The Property Brothers Reveal Where Extra Space Is Hiding in a House

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“Property Brothers: Forever Home” has returned for Season 4—and while this show has spotlighted plenty of renovations to accommodate growing families, this season premiere challenges Drew and Jonathan Scott to find space to fit four kids who’ve arrived all at once!

In the episode “Kevin and Jammie,” we meet a couple who have recently adopted three boys under age 5, as well as their baby sister. And while these new parents love their house in Las Vegas, they’d bought it for a family of two, not a family of six. Now, with four kids running around the house, the couple are realizing that their space is too tight.

Jammie and Kevin want to turn their small home into the perfect forever home for their little ones, and that definitely involves carving out more space. However, with a modest renovation budget of $115,000, the Scott brothers can’t build an addition, so they’ll have to get creative.

Read on to find out how the Scotts make the existing square footage count, which might give you a few new ideas on how to make the most of your own space.

Sacrifice high ceilings for more floor space

This house had a high ceiling, but the space was better used as a bedroom.

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One of the biggest problems with this house is that it doesn’t have quite enough bedroom space for all six family members.

Two of Jammie and Kevin’s sons share one small bedroom, and they are quickly outgrowing it.

So, Drew and Jonathan come up with an innovative idea: extend the bedroom into the tall, open space above the entryway. While a high ceiling is always impressive, the Scott brothers know it’s not a necessity. So they build the bedroom out, closing up the tall entryway.

This entryway has a lower ceiling but it still looks great.

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When the work is done, the entryway still looks lovely.

After welcoming Jammie and Kevin into their newly renovated home, Jonathan points out that the entryway never needed that high celling.

“Can I point out something beautiful? You didn’t even notice nor miss the double-height entry when you came in,” he says.

This bedroom is now double its original size.

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A kitchen island can add flow to a floor plan

With a peninsula cutting off the room, this kitchen seemed small.

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While Kevin and Jammie’s kitchen and living space isn’t unusually small, it’s laid out poorly, which makes the space feel cramped.

There’s a narrow doorway leading from the dining space to the kitchen, and a peninsula which seems to cut the room in half. The brothers decide to take down the kitchen wall to open up the entryway and replace the awkward peninsula with an island with seating.

With an island, this kitchen seems much wider.

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When the kitchen is finished, the transformation is incredible. The island makes the space feel much larger. Plus, Drew and Jonathan update the kitchen with a white countertop and a modern blue backsplash.

Borrow from the living room to build a home office

This office can be used by both kids and adults.

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Sometimes Kevin and Jammie work from home, but with four kids in the house, they admit that it can be hard to find a quiet space to work. Plus, in this small house, it’s hard for these kids to find a place to do homework.

Drew and Jonathan realize that this family needs a dedicated office space, but they know that they can’t turn a bedroom into an office, nor do they have the budget for an addition. So the brothers borrow space from the living room, since this space didn’t need to be as large as it was.

To make this new office feel extra special, Jonathan decorates the space with a stylish blue accent wall and a countertop desk that stretches across two walls.

“Having the continuous countertop all the way around is great, especially for kids because then you’ve got space to spread out,” Jonathan points out.

Sleek furniture provides seating without hogging space

This living room seemed crowded.

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While Kevin and Jammie’s living room is a good size, the bulky L-shape couch makes it feel much smaller than it is.

“So you’ve got tons of seating, which is great,” Jonathan says, “but then you have no flow.”

The Scott brothers decide to replace the cumbersome couch with a similar, but sleeker, sofa. This new L-shape couch has just as many seats as the old one, but the design is simpler, taking up less space in the room.

With a different couch, this living room looks much larger.

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When Kevin and Jammie finally see the new living room, they think the change was a good choice.

“It feels warm, it feels inviting, it doesn’t look all cluttered,” Jammie says. “I love it.”

Put empty wall space to use

The Scott brothers know that the kids will appreciate having their own chalkboards.

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Jammie and Kevin explain that they want their kitchen to be kid-friendly. So, the Scotts decide to make this space extra special by adding fun chalkboards and corkboards to one empty wall. They know that this will be a perfect spot for the kids to draw or leave notes.

“It’s a great way to make this purposeful,” Jonathan says. “Otherwise it would just be a painted wall and serve no purpose at all.”

The chalkboards and corkboards are a small, inexpensive addition, but they give the kitchen extra purpose, making the space more functional, which makes the home feel larger, too.

Do the Scott brothers deliver?

With a maximum budget of $115,000, the brothers tell Jammie and Kevin that they can do the whole renovation for just $110,000. Drew and Jonathan complete the project in just five weeks, and they finish right on budget.

With $5,000 left over from their reno budget, Kevin and Jammie spend $4,000 on a new backyard play structure for the kids.

Drew and Jonathan do a beautiful job making this home feel larger, and in the end, Kevin and Jammie have a forever home where their family of six can comfortably live.

The post The Property Brothers Reveal Where Extra Space Is Hiding in a House appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.