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- The four couples competing to win the home they will totally renovate are introduced. They are: engaged Disa and Russell, who want this to be the home in which they will start their married life; daughter and father Crystal and Ray, the latter who wants to help his daughter and her boyfriend start their life as a couple; married Nina and PJ, who want the house to be a home that their extended family, most specifically Nina's mother, can feel secure in; and life partners Charlotte and Sean, who want to be able to tell their future children and grandchildren how they came about their house. The couples size each other up, as well as the four tear down houses. They are given a quick challenge to decide which couple will be working on which house. They are thrown into the fire when they learn their first renovation will be the living room, for which they are given a $7,000 budget and a seventy-two hour time frame to complete. The team whose living room renovation is deemed the best by the judges will win a train trip to Jasper, and accommodation at the Jasper Park Lodge. They all have the challenge of transforming what was built in the mid-twentieth century into current day sensibilities. One couple runs into some early difficulties in doing structural work before getting the OK from their contractor. The couples are excited to show the judges what they are trying to accomplish in their home. They will also get a good idea of what will impress the judges in the future as they hear the evaluations.
- The next room to be renovated is the kitchen and dining area, with a budget of $12,000 and seventy-two hours to complete it. The winning couple will be awarded cooking lessons and a trip to Paris. As three of the four couples have already torn down the wall between the living room and the kitchen, they are wanting to tie the two rooms together in look and feel. However, they may have some challenges in doing so as they may not be able to control one of the main aspects of the room. Crystal and Ray do not have the living room tie-in room constraint as they were the one couple who did not tear down the adjoining wall. Not tearing down that wall may give them problems regardless because of the long and narrow space within which they have to work. One couple has a major disagreement with their contractor, which may prove to be costly. Although always an important factor, functionality will be a more important evaluation factor than usual.
- The teams are given the unusual challenge of transforming whatever the smallest bedroom in their house is into anything but a bedroom. They have forty-eight hours and a $4,000 budget to complete the challenge, with the winner receiving a one-week Caribbean cruise for their efforts. Charlotte and Sean decide on a media room, after discussion Disa and Russell decide on a combined office and reading room, Crystal and Ray also decide on an office, and after discussion Nina and PJ decide on a kids play room, more specifically a ball pit and a climbing wall. Wanting to buck the trend thus far, Cameron issues a challenge for the men, which affects some teams more than others. With hours left, Jeremy inspects each house and has concerns with each. Ultimately the judges choose what they consider to be the most complete room, functionally and aesthetically, as the winner.
- The couples are excited by their challenge room this week - the master bedroom - if only because it means they will no longer have to sleep on the floor on air mattresses after it is completed. The things they will not have to shop for are the mattress and box-spring, which are provided for them. They have a $4,000 budget and twenty-four hours to complete the renovation, with the winning team receiving a spa getaway to Kelowna. Charlotte and Sean are aiming for a calm west coast styled oasis. Disa and Russell are continuing their Scandinavian theme, with their major piece being a wall to wall and floor to ceiling wood headboard. Crystal and Ray are going for sophistication, and for the room to stand out from the other rooms in the house. Nina and PJ are going for function and simplicity with glamor, with their featured item being a wallpapered headboard that will extend onto the ceiling over the bed. The twist Cameron throws at them is that they must incorporate four items, two from two different groups of knick knacks with one person from each couple going to a different group of items, and choosing without communicating to their partner. As the twenty-four hours counts down, the questions are whether the bigger projects, such as Disa and Russell's wood wall which requires over nine hundred pieces of wood to be cut, or the items which some couples ignored, such as Charlotte and Sean's meringue ceiling or Crystal and Ray's floor, will come back to bite them in the end.
