

The creepiest movie.

Could not sleep for like a week after that

because it just felt too, too real.

Wouldn't it be great if I had no idea what it was?

Like, why... like I had-- I just had forgotten

I had made that movie altogether.

Like, "Why is he dressed exactly like me?"

That was pretty good.

I mean, it doesn't get much better.

I feel like this is gonna be in my way.

This will be in the way. Let's get rid of that.

-Wait, I feel... -Uh-oh.

-This is... -Let me wax my neck.

Hold on a sec.

-Oh, God. -All right, carry on.

And he knew a line from the movie.

"I love me like this" or something like that,

which I haven't even thought about that line...

for, whatever, 30 years probably.

[Jennifer] Whoa!

Well, now that this wall's all clear,

can I go through it?

-With your like fists? -With my fists.

Your raw fist?

You're pretty good with a sledgehammer now.

-I think you can tackle it. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-All right. -Let's do it.

If it feels really solid, you're probably on a stud.

Just move over four inches.

All right. Go for it.

[Jennifer] At a certain point, Nori wants to retire,

and her dream of retiring

is to be in this beautiful home...

I mean, it feels so much bigger already, too.

-It does. -It does.

...and cook meals for her family

and have friends over and entertain

and just live the good--

like, have a little bit easier go, you know.

All right, do you think we can take the weight of it, Drew?

I think we can get it, yeah.

[Jennifer] Yeah, this will be good--

[Drew] Give me one more second here.

Well, you can see as well,

like, all the... this is way too soft up here,

which means there has been a water penetration.

Drew, I'm gonna try something.

I just need you to hit in that corner right there.

Okay.

All right. One, two, three.

-One, two, three. There we go. -There we go.

-Got it? -[Drew] Oh!

You know what?

I got it.

Oh, hi, guys.

-What's happening? -[Jennifer] Hi!

So you can... you can see

there's no weatherproofing of any kind around this window.

Maybe that's why it was leaking.

Yeah. So, that's okay.

-We will... -[Jennifer] We will improve it.

I love that you're doing this because it's for Nori.

-Yes, it's for Nori. -All right.

-So it's a little more special. -It's the best.

Long-distance high five.

-Yeah. -[Drew] Well done. Let's keep going.

[Drew] Nori is only away for four weeks,

which means, despite any problems or delays,

that's all the time we're getting.

[Jonathan] Yeah, and to add to that stress,

the tile floors won't go easily.

They're embedded in so much concrete

that in some areas,

it's chunks of subfloor coming out with it as well.

[Drew] But as it turns out,

that's not the only surprise on day two of this build.

Jennifer called and she had some design changes

based on her conversations with Nori's daughter, Ashley.

-All right. -Yes.

So much to talk about.

Um... I'm sorry to do this.

I hope that it's not gonna mess everything up.

But I was talking to her daughter

because I thought it looked so cool.

I was excited, so I was talking to her about it,

and...

she seemed pretty horrified that we took out that wall.

-What? -I'm sorry.

Why?

Because I guess Nori,

when she's has people over and she's cooking,

she likes to have some separation

so people don't see all the mess in the kitchen.

-She's one of those. -Mmm-hmm.

Okay, well,

that could actually have a silver lining, though.

-She won't get an island... - [Jennifer] Oh.

...but she would get more storage and more prep space.

If we keep the wall,

I can then do more storage on the backside,

and I can do cabinetry all along here.

Well, I know she definitely loves prep space,

and she definitely needs storage,

because she's told me that.

Because I wanted to get her

one of those really nice big mixers.

-Okay. -And she said, like, "Oh, no, Jenny, that...

Thank you, but it won't... I have no place to--"

Nowhere to put it. Okay.

I'm on board. So I'll rejig the plan a little bit.

I was so nervous.

Well, the only thing that concerns me

is we won't get quite as much light coming in.

I was anticipating we'd get light coming from the front window

as well as there's the smaller window above the sink.

Is there any way, any way at all,

to make that little window bigger?

[Jonathan] We could actually do that.

We would lose a little bit of upper cabinetry,

but we would-- I mean,

I can fit, probably, a 6-foot window in there.

-If you-- - [Jennifer] That would be amazing.

-There would be light coming. -'Cause the light...

