The Property Brothers Reveal One Upgrade That Screams ‘Cheap’ on ‘Celebrity IOU’

The Property Brothers Reveal One Upgrade That Screams ‘Cheap’ on ‘Celebrity IOU’

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“Property Brothers” stars Drew and Jonathan Scott are back for Season 4 of HGTV’s “Celebrity IOU”—and this time, they’re helping comedian Tiffany Haddish gift her best friend a home makeover.

In the episode “Tiffany Returns the Love,” Haddish introduces the Scott brothers to Selena, her best friend since seventh grade. Selena and her family have a beautiful home in Carson, CA, but Haddish and the brothers know it could use some updates.

“It’s obvious that Selena and her husband have a lot of pride when it comes to their home,” Jonathan says. “And rightfully so; it’s a great place. But when you look closely at the finishes, it could use a higher-quality upgrade.”

With some luxe materials and a clean, simple design, Drew and Jonathan help Haddish update the living room, make smart fixes in the kitchen, and turn a bathroom into a mini spa.

Learn how the Scott brothers pull this off, with plenty of lessons you might be inspired to try in your own loo and living room, too.

Kitchen storage matters more than natural light

Jonathan and Drew plan to make a lot of changes in this kitchen. Not only do they decide to remove the peninsula and add an island, but they also turn the island and move the sink so the whole space feels more connected to the living room. Jonathan also suggests removing the kitchen window and putting new cabinets and a hood vent in its place.

Right away, Haddish is concerned, asking, “Can’t we just move the window?”

“Then you would lose your storage,” Jonathan points out. “Storage is a good thing.”

Haddish ends up letting Jonathan remove the window, and it’s a good thing she did. By taking out the window, Jonathan is able to make room for a hood vent over a newly placed range and add some much-needed cabinetry on either side.

While closing up a window might seem like a serious renovation faux pas, the brothers know that the home has plenty of natural light. They explain that losing one valuable kitchen feature can make sense if it makes room for something even better.

“Sometimes you really need to look at the bigger picture when designing a space,” Jonathan says.

Laminate flooring can look cheap up close

Drew and Jonathan like the look of Selena’s home when they first walk in, but upon further inspection, they see some serious flaws. For one thing, the floors look OK from far away, but not so much up close.

“When you look at it with the naked eye, ‘Mm not bad,’” Drew says of the floors. “But when you get close or even touch them, it’s just a cheap old laminate, and that’s not the elegance Tiffany wants for Selena.”

When Jonathan and Haddish are choosing finishes, the HGTV star suggests a light-toned engineered hardwood because it will be much more durable than the existing laminate.

“Your floors expand and contract as the humidity changes,” Jonathan says. “So when you have an engineered base underneath the solid floor on top, then it actually helps prevent that from happening. So you get less buckling and less cracking.”

The new floors are not only more durable, they also look beautiful. While Haddish might have been worried about losing a window, Drew points out that light finishes like these floors make the space look extra bright.

“Choosing finishes like lighter-toned floors can help bounce the light that we have and thus increasing the brightness in any space,” he says.

Choose simple materials for the fireplace

From their first tour of the house, Drew and Jonathan know they’ll need to make some changes to the fireplace.

“What’s catching me is, the TV is so high and the fireplace is so low,” Jonathan says. “Having a real focal point that actually carries the eye all the way up would be key.”

This fireplace is also covered in dated stone, which clearly needs to go.

Later, Haddish presents Jonathan with a unique idea for the fireplace.

“We should use actual marbles,” she says. “Like a 15-pound bag of marbles and just marble it all the way up.”

Right away, Jonathan disapproves: “I don’t know if Selena will be your best friend anymore.”

Instead, Jonathan chooses simple, smooth sintered stone for the fireplace, which matches the new kitchen counters.

“I wanted to make sure that there was some continuity in the finishes, so the stone will match the kitchen counters,” Jonathan says.

In the end, the fireplace’s simple but elegant design looks great, and it proves how easy it can be to carry a style from one area to another, creating cohesion.

Move the toilet to make room for a double vanity

While most of the work is focused on the kitchen and living room, Haddish doesn’t want to forget about the bathroom.

“I really want the restroom to be a place like an oasis for her,” Haddish says. “A little relaxation spa, if you may.” Haddish even suggests an idea of a wine cellar in the bathroom so Selena can get the full spa experience.

While the team does a lot to make this bathroom look amazing, one of Haddish’s ideas might make the biggest difference. She suggests moving the toilet to make room for a luxurious double vanity, which ends up perfect for this refreshed bathroom because it makes the room feel bigger and more like a spa. It’s a great change that could inspire other homeowners to rearrange their bathroom for better usability.

Stairway railings should be stylish yet safe

While the Scott brothers make a lot of changes to Selena’s home, there’s one feature that they know needs to go: the stair railing. This metal railing’s balusters are way too far apart—Drew can even fit his head between them—and the brothers know isn’t safe.

“Any babies that have a head my size could fall through,” Drew says.

“You have to make sure everything is safe in a home, it can’t just be pretty,” Jonathan says.

Still, the brothers like the midcentury style of the original rail, so they decide to re-create the look in a safe way.

“We actually had one of our metal guys come in and he tried to mimic that beautiful design, but he did it to code,” Drew tells Selena when she finally sees the finished home.

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