Dream Home Makeover (2020) s01e01 Episode Script

1
-Are you ready for this?
-Heck, yeah.
Okay. I'm Shea.
And I'm Syd.
And we're the McGees.
[Shea] In 2013, I designed our first home
and then started posting photos
to Instagram.
Soon after that, I had family, friends,
neighbors loving what I was doing,
and that turned into paying clients.
We sold our home and used every penny
that we made from that home
in starting our business.
Then we got crazy, sold all our stuff
in California and moved to Utah?
Yeah.
[upbeat electronic music playing]
[Shea] We have two businesses.
Studio McGee is our interior design firm,
and McGee & Co is our furniture
and decor business.
We have a team of about 90 employees.
I run everything creative,
and Syd is CEO of both businesses.
But more than just the handyman,
you know?
-[laughs]
-Or the good looks.
[Syd laughing]
[Shea] To me, design has
a very direct impact
on our mood and the way we feel.
So, whether our clients have
$2 million or $20,000,
I want them all to feel
that sense of peace
when they walk in the door
and that their home is a reflection
of their personal style.
[playful music playing]
[Wren] Okay.
[Shea] Oh, yeah.
Great.
Oh Hey, Wren.
Look at that, how cute that is!
Okay, let's make your bed real quick.
Help me make the bed, okay?
You're so good at helping me.
I'm gonna help you here.
[Shea] Dad's gonna help there.
Right now, our interior design studio
is designing 18 dream homes
for clients in Utah
and across the country.
But our biggest project
is our own home which
we're building from the ground up.
Okay, let's put these
back in this corner. Okay?
In the meantime, we're living
in a rental with our two girls,
Wren, who's six
Oh. Nice, Wren.
and Ivy is three.
That's a big camera!
-Come on.
-[Syd laughs]
We have to be out of our rental house
in two months
because the owner sold it.
Mom likes a karate chop. Here.
Can you do a karate chop?
Yes! Thank you.
What's your favorite thing
to do at recess?
-Swing.
-[Shea] I knew you were gonna say that.
-That looks so beautiful!
-[Ivy giggles]
It really needs to get moving, or we're
-You don't wanna go to another rental?
-No!
-A hotel?
-No!
A nice hotel?
[Shea] Matching bows.
[Syd] They're wearing the same cardigan?
Should I wear it?
[Shea] You want Dad to wear it?
-I think it looks good.
-Sorry. You missed out.
-Dad looks good in a pink cardigan.
-[laughter]
[upbeat pop music]
-[Shea] To Kaysville.
-[Syd] "Kaysvull"?
Yeah, they do say it "Kaysvull" up there.
-Know where we're going?
-[Syd] I know the general direction.
-Like, north.
-[Shea laughing]
We're meeting Emilee and Zann Call.
We're going to be working
on an extra living-room space
they really don't know what to do with.
Usually, when I am doing
the first walk-through,
it's, "Let's get down to business."
When you come, it's like a party.
You make it fun
and you can get the clients relaxed.
[Syd]
Sometimes you see them stressing, like,
"This is my time.
I have to give Shea the right answers."
-Good team.
-[Syd] Who would have thought?
[Shea] We're here.
[Syd] All right. I'm gonna let you knock.
-You got a fierce knock on you.
-Okay.
[woman yelling] Hi!
-[Syd] How are you?
-Come in.
[woman] Come in!
-How are you? I'm Shea.
-Yes, you are.
-I'm Emilee.
-I'm Zann.
Good to meet you.
I'm Emilee Call.
This is my husband, Zann.
We've been married 15 years.
-Fifteen and a half. And a half.
-And a half. Yep.
-Are these your cute kids?
-[Emilee] All of them.
Lola is almost ten,
Crosby is seven,
Sylvie is five,
and then Phoebe is two and a half.
Three girls.
One boy in our sea of women.
[all laughing]
Syd's hoping
for a "one boy in a sea of women."
I am the guy in the sea of women.
That's awesome.
I am looking at your house
and feeling like you've redone some of it.
Yes. So, we moved in here six years ago,
and we just tackled this main room.
Did you guys do the remodel yourselves?
He did it all.
He's so handy.
Any request I have to build something,
he just can figure it out.
He loves it.