And all the beautiful garden out here

-she'll be able to see. -Okay, okay.

That would be amazing.

And also, now we're gonna have more cabinets, like you said.

Exactly.

We now have all the extra storage in the living room,

around the TV, the built-ins and everything.

We have all the extra storage in the banquette,

with pantries on both sides.

So my thought was, because we have so many

different types of storage, different types of cabinets,

maybe we should have multiple different colors.

So you had said that she really likes light and bright.

And so, you know, white is good.

That's going to bounce the light around.

But I feel like we should do at least

a two-tone or maybe even a three-tone.

I like... I like a lot this-- this white

because it's not like a glary white.

It's like creamy white.

-Mmm-hmm. -And this...

-Is that a clay color? Sand color. -Sand. Yeah.

That's really nice.

So, we can take a little pop of the dark wood

and have it in the banquette area,

-maybe underneath the seating. -Uh-huh.

Then we can have some of it in the kitchen...

-Right. -...on some of the open storage.

This would be great.

Maybe take the sand tones over into the living room.

That would be great. And then it's tied...

-it's... of one. I like that. -Yeah.

-So this is... -Oh. [chuckles]

This is easy. Wow. Stone.

So, because we'd be going lighter with the cabinetry,

we want to do something

that's gonna bring a little bit of contrast.

Sure.

Um, whether it's just in some of the texture within a stone,

it's not too white,

or we can go quite dark, or we can do something

that still looks like a lighter stone--

This is porcelain, actually.

But has really bold veining in it.

There's just something really romantic about this one.

-It could be-- -This is my favorite.

-Really? Okay, I think it's my favorite, too. -Yeah.

And this also is really cool

because it never has to be resealed,

-never has to be restained. -Really?

Because it's a porcelain, it's like impervious

-and-- -What if you put a really hot pot on it?

No, doesn't matter.

-No, this is really, really durable. -That is impressive.

But if you look at that,

that actually even ties the colors across--

Yeah, it really does. That's so pretty.

-Okay, great. -I love that.

We're making progress here.

So flooring.

Which color do you think she would gravitate toward?

Does she like a little moodier, a little darker?

I keep-- my eye keeps going to this one.

Yeah. You like that one?

-So, mid tone feel good? -What do you think?

I like... I would go for the mid tone.

Because then overall, it's still gonna make everything feel brighter.

Yeah, it's gonna look beautiful in the living room, yeah.

-Amazing. -I think she's going to love all of these tones.

There's no way that she wouldn't love this.

So, you know...

But just if, for some reason,

there's anything she doesn't like,

I'm gonna say you selected it.

This design is absolutely gonna stun Nori.

And now that we have our marching orders,

we're dividing and conquering.

So our team has been pushing ahead,

getting this massive 6-foot window framed up,

not to mention our plumbers are relocating the sink

to the same spot.

So, Nori will not only get more light in her kitchen,

she'll also enjoy impressive views of her garden.

[Drew] Now that all the critical infrastructure

behind the walls is complete,

we're wrapping up week one with smooth new drywall

and giving Nori back a closed-concept kitchen

so she can cook with some privacy,

which she prefers.

[Jonathan] And while the new kitchen window

is being closed up on the inside,

we're getting started outside.

I loved the window so much.

One thing to point out,

if any of your customers ever need

someone on their demolition team,

Jennifer hauled the old window out of here.

-So this could be the new-- -Yeah, it was all me.

I actually have a whole house to do pretty soon.

Yeah. So, don't have a ton of time

'cause there's lots going on inside.

But I'd love to kind of go through some of the steps.

And I feel like you actually take an interest

in what goes into all these things

because you've asked me so many questions

about different things.

And I can tell that it's like...

it's intriguing to you to--

-to understand a little more. -It is intriguing.

And also, I love good plaster, I have to say.

I do-- I notice it. I notice the difference.

Well, because my house has lousy plaster.

And whenever I walk around the neighborhood,

I look at the houses that have good plaster

and I have plaster envy.

-The first thing we do usually is... -Yeah. Tell me.

...you'll want to sort of saturate it a little bit, right,

because we're going to try and blend this together.

Our old stucco, the new concrete up here,

we're gonna want to make sure

and get everything looking brand-new before we paint.

The trick is, when you have an existing texture,

and you're putting in something that's brand-new...