- With their last few challenges having such tight time restrictions, the competitors are happy to learn that they have seventy-two hours to complete their bathroom renovation, which arguably is one of the more difficult rooms in the house to do. The winning team will receive one year's free house cleaning services. Charlotte and Sean want to continue their west coast modern theme with a surf feel. Disa and Russell want to do whatever they can to make what is probably the smallest of the four bathrooms seem larger. Feeling the criticism from the judges in the past, Crystal and Ray are going to scale back their spa inspired design, with an existing claw foot tub one of the benefits already there. And Nina and PJ want to create a zen feel, which they may not be feeling themselves as they work on the reno as they have decided to rearrange the room fixtures. With the renovations well underway, Cameron throws them what may be their biggest challenge to date: they will have to complete one other room renovation within their remaining time, namely the laundry room. Throughout the process, Disa and Russell run into two major issues which could throw them out of the running. The other couples may see Disa and Russell's problems as karma for Russell's actions regarding communal tools. In the end, a decision by one team for function over style and a decision by another team for style over function may not sit well in the eyes of the judges.
- The teams tackle the last room in the house, the second bedroom, as their next challenge. They have a $4,000 budget and twenty-four hours to complete the renovation. They are forced to use an item "found" from among a select number of items hidden in an antique store as the inspiration for the room. That item need not necessarily be used itself in the room, and the inspiration need not be literal. Charlotte and Sean, who have a movie director megaphone, decide on the metal and leather of the item as their inspiration for a movie glamor theme. Disa and Russell, who have a red toy car, decide on a travel theme, with a world map with their own travels marked as a focal wall. Crystal and Ray, who have a trumpet, go personal with a British military theme, based on photographs of Ray's grandfather, a trumpeter with the British military during WWI. Nina and PJ, who have a pair of crocodile cowboy boots, design a jungle themed room for their children. The evaluation of the judges is done in part on expectation, as the description of the rooms prior to the renovation often does not translate into what the judges were expecting as the end product. Another evaluation factor ends up being effort in relation to time.
- With all the rooms inside of the house renovated, the competitors are next asked to turn their attention to the outside. They have ninety-six hours and a $15,000 budget to transform the exterior of their house, the team winning this challenge who are awarded what most see as the best prize so far: $5,000 worth of outdoor recreational equipment and a trip for two to Japan to use at least the new skis. As the exterior includes the roof, they are all given lessons in roof safety, which additionally freaks some of the already freaked competitors. Unlike the previous renovations, these ones are done in full view of the other competitors, who may try figuratively to keep up with the Joneses. And a move by one competitor leads to bad feelings between neighbors.
- With their houses now complete, the four teams assess not only what they've done with their renovations but also what they think of the other three teams and their completed houses. Disa and Russell are squarely in the lead with three out of seven weekly wins and being on a roll, but them winning the house is not a guarantee as they all enter into what they learn is the final challenge: to redo in twenty-four hours what Jeremy and Cheryl see as the weakest renovation in their house. Charlotte and Sean are asked to redo their spare bedroom, the issues being to strip what is now painted over wallpaper, place something on an empty wall, and seal the headboard. Disa and Russell are asked to redo their living room, their issues being some finishes, including changing what is currently the high gloss paint job, and smoothing out the ceiling. Crystal and Ray are asked to redo their kitchen, basically finishing what they did not finish the first time around, including completing the tiling and grouting, installing some shelving and having a family photograph feature wall. Nina and PJ may have the biggest challenge in tying the two components of their great room together into one cohesive unit, those two rooms being the kitchen and living room, with the kitchen cabinet color, which was not their first choice, largely dictating what color scheme they can choose. The final twist in determining the winner is the third judge who will have an equal vote: the public, who Cameron takes through the four houses together so that each public voter sees the same thing at the same time, who do not have the history with the renovations that Jeremy and Cheryl have, but who are given "before" photographs to see from where the transformations began.