If a neighbor's doing a project,
he's, "I should see what's going on."
He just likes to help,
and I love that about him.
He moved stairs.
We had to dig underneath our stairs.
-Moved stairs yourselves? I'm impressed.
-Underneath was crawl space,
so we had to cut the concrete
and dig one bucket at a time.
-So if you ever have to escape prison
-[Zann] Yeah.
-"Guys, I know what this is gonna take."
-You're the guy.
-Yeah.
-[Shea] Okay.
Let's take a look at the "trouble room."
-Are you ready?
-[Shea] Yeah, I wanna see it.
-Prepare yourself.
-[all laughing]
[Emilee] All right, this is her
in all her glory, in all her 70s glory.
[Shea] This is bigger in person
than the photos that I saw beforehand.
It's a big room to be completely wasted.
-Yeah.
-Really, it's like half our house.
It's just super underutilized.
We don't know what to do with it.
I spend zero time in here.
Okay.
The space just isn't being utilized.
I can see that they have struggled
to figure out how to make it work for them
and then just kind of
closed their eyes,
pretended it wasn't there.
We host like crazy in the summer
because our yard is awesome.
- Yeah.
-Winter, I shut down,
'cause I hate this room,
I don't want people to come over.
We just have seasonal friends,
really, so
[Shea] Good design provides people
a place to spend time together,
create memories, to bond.
Immediately,
I'm thinking of all the different ways
that I can make this space
better for them.
How are you hoping to use it?
I'm hoping to maybe have some dining area.
A nice big table that we can do crafts
with the kids, play games around,
-some sort of office space.
-Right.
I finally figured out what we need in it.
-Just not how to lay it out.
-Just not how to do it, yeah.
Do you wanna keep the fireplace?
The fireplace is a must.
[Shea] It's very asymmetrical.
That's good for a modern aesthetic.
-Yeah.
-But if we're going for classic,
to create symmetry would be nice.
I'd love to take the stone off.
The Calls currently have about four feet
of stone on one side of the fireplace
and two on the other.
It looks like they thought,
"We'll take the stone to the wall."
So, we want to create a focal point
that feels meaningful
and have the sides
of the firebox matching.
I imagine a long dining table along here
and having that centered on the fireplace.
[Emilee] Perfect. I love that.
[Shea] I see this little jut-out
into this space.
I see door here and door here.
What's going on?
It's Tetris corner.
This might be where a baby sleeps.
-It's normal.
-Is this a nursery?
-Don't judge
-I'm not judging.
[all laughing]
[Shea] Among our new clients,
I think they feel pressure
that I'm going to be judging them.
-Are you house-shaming them?
-I do not house-shame.
But when I hear them talk, it's like,
"I'm embarrassed,
I don't want people over."
And we've gotta fix that.
-Do you need to keep this?
-[Emilee] No, baby has a room.
-Baby has a room? Okay.
-Yeah.
Things are looking up.
Things are good, yeah!
So we can get rid of this?
-Please do. 
-Okay.
Are you hoping to go lighter, brighter
or trying to get more moody?
Okay, so, is there a way to do both?
Like, moody and bright still, like
-Okay.
-But yes, some moodiness I would love.
That's an opportunity for us
to, kind of, create some drama.
Yes!
[Shea] Moody and bright.
I've gotta find a way to put
both of those things together,
but I also want it to be lively and fun.
They're a fun, cute, young family
and I wanna keep it feeling like they do.
So you've done a lot of work, Zann.
Are you pretty stoked to have someone
come in and do it?
You're like, "I need to chill."
-Nervous?
-I'm okay for somebody to do it.
You know when you do something,
and you notice every little flaw?
It will be nice to have somebody else
-Yeah.
-thinking of that.
And I won't have to look at my flaws
every time I walk in this room.
[Syd] Cool.
We'll get it there for you.
-Thank you.
-I can't wait to make a space for you.
Early on, Syd and I decided
that regardless of how big
our business grew,
we didn't want to lose sight of the power
of a one-room transformation.
-Thanks for coming to our house.
-Of course.
It is really, really satisfying to see
a room come together on a tighter budget.
[Syd] Awesome. Thanks, guys!
-[Emilee] Thank you!
-[Zann] See you.
[upbeat pop music]
-Hi, Pam!