-You have to match it. -...you can see the line if it's not done properly.

So, this is the real trick.

In fact, you can do it if you want.

-We'll see if you can blend it. -I want to try.

The trick is to blend it,

so that once we paint it...

-You can't tell. -...nobody can tell the difference.

I'm up for the challenge.

And what happens if we can tell the difference...

[yells]

-...you get sprayed. -Holy smokes.

-All right. -So, all right?

-I'll do my best. -I'm gonna stand here like this the whole time.

And if anything doesn't look right,

I'm just gonna spray.

All right.

All right.

And then I'll get you across the bottom down here.

All right. You want to give her the steps, and we'll...

So, the first thing you want to do

-is scrape down this joint. -Okay?

And that will help it blend better on the stucco.

It's just as simple as back on forth.

Ooh, that's loud.

Yeah. Do you have a problem with nails on a chalkboard?

I have problem with loud noises.

Oh, Lord!

This is not gonna be good. [chuckles]

[Jennifer] Plaster just shouldn't be uniform.

You know, you should feel the...

the work and the love that went into it.

Here, I'll take that. All right.

The trick is always have your mouth closed.

[spitting]

-All right. Should we put one coat on? -Okay.

This is fun, actually. I do--

Applying the stucco?

What you want to do is keep it in the middle.

And it doesn't... It helps if you just kind of flatten it like that.

-Oh! -That's so it doesn't slide off.

-Okay. -So you just want to take off the top portion of it,

and then you smear it across...

-and you go back. -And you gotta get okay with the mess.

It's gonna be messy. [chuckles]

So...

Right off the top.

Just... Just like that.

And you can move it back and forth if you like.

-That... that action... -Let's leave a little--

-just a little on there. -...is never gonna happen.

Okay, ready?

-Uh... right? -You did it. Yeah.

That looks better than when I do it.

This is hard.

I love the stucco.

It's a little messy.

A lot of, like, stuff came off.

Is it supposed to just plop off like that?

Yeah, and you'll notice that it'll smear good

if, when you're going across it,

if you have it slightly...

open on the edge that you're going across.

It'll keep the material...

-[Jennifer] Oh, nice. -...inside the float a little bit.

But I... I feel like this is a dangerous road you've led me down

because I feel like I could start doing it,

just a little bit at a time in my house.

All right. If you guys are good

to continue here for a few minutes,

I'm gonna keep going inside, and I'll come back

-and check on you guys in a little bit. -All right, come check.

-All right. Nice job. -Thank you.

Is this a sculpture of Jonathan?

I didn't ask for that.

You know, that's... That's extra.

-But does it look like him? -I think so.

Whoo! I did it.

Nice.

High five.

Yeah.

[Jonathan] It's the start of week two.

And while it took a lot of work to patch

and level the kitchen sub floors,

the hardwood team started at the crack of dawn

to lay our new engineered hardwood.

And as our kitchen cabinets have arrived,

they're waiting in the wings for install.

Jennifer wanted the floors to be the same from front to back.

So we chose these mid tone planks

because they both brighten the space

and add sophisticated warmth

that will wow for family dinners

and weekend dinner parties.

[Drew] And with the floors down nice and early,

it's time to invite our two-tone custom cabinetry

inside for installation.

So while our crews are working in the kitchen,

Jennifer and I are getting started

on the other showpiece cabinetry,

the living room built-in.

-Can you pop that cabinet in there? -Oh, yes.

Nice. Now pop that last one in, too.

Perfect.

[Jennifer] Mmm. So even.

Are these smaller than the ones in the...

in the kitchen?

They're, uh, shorter.

-So it's the same height... -Shallower?

...for where we're gonna have a countertop here.

However, we don't have that same depth.

This is a 12-inch.

-Those are 24-inch. -Okay.

But you don't... in this kind of shelving,

you don't need to have 24 inches.

No, because then your books are gonna get lost, or whatever.

Do you remember that there was a, like,

a table here for Joshua?

[Drew] Yes, the console. Yeah.

So, is there something that we can do

on this shelf that's going in, that will honor him and...

I mean, that would be the perfect place to showcase it.

She loves orchids for him.

So I was wondering if you could do some kind of detailed...

-I don't know, what like-- -Like an art piece or...