- The four couples competing to win the home they will totally renovate are introduced. They are: best buddies Dom and Michael, who each have parental issues in wanting to compete and win; engaged Tyler and Courtney, who see winning the house a jump-start both to professional and personal aspirations; twenty year married Kim and Harry, who see winning the house for their children justification for being away from them for the first time in their lives for this competition; and mother and son Shelley and Alex, the former who sees the house as one less thing for Alex to worry about as he starts his contracting career. The couples size each other up, as well as the four tear down houses. They are given a quick challenge to decide which couple will be working on which house. After they learn that their first renovation will be the living room, for which they are given a seventy-two hour time frame to complete, and decide what they are going to do as the renovation of this specific space, they are thrown for a loop in learning that the house they chose may not be the one in which they will be working. The team whose living room renovation is deemed the best by the judges will win a trip to Tahiti. The teams believe that a combination of good workmanship and good design will win. However, as their freshman project, they will find that time management and how to deal with unexpected problems may ultimately be just as important.
- The next room to be renovated is the kitchen, with a seventy-two hours completion deadline. The winning couple will be awarded a trip to Quebec City and a stay at the luxurious ice hotel. Although each couple has an idea of what color scheme they will use in the room, they are dictated by their limited choice of cabinets, they only having one of four choices picking in order of winning a quick challenge. Most of the couples focus on the judges' stated want of bold design ideas. One couple may sacrifice workmanship for installation of those ideas. Another two couples decide that they will personalize their kitchens to their own situations, one which may be a little too outside the box. And what may be deemed as bold by a couple may not be seen the same by the judges, who may equate that boldness with not being functional.
- The next challenge the teams are given is transforming whatever the third bedroom in their house is into anything but a bedroom. They have twenty-four hours to complete the challenge, with the winner receiving a lifetime supply of 3M products and $5,000, that cash prize being the biggest incentive thus far as many of the couples are just starting out their lives. They have the added challenge of being given one Toronto street from which they must provide photographic evidence of inspiration for their room. Given Kensington Street, Alex and Shelley use the graffiti and hydro poles as inspiration for their office, which will be used for Alex's contracting business. Given Yonge Street, Courtney and Tyler use the bicycles and the construction cranes as accents for what will be their office. Given Bay Street, Dom and Michael use the hard skyline as inspiration for their electronic music (i.e. nightclub feel) room, complete with an urban nightscape mural painted by Michael. Given Queen Street West, Kim and Harry use the "granola kitsch" as inspiration for their combined kids' art center/adult meditation room. Not yet having won a challenge, Alex and Shelley and Courtney and Tyler believe they need to change tactics to come out on top, while Kim and Harry feel the need to overcome the last disaster of not completing their room by being more meticulous in their workmanship. All four teams run with the mantra of boldness in this room. Ultimately the judges choose what they consider to be the most complete room, functionally, technically and aesthetically, as the winner.
- With three projects completed and three different winners, Courtney and Tyler are feeling dejected as the only couple not only not yet having won but not having even cracked the top two in any project, while Shelley and Alex are feeling squarely in the lead not yet having been out of the top two. The next challenge, which they have forty-eight hours to complete with the winning couple being awarded a resort vacation to Cuba, is the master bedroom, about which the couples are excited if only because it means they will have a real bed to sleep on after this challenge is completed. The one item that each couple must include within the room is a feature wall created solely using tape and paint. Each couple decides to use that feature wall as the item on which they will spend the most time, and as the jumping off point of inspiration for their room. While staying true to what they like design-wise, each couple also has the judges in mind in what they think will impress them. Dom and Michael go two steps further in wooing one specific judge. In the evaluation, the judges ultimately must decide between a well designed and executed room that is slightly overproduced, to another extremely well designed and executed room with one large and thus glaring item, abhorrent to the judges.