-Hi, Shea. How are you?
-Could I get to sit next to the snacks?
-Yes.
-They're good. I've been eating them all.
-[laughing]
That's awesome.
So, we are talking about Call.
[Pam] Yes, so this is kind of
the floor plan.
[Shea] The Calls' trouble room
is a big open area that is largely wasted.
I want to break it up
into three distinct, usable spaces.
A dining space, a living space,
and an office space.
I wanna make sure that they flow.
Because it is one room
and different spaces,
there is attention to detail
that helps them feel separate
-at the same time.
-Yeah.
[Shea] To create the dining space,
remove the built-in desk
and then center the off-kilter fireplace.
This will create a focal point,
which we'll use to place
a long dining table and chandelier.
For the living space, I want to be mindful
of the door leading to the backyard.
So, we'll put a plush couch
against the window,
and then add a coffee table
and a couple of cozy floating chairs,
so I can create plenty of comfy seating
but not block the flow of traffic
through the room.
And for the office space,
we'll knock out the unused closet,
which will open up the space
and create a cute little nook
where we can add a built-in.
Awesome. Thanks, Pam.
Thank you, Shea.
-Have a good day.
-You too.
[mellow music playing]
[grunting]
[Shea] We're headed to our house.
[Syd] You ready to be in our house yet?
I'm ready!
Still feels like we're going
to a site visit for our house
instead of going to our house,
Like I'm going to another project.
[Syd] When will it get to the point when
you're like, "Gosh! Feels like our house"?
[Shea] When we're sitting on the couch
in our living room, just hanging out.
The home is a symbol of a lot more
than just getting out of a rental home
and into a home that we designed.
It just feels like it represents
that we actually
started a business from nothing
and that we built it.
[Syd] We kept reinvesting
into our business and ourselves,
knowing the time would come in the future.
We're really excited to get to that point.
Yeah.
[Shea gasps]
-How's it going?
-[Shea] What's up?
-[together] The brick looks good!
-It's going really well.
We started working with Tyler
about two years ago.
We did a project together in Park City
and it was a great working relationship.
The home was beautiful,
and that snowballed
into a lot of other projects.
We'll be finishing this next week.
[Shea] Tyler is jack of all trades
and he's really good at what he does.
He asks questions, gets the details right
to make my vision happen.
[Syd] He's the epitome of a gentle giant.
Like, huge,
feels like he could rip your arms off,
-but he's nice to work with.
-Yeah.
-What do you got?
-[Tyler] Let's get to it.
[Shea] Our dream home
is a modern-traditional style,
about 5,000 square feet
spread across two levels.
My vision is light and airy.
We've used modern
and traditional elements together,
so that it feels classic.
Finishing the main floor
is our top priority,
so that we can at least start moving in.
The fireplace went in!
-[Syd] It's awesome.
-[Shea] It looks so, so good.
This thing is 5,000 pounds,
and they carved it out of
solid limestone in Texas.
When I originally drew it,
I didn't really think about the weight,
I just thought about the looks.
So, I really gave him
a run for his money on that one.
Okay, so
-Syd is concerned.
-It was
[Shea] He's waking up
sweating in the night.
How did you fasten it
so that it wouldn't fall over?
We have these big posts
running all the way up.
-We lagged them in the wall.
-That's what it's attached to.
So, this whole wall
would have to fall off.
[Shea] Okay, great.
For me,
it was worth all of your headaches,
because it looks beautiful. [chuckles]
So, kitchen.
Cabinets are starting to go in.
What I want to talk to you about
is the hood.
[Shea] The plaster.
[Tyler] We've done these before with you.
We've plastered it,
and we didn't buff it or polish it.
Do you want it polished?
It gets kind of a sheen.
-I want the movement, but not shiny.
-[Tyler] Okay.
[Shea] Sometimes, clients come,
and the husband and wife
do not have the same tastes,
and that can be difficult.
But, thankfully, I think we see
eye to eye for the most part.
Because I don't care,
and it makes our marriage happier.
[laughing]
[Shea] Let's head to the master,
where they got the vanity in.
We have a beautiful, white tub.
-It's a freestanding tub here.
-The one in the garage?
-It's been in our garage.
-Got it delivered last year.
Who's the bathtub for?
I don't know.
You don't know? You designed the house!