Yeah, like something sculptural

that represents him and...

-his life. -Oh, absolutely.

You know what, actually,

I have a friend who is an awesome sculptor.

He works with a whole bunch of different materials.

-Mmm-hmm. -Why don't I just tell him how much she loves orchids

and how that represents her son, Joshua, who she lost

and he can...

he could create something really cool.

To incorporate the orchid into a sculpture

that will go on those bookshelves

will be like the place to honor Joshua.

It'll fit perfectly in the open shelves.

-That would be really lovely. -Nice. I love the creativity.

I'm very moved by that.

And, um, I know it will be...

like deeply meaningful for Nori.

[Jonathan] The cabinets are still being fit in place.

Nori needs as much storage as possible,

and the dining area gives us that opportunity.

The two tall pantries flanking the built-in banquette,

it's shifted right up against the wall,

so it makes for a lot more room.

We're trying to squeeze every inch out of this space

that we can. The function is gonna be key.

[Drew] And with time running out,

I'm meeting up with Skinney, a mixed media sculptor.

Jennifer wants to create this beautiful memorial piece for Joshua,

something to give Nori that will represent him in the house.

We want to do a custom art piece

that can sit on the new open shelves.

-Hey. -Yo.

How's it going?

-What's up, man? -Never stop working, I tell ya.

-Never. -You got a lot of stuff going on here.

What... is this a sculpture of Jonathan?

I didn't ask for that.

You know, that's... that's extra.

But does it look like him?

I think so. We can make it look like him.

He growls at me all the time, so it's very relevant.

-Yeah. -That's like his morning Jonathan face.

Pretty... pretty much, yeah.

It takes a lot of makeup to take care of that.

Well, let's focus on what we're doing here for...

-Yes, why your drove here. -...Nori.

Jennifer Jason Leigh said that she wanted to do

something extremely special.

Nori is like family. She means a lot to her.

And she knows that Joshua means a lot to Nori.

Based off of what you told me when you called...

-Sure. -...you know, my thoughts initially,

let me... let me show you real quick.

One of the things that I was thinking is...

um, circles.

Circles are complete.

Doesn't matter, big, small,

you know, it's a full finished shape, you know?

-So it's like... -Yeah, circle of life.

Yeah, circle of life. I had a question on it.

So we're kind of looking on keeping that circle center

and bringing that-- that orchid into the circle,

kind of like letting the life continue to grow.

-The orchid means so much to Nori... -Okay.

...because that represents Joshua to her and her family.

-Yeah. -What's the... what's this portion down here?

-'Cause I see the... there's the metal here. -Yep.

And if the orchids could be white, that would be amazing.

I know Jennifer was saying that, uh,

-that's probably a perfect color for Nori. -For sure.

-What's this? -So, so, the base right here,

what I was thinking was we could do like a...

like a concrete type base.

You know that like dandelion in the middle of the freeway?

That is, like, defying all the odds?

Yeah, like nature finds a way.

Yeah, exactly. Like, I think we could do something to represent that,

-like defying the all odds. -Yeah.

You know, found way to live 26 years. Like, that's frigging amazing.

Yes. I wonder if instead of a concrete, though,

if there's something that could be more of an organic material,

maybe it could be more of a stone.

Stone would work. I was thinking,

what if it was the shape of stones, but out of walnut?

-That's interesting. That's fit in in the back. -Like, um...

Hang on, hang on. Okay, so, what if, like...

This is walnut. Obviously it's raw.

-Yeah. -Um...

What if we build these stones out of wood?

So you still get that wood grain.

It feels more organic, not as harsh as the concrete.

I actually prefer that over the concrete.

Okay. I'm leaning that way, too.

And that's why it's great when you show up

-because we get to add things. -You know, we get things done together.

Two minds are greater than one.

So how many orchids are we actually gonna have?

What I was thinking is, when I heard 26,

like, I think that's like a huge, like, aspect

that we can like encapsulate with 26 orchid petals.

So these are kind of just scale mock-ups,

like seeing how they would fit,

you know, in our circle, more or less,

with with the... the petals coming off...

-Yeah. -...um, in different orientations.

-So you're thinking like... -Boom.

Off this side, off this side, off up here.

Maybe one down here.

-Yeah, nice and low. -I love it.