- At the half way point in the competition, the four couples assess where they think they are in the pack. Their next challenge is the smallest room in the house, the bathroom. Despite its size, they will have seventy-two hours to complete the work, although two couples will not have to do the demolition of their room as the winners of a plumbing related challenge, the losing two couples who are tasked with that work while the two winning couples spend that time being pampered at a day spa. Regardless, some of the winners don't feel their victory was all positive. The winners of the room challenge itself win a double prize of a Dyson vacuum and a trip to Las Vegas. While most of the couples stay true to their vision, Dom and Michael believe they have to move away from the color scheme they have used in most of the other rooms thus far based on comments by the judges, that color, gray, which they would have chosen again if it was purely up to them, while Kim and Harry attempt the virtually impossible by trying to make their bathroom bigger, or at least design the space so that it feels bigger. During the process, a medical issue derails one couple, who are down in manpower by half for much of the competition. Beyond that issue, each couple has a major issue with their completed room, two who end up breaking major glass items integral to their design, one who miscalculated the amount of tile required to complete the room as envisioned, and another needing to cut corners due to biting off more than they could chew. The winners may be the couple who could overcome their issue the best.
- Going into the next challenge, each couple has a specific feeling largely based on the result of the last challenge: Tyler and Courtney, yet winless, question why they even entered the competition; Dom and Michael feel cheated again as they felt their bathroom was the best; and Harry and Kim and Shelley and Alex don't want to see the other couple win the next challenge as that win would place them squarely in the lead. That next challenge is the guest bedroom, which they have twenty-four hours to complete, the winner receiving a $5,000 gift certificate to the Brick. The one mandatory feature for the room is a feature ceiling done using paint, which each couple uses as the springboard for their design concept. The communal design den ends up being a place of potential conflict as each couple believes it is the locale where their design can be "stolen" by their competitors. The couples are given a one hour unexpected respite, which they ultimately believe a rejuvenating factor more than stealing from their already limited time. In the end, one couple is faulted for non-functionality, while another faulted for their theme being too gimmicky. Between the top two, the winner may be the couple who meets the purpose of the room the best.
- Courtney and Tyler feel like they're back in the game with their first win last week, while the other couples feel the judges picked the wrong winning house, especially Dom and Michael who felt they should have won. Their final challenge is the exterior of the house, which they have ninety-six hours to complete, with the winning couple being awarded an excursion to the Florida Everglades. Although they will choose the materials, the couples will not be doing the roofing due to the specialized nature of the job. During this competition, the couples are increasingly protective of their design choices, which may be more difficult to keep secret if only because of the exposed nature of the work being done. As the teams start removing the existing siding, Courtney and Tyler find that they have an extra layer of work, while Dom and Michael want to utilize what is already there. At the one day mark, Dave throws the teams for a loop when he announces that they must also complete front yard landscaping within the time allotted. As the work progresses, the teams start to assess what they are doing against the others. The final eighteen hours may prove to be difficult due to Mother Nature. And as judgment comes, one team provides some criticisms to the judges' comments which may factor into the final evaluation. All the teams are itching to win this competition not only because the exterior is the first thing that the voters will see, but Courtney and Tyler and Dom and Michael feel that a win would put them in step with the current leaders and Shelley and Alex and Kim and Harry feel that a win would put them squarely in the lead.
- Going into the last challenge, Dom and Michael continue to vent publicly about what they feel has not only been unfair criticisms by the judges week after week, but also incorrect judgments week after week where they believe they should have won. That last challenge, which the teams have forty-eight hours to complete, is to correct/change anything they want in their house before the final judgment, where the public will be invited into their homes. Colin and Justin will have one vote apiece, and the collective public will have the third vote, the team with the majority of votes winning their house and a plot of land on which to put it. Most of the teams decide to focus on the comments provided by the judges in the week to week competitions, primarily on those items which were deemed to be unfinished in that first go 'round. Kim and Harry have the longest list of items that they will be tackling which may be problematic if projects are in mid-stream by the deadline. Through the forty-eight hours, the couples reminisce about the eight weeks of the competition, especially memories from those rooms on which they are working. While Colin and Justin do one final walk through the houses and provide their comments to the cameras after those forty-eight hours, the public is also is invited in, each space having its fans and detractors. Dave, Colin and Justin, the four couples, and their family and friends then convene in front of the construction site for Dave to announce the winner of their home.