Well, it's for me to look at.
-'Cause you're not gonna use it.
-I'm not.
Really had my heart set on that tub.
At least when we sell the house,
we can say,
"Freestanding tub, lightly used."
[both laughing]
-Thanks, Syd.
-"Like new."
[upbeat pop music]
[Zann] Okay, last one.
[indistinct chatter]
[man 1] Okay.
[man 2] Push that out.
Nice!
It's looking good.
You guys have done a lot!
-Yeah, we got it done.
-It's all coming out, yeah.
You happy to have
another crew member today?
-Yeah, Zann's been awesome!
-Extra hands?
-Happy to see through this closet.
-I am, too.
You get so much extra space. Great.
-[Zann] Nice to see it opened up.
-The electrical box moved. You moved that.
Yeah, so, it used to be
in this wall, right here.
[Shea] Okay.
But since that's going away,
we moved it out
-around the corner in the mud room.
-Okay.
Zann volunteered to help with the demo
and move the electrical panel himself.
And by doing so,
he is saving them thousands of dollars.
Awesome. I wish I could take on things
to help us save money,
but I don't think I could.
I wouldn't sleep safely
if you had moved an electrical panel.
Nope.
I gotta pick up the kiddos from school.
-Okay.
-[Scott] Take it easy, man.
-Appreciate it.
-Good to see you.
-I'm gonna talk about your plans.
-Good luck!
So, this room has been
such a headache for them,
I want it to have, like, the wow factor.
In their current living room,
they have board-and-batten everywhere.
I want to take the board-and-batten style
that they're doing and shorten it.
-Okay.
-Instead of floor-to-ceiling,
I'd like to bring it to about this high.
Their ceilings are quite low,
about eight feet tall.
You can make the ceilings feel taller
by incorporating vertical lines,
so in this space
we'll be doing a board-and-batten,
which is a vertical paneling
applied to the wall.
So then, that will draw your eye up.
This built-in desk area,
I know we're over budget.
How much is this going to cost?
If we do the built-in,
probably close to 3,000 bucks,
depending on how simplified we get.
I feel like I already took it
as simple as I could.
Yeah.
Creating a beautiful space
on a tighter budget
creates a unique challenge that I love.
You have to prioritize where you spend
and where you save,
which really pushes me creatively.
I feel like
I should just treat this alcove
as a place to push in a desk,
and then we'll do a floating shelf
-from end to end. 
-Yeah.
If this is where
the board-and-batten ends,
I'd love to create an integrated shelf
into that top piece.
Mh-hm. No problem.
Paint it the same color, so it's seamless.
So, I think they're still getting
benefits of a built-in
-but saving them $3,000.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, okay.
-[Shea] Okay, great.
We'll wrap the board-and-batten to here
and then do picture frame
around these different openings,
windows, so it matches.
-That work for you?
-Works great.
-Okay, well, you have a lot of work to do.
-[both laughing] 
-[Scott] Get to work.
-I did my work, so
-Let me give this back to you.
-Thank you.
I want to surprise them in a good way,
and then for their mindset
about this space to completely change,
so they're not embarrassed or afraid
to invite people over.
And I hope that, immediately,
they host a party.
They can party all winter long.
-Yeah, exactly.
-[Syd chuckles]
I'm just excited for them
to have a space that
-feels like home.
-It'll be great.
It's gonna be great.
[mellow music playing]
-[Shea] Come on, girls. Out of the bucket.
-[Wren yells]
[Syd] Glad you're packing
'cause you're much better.
[Shea] While the house is finishing up,
we can pack things away,
a bit at a time.
Good luck with these
because these ones break.
-I know.
-[Syd] They break when I look at them.
These are cool.
[Shea] I found these pictures of us
from when we were dating,
which is super hilarious.
[Syd] Cute.
We've lived in rentals
ever since we sold our home in California.
Our first home that we bought
meant everything to me because
it was my first design project.
It was the home that got me excited
about interior design
and that then gave us the confidence
to be able to sell everything
and go in on starting a business together.
-[Syd] Wren, look at this one.
-Yeah.
[Syd] That was the day
I asked Mom to marry me.
She said yes. Thank goodness, huh?
[Shea] Saying goodbye
to the home that we created,
had our first baby in,
and moving somewhere else
has been quite the journey.