Awesome. But let me know if you have any questions.

-I will, man. -Yeah, thanks, man.

-Thanks for stopping by. -See you later.

I'll send you some pics.

What are you doing here?

[Jennifer] Hi. Did you have a good time?

-[Nori exclaims] How are you? -What's happening?

[gasps]

I know you.

-Good to see you. -Oh, my gosh.

[Jonathan] Here we go.

[gasps] Oh, my gosh!

Jenny!

[Jonathan] It's our final week at Nori's house,

and with our stunning two-toned kitchen cabinets fully installed,

it's time to set in our equally stunning countertops.

There's no slowing down.

Nori needs to get back into the house here,

and we know Jennifer wants to have all hands on deck to get this done.

Hold on a sec.

Watch that line.

Slow and steady.

[exclaims] I did it.

Nicely done.

When you're just starting something, it feels scary.

But the more you do it, the easier it gets.

-And you're actually pretty good. -Do you know what?

That cutting block, that is exactly

what was in my mom's kitchen growing up.

-Oh, you were-- you mean, this in the kitchen? -I swear to God.

-Yeah. -I have pictures of my mom,

like, cutting stuff on this.

I made coffee on this as a child growing up.

This is crazy.

When did you give that to Nori?

I mean, my mom must have given it to Nori

when she redid her kitchen and she got a bigger island.

Look at the-- how beautiful this is made.

-I mean, it's like... -I mean, it's substantial.

It has a lot, like you can see,

there's a lot of wear and tear.

The legs are in really rough shape.

Maybe we could sand it down and make it look new.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

That would be very cool. Like, think of the nostalgia.

-I mean... -For Nori of your mom's butcher block.

...it's kind of incredible.

-Yeah. You didn't even know it was here. -And it's here.

Yeah. Well, tell you what.

Why don't we take this inside?

I'll talk to Jonathan and we'll talk to our woodworking team

and see if there's something we could do.

I mean, it does look like it's seen its best days.

It has seen better days. Yeah.

I know it's asking a lot, and it might be impossible,

but if the brothers could figure out a way

to get that block back and work it into the kitchen,

I just think it would be like so touching.

Come on, guys, you're slowing us down.

I want to get this one in before you guys do that one.

[Jennifer] If we could get that in beautiful shape

and put that in the kitchen,

I mean, that's from my childhood.

It's just amazing.

I'm gonna go and dust off.

-Why don't you guys go find a lint brush? -Okay.

I had no idea that my mother even gave her that.

So, yeah, that was kind of fortuitous.

[Jonathan] Keeping this project on schedule

has taken intense planning

and asking our trades to work around the clock.

[Drew] We have all hands on deck

finishing up the essential details,

including refinishing Jennifer's mom's butcher block.

[Jonathan] Yeah, Nori will be home soon, and we cannot stop that plane.

So we have to be here all night

until we get this work done.

I cannot believe...

how you got this to look like this.

[Drew] It looks pretty awesome, right?

It looks amazing.

This one, the bottom.

Nice.

Special delivery.

What do you think?

Oh, that is so beautiful.

There's a flower petal for every year of Joshua's life.

Oh, that's incredible.

And it's just a little something special to put on the shelf.

-Oh, that's so... I love it so much. -Do you like it?

So, you tell me where you want to put it.

-I'm just gonna-- -I'd showcase it.

-Yeah, there, I think. -Essentially, yeah.

There's already too many people in this corner.

-So I'm gonna come right in. -[Jennifer] Okay.

All right, there we go.

[Jennifer] I feel like we did it,

and I really wanted to honor Joshua.

That was hugely important to me.

And I feel like Drew and Jonathan really understood that.

This is the point of the project where we cannot scratch anything.

-[Jennifer] I know. -Just pull it lightly.

Don't go too heavy.

[Jennifer] Oh, there we go. Oh, my God, I was so scared.

And look at that.

Um, I-- okay, so I broke a slight promise to you guys.

I had to tell Ely.

Ely is Nori's husband.

He's just an incredible man,

and he's very trustworthy and good with a secret.

Okay.

-But he's-- -What did you tell Ely?

I said that we did a little something on the house,

but I didn't tell him what. I just...

I had to let him in on it because I'm obviously

gonna be here when they arrive.

But I think I want you guys to be the-- a big surprise.

So she has no clue.

He promised he's not gonna tell her anything,

so I'll... but I'll be outside, I think.

-Okay. -You meet her out front. We'll hide inside.

Yes. Once she arrives, then I'm gonna say something.

Like, you know, I had a little help.

Okay. This has been so much fun.

-You are a rock star. Real quick. -High five.

-Oh. -Yeah.

[Drew] Nori's been out of the country.

She literally has no clue that any of this is happening,

and that makes for an even better reveal.

What are you doing here?

[Jennifer] Hi.

It's time for me to come home.

How are you?

I'm good. I missed you.

What... what's going on?

What are you... what are you doing there?

Okay, so, because you were out of town, and it's--

I know it's been like a little bit of a hard many years,

I just wanted to take the opportunity while you were gone

to do a few little things inside.

Um...

-What are you-- -Which I hope you'll like.

-Oh, my God. -But I didn't...

I did not do it on my own. I had a little help.

-Oh! -Guys?

What's happening?

-Oh, hi. -Oh, my gosh. [gasps]

I know you.

We know all about you.

Not on... [exclaims]

Well, nice to meet you.

-Jonathan and Drew. -Nice to meet you.

-Nori. -How are you?

-Good to see you. -[Nori] Oh, my God.

It's such a pleasure to meet you.

Well, my... my... pleasure is mine.

Are you here by yourself?

No, my husband. Ely, where are you?

-I'm here. -[Nori] There he is.

Look at this.

How are you? Oh, my gosh.

What are you doing here?

-[Jonathan] Did you know... -How are you?

...Ely actually knows what we've been doing?

-Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you. -[Nori] What?

-Ely's been in on the secret. -How are you?

What's going on?

-What's going on? -Are you keeping secrets from Nori?

-He's very good. I told you, right? -Um...

I will not gonna tell you till you see it.

Do you know how much this lady loves you?

-I love this lady. -Aww.

She's my angel.

I'm dy-- I just can't wait to get you--

it feels like Christmas morning or something.

Oh, my God!

I would like us to take a deep breath.

[all breathing deeply]

And I would like Jennifer to show you inside.

So you guys go ahead and I'm gonna get the luggage.

-Okay. Okay, sure. -[Drew] Sounds good.

[Nori] Feels like I'm... I'm... I'm in a dream.

And I don't wanna wake up.

[Jonathan] Here we go.

[gasps] Oh, my God.

Jenny!

[gasps] Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. Jenny!

Oh!

It's beautiful.

Jennifer loves you so much,

and she says this is the least she could do

-for someone who gives so much to everyone else. -Yeah.

[Nori] It's overwhelming, overwhelming, Jenny.

Coming from her,

it's just like, it's so precious for me.

That's my baby boy.

[Drew] Remember you had your stand over here?

-[Nori] Yes. -[Jennifer] This is Joshua.

[Drew] This is a little something special.

[Jennifer] Now it's there.

[Nori] When I saw that space

they did for my son, for Joshua, it really hit me.

Because I love my son so much.

[Jennifer] That represents Joshua.

[Nori] This is beautiful. Oh, my God.

This is one petal for every year of Joshua's life.

And it was a little something special,

just as a tribute to him.

My baby.

This is... I don't know what to say.

I love you, Jenny, so much.

My God, you don't have to do this.

-No, no, no. Oh, my God. -And, you guys, I mean, I don't know.

I don't even know what to say. I'm...

[sniffles]

My... my... my living room is like, oh, my God!

Aah! This is...

I've been trying to give this woman like, some--

a big grand gesture for a long time

and you have nothing to say about it this time.

[Jonathan] You have such a beautiful home,

and clearly you've had some good times,

some good memories in this home,

and she wanted to make sure that

not only was it beautiful,

but it was something that would make life a little bit easier too.

Look at this floor.

[Jennifer] I know, the floor. Right?

-[Jonathan] You know what I feel like we need to do to? -[Jennifer] Get Ely in.

-You go get him. -Oh!

Yeah, he needs to see this, too.

[Jennifer] I do wanna take care of Nori.

I always have, because she's always taking care of me.

And she's my sister, you know?

It's just... how do you describe your family?

You know?

[Ely] My God, look at--

-You guys, this is amazing. -Look at this.