Now, we are on the last stretch
before moving into our dream home.
Feels good.
Gotta get the kids to tumbling.
-Crap, yeah.
-[Shea] Let's get your stuff for tumbling.
-Ivy always finds scissors.
-Always finds scissors!
-Okay, wow.
-[Syd] Normal life here.
Here, you can't leave the house
without a bow.
You know this. Mom would kill me.
Are you ready? No shoes?
I guess you take them off
at tumbling anyway.
Eat some cereal on the way.
-[Syd] Yeah!
-[Shea] All right.
[upbeat indie rock music]
This looks good!
-Hi! You got samples on the wall
-Hi, Shea. Got samples.
-I'm so excited to pick this dark color.
-They're very bold.
What, "bold"? Is that good or bad?
-[Scott] I love it.
-Good!
So, what are we doing here?
[Scott] We're mocking up the mantle
to see how it all fits together
'cause we gotta put some backing
on the wall to carry the mantle
-'cause it's concrete, so
-Okay.
Well, it already looks better,
seeing that it's nice and symmetrical,
losing the stone over on this side.
Christian's got our paint samples.
The bottom two-thirds of the wall
is going to be the dark paneling.
To lighten things up
a little bit above that,
we'll keep it white on the wall
and the ceilings.
I feel like when people tell me "moody,"
but I see that the rest
of their house is light,
that we can't go all in on that.
We have to balance light and dark.
Okay, Revere Pewter is
a really safe answer,
but I don't wanna go safe because
they gave me the go-ahead to go moody.
So, I'm like, "I should take it.
-Let's go with Cheating Heart.
-[Scott] Okay. Great vision here.
Oh, thank you.
[upbeat pop music]
[Shea] Know what?
They have front door open.
Should we go this way?
-[Tyler] Oh! Who's here?
-I got into pre-school!
[Tyler] You went to pre-school?
That's awesome.
Okay, now everyone walk backwards.
Perfect.
-[Syd groans]
-[Shea] Oh, it's cozy? [laughing]
[Syd] We're gonna be here so soon.
What are you most excited for?
The swing set!
The swing set?
You know what my favorite thing
about the new house is going to be?
-No.
-Kitchen.
-Mine too!
-[Shea] Yours, too. You like to eat.
You want one of these?
Taste it!
-Whoa!
-[Shea gasps]
[laughing]
-Oh, my!
-[Shea] That got me good.
-[Syd] Oh, my gosh. 
-Yeah, it got me very good!
Mom's always shaking things up.
[chuckling]
[Shea] Syd, I have a couple of
design questions while while I have you.
-[Syd] Always.
-Do you wanna
-Yeah.
-Okay.
So, we have our table here
that's gonna be like a lighter wood
-Mm-hm.
-and floors are a lighter wood.
My plan is that we go dark on the island,
but everyone thinks we should stay light.
And now I am so nervous
about my original plan.
[Syd] It's weird to see you indecisive.
I'll be trying to sleep,
and you'll be, "Are you asleep?
What color should I do the island?"
[Shea chuckles]
Okay. Which one do you like, guys?
[Ivy] Hmm
[Shea] Wren always picks the best one.
Hmm
Three, two, one, pick!
This one? Oh, my gosh.
-She likes the dark one? Okay.
-Yeah.
You and Mom always pick the same thing.
[Shea] That one's really pretty.
Wren always picks the best option.
I don't know how, as a 6-year-old.
I think the darkest one
gives us the nicest contrast
and I think that
it just is speaking to me.
-Okay.
-It will look really beautiful.
The dark stain feels like a nice contrast
to our light floors and the light walls
and the Doug Fir beams.
How's it look?
It looks pretty good.
This is your Sistine Chapel, dude.
-[Tyler laughs]
-[Shea] Guess. We gotta go.
[Ivy] Bye!
[mellow electronica intro]
[upbeat electronica beat drops]
I want it to pull out,
so it's more flat, yeah.
-We're moving the plant up.
-Okay.
And then we'll need
to grab a vase for flowers.
There's always some hesitation
before the big reveal.
"Are they going to like it?"
A big surprise.
But at the same time,
I feel really confident
the designs are beautiful
and that they're going to love them
when they see it.