-Look. -Jenny.

It's Joshua right here. Look.

Too much. God, I have no words to say.

You guys did a great job.

Thank you, Jenny. Thank you.

Everybody come over here.

We're gonna go around this wall.

-Okay. -This is...

This is gonna be the biggest part of the surprise.

-Oh, my-- -'Cause you won't recognize anything over there.

Okay.

-[Nori gasps] -[Ely] Oh!

[Nori squeals]

[Nori laughs]

[Ely] Oh, my God, look at this.

Oh!

[gasps]

Oh, my God, this is my ki--

Where's the refrigerator?

-[Jennifer] Turn around. -[Jonathan] Right here to the right.

[Nori] Wow!

Oh, my God!

[Ely] I mean, look at that.

Unbelievable.

[Jonathan] Does it feel like the same house?

-[Ely] No. -[Nori] No.

[Ely] This is a dream.

Oh, my God. Look at my kitchen!

[Jonathan] Yeah.

Do you recognize this?

[Nori] This is awesome.

This was Barbara's. She used it a lot,

but there was no use, uh,

after I think she renewed the house or something.

-Yeah, she redid her kitchen. -And I always had an eye on this piece

because it meant a lot to me.

I said, "Barbara, what are you gonna do with it?"

And she's like, "I don't know. You want it, take it."

And I said, "Yeah!"

You don't have enough space in here for a big island.

But it's nice to have a little extra prep space.

[Nori] Everything is so pretty.

I feel very special.

Nori is everything to me.

I could not have the life I have at all without Nori.

And that's your-- dishwasher's over there.

[Ely] Look at the window.

-[Jennifer] Yeah, the window. -Look at this.

Look at this.

[Nori] Look at the window.

I mean, this is... this is beautiful.

You know, with all my heart, thank you.

-And I'm so happy for her. I'm so happy for you. -Thank you.

Yes.

-It's our Property Sister from another mister. -Yeah.

This is the new show.

-Yeah. -She helped build the cabinet.

She helped, you know, with the hardware fix--

Like, everything. Demolition.

-You should have seen her swingin' a sledgehammer. -Oh, my God.

-It was pretty impressive. -It was really fun.

I wouldn't say I'm great at it but I love doing it.

-You were passionate. -Yeah.

-Yes. -Thank you so much, Jenny.

Come over and grab a seat. Check out the bench.

Imagine sitting here while you're cooking up a storm.

-[Ely] There you go. -[Nori] I can take a nap in there.

-[Drew] Yeah. -[Jennifer] Oh, yeah.

-Oh, my. Look at... look at this table. -Oh, my God, this table.

Look at all this, by the way.

-So much storage. -Tons of storage.

-[Jennifer] Tons of storage. -[Nori gasps]

What are you gonna fill this with?

[Jennifer] And underneath, too. Drawers.

[Nori] Oh, my God. Look at the bottom.

-This is... -It's beautiful.

Looking at the kitchen the way you knew it...

-Yes. -...did you ever imagine your kitchen could look like this?

-[Nori] Oh, never. -[Ely] Never, Never.

You know, I always said, um,

I don't have much money,

but what I do have in my house is

there is love everywhere.

You can feel it. You really can.

That's family. You are family.

-I love you so much. -I love you, too.

[Drew] And I think we should celebrate.

But you're not the one doing the cooking.

I'm not?

[Jonathan] Stand by.

Somebody brought a little food for us to snack on.

-Party's here! -Oh, my gosh!

[Nori] Ashley!

-Hi, Jennifer. How are you? -Hi!

Believe me, I will enjoy every,

every single moment being in my house.

It's beautiful.

She loves to cook so much. She loves to entertain.

She loves to have people over.

Ashley, you made your mom's famous wings?

I... I tried to.

[Jennifer] And I just wanted her to just live in, you know,

someplace that she would truly be happy in.

Jenny, I love you so much. For me and for my family,

you've been there.

When my son passed away,

you were right there with me, next to me.

-I love you so much. -I love you so much.

[both] Oh!

I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

It's a huge gift for me to be able to do this.

-So, thank you. -Yes.

-Thank you. -You're very welcome.

-[Drew] More chicken, everyone! -[Jennifer] More chicken!

[Ely] Come on!