Feeling good.
[woman 1] Shea, look how cute.
Emilee set all of this up for us.
-Isn't she cute? Yeah!
-[Shea] Every time, it's a new baked good!
[playful music]
Syd might not look like it,
but he can pack it away.
He eats non-stop.
Like, I'll be bummed
if it's less than six donuts.
I tested these out.
[all laughing]
-They're delicious.
-Yeah.
My stomach is growling so much.
I'm so sorry.
Thinking about donuts?
-Well, now, yeah.
-Yeah.
[Shea] I think they'll be here any minute,
so let's push all this furniture back,
-and we're good.
-[woman 1] Okay.
Holy crap. That is so good.
[mellow music playing]
I've had butterflies and borderline nausea
for, like, four days
-because I'm excited.
-[Zann laughs]
-[Emilee] Hi!
-I was excited. I saw you pull up.
Hello. Hi!
I'm just, like [yells]
chomping at the bit to get in there.
[Shea] When we first met, you guys told us
that you're seasonal entertainers.
Basically, yeah.
Because you never wanted to spend winters
inside your house and invite people over,
and you were embarrassed of it.
Well, everything has been changed.
-You guys ready?
-I'm so ready!
-[Shea] Let's do this.
-[Zann] Oh, my.
-[squealing] You're kidding me!
-Oh, my gosh.
[Emilee] Oh, my gosh!
-I love it so much!
-Oh, my gosh.
Had a feeling this was gonna happen.
[Emilee] How did this happen?
This is gorgeous!
It is overwhelming how beautiful it is.
My eyes are just exploding.
How is this the same place?
Why am I so weepy?
I didn't cry when I had my baby.
[laughing]
Did I cry when we had babies?
-I don't think I did.
-I don't think so.
-This is our best baby.
-Don't tell the kids that, though.
[yells]
They're so pretty!
-I'm shaking. Like, look at me.
-[Shea] I want you guys to take it in.
You wanted moody and bright.
That's what we went for,
was moody and bright,
and tried to carry in that cozy,
transitional look you have in your house.
I created two different sensibilities,
using contrasting wall treatments.
The dark paneling is moody,
but the clean, white upper wall
is light and bright.
-This is where the desk was, right?
-[Emilee] Yes.
We knocked out the built-in
and thought,
"We should make this feel
like the dining area."
I love this view 'cause
you can see it from your front door,
right down the center
of a symmetrical fireplace.
[Emilee] That fireplace,
I cannot get over it.
[Shea] Because traditional design
is all symmetry,
the old fireplace felt askew.
By centering the fireplace,
it becomes the anchor of a well-balanced
and distinct dining area.
Thank you! I wanna kiss you.
-You do that!
-I won't.
-[all laughing]
-[Zann] Might get awkward.
-Get ahold of yourself.
-That's awesome.
Well, we've been able to create
three different rooms out of this.
You were able to get a dining room
-and here
-[Emilee] Look at the desk!
[Shea] you have a living room.
-And then, Tetris corner is now
-[Emilee screams]
-a whole new space.
-[Syd] No longer.
[Emilee] Somehow,
she made it feel like us.
Like, it's casual and comfortable.
Just feels like home.
I feel like you gave me
what I wished I always was.
[all laughing]
You saw what I tried to do and were like,
"I see where you're going, let me help."
[Zann] I wish we had some of those plans
we drew up at, like, 3:00 a.m.
because it didn't look anything like this.
-By "we," I mean "you."
-Yeah.
-So
-Sounds like a "we" that I would do.
-"We" did this, when she did this.
-[Emilee] This is all us.
Oh, I'm gonna cry again.
[all laughing]
To have people over,
we only did that in summer.
I can't wait to have another place to
take people when they come to our house.
-Thank you! 
-You're so welcome.
-Dude, stoked for you,.
-It's sweet.
Happy for you guys.
I'm mostly looking forward to, like,
showing that bad boy off right now.
[laughing] It's true!
I might hold an open house. I don't know.
[Shea] Design is so important to me
because it affects the way you feel.
I just love that those rooms
that you design,
you tend to spend more time
with the people that you love.
We want people to fall in love
with where they live,
and that's exactly what Studio McGee
will continue to do,
one home, one room at a time.
[upbeat electronica music playing]