Reprinted with permission from www.redesignrevolution.com

Jonathan Scott is a contractor and designer, and his twin brother, Drew Scott, is a real estate expert. Together, they are the Property Brothers. And now they are competing against each other by coaching two teams that will renovate homes in a nutty new reality competition show: Brother vs. Brother.

Let’s meet the teams:

Team Jonathan

• Francis, an interior designer and contractor
• Inez, a welder
• Mark, an architect
• Shannon, a real estate agent and decorator
• Tiffany “Torche,” a metal artist

Team Drew

• Brett, a real estate agent
• Christy, a home organizer
• David, a landscape architect
• Monica, an interior designer
• Oliver, a space planner

The teams are gathered in front of a 1951 ranch style house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and 1,400 square feet. Jonathan and Drew explain that homes of this type range between $300,000 and $400,000. The teams’ first challenge is to decide what the home is worth after only a five-minute walk-through. The winning team can choose to renovate the house, or pass it on to the other team and take a second home that they have not yet seen.

Let the guestimating begin! Awkward layout, old bathroom, small pool, terrible lighting, ancient kitchen…and the teams have one minute to talk among themselves. Team Jonathan guesses $322k, and Team Drew prices the home at $356k. The actual value of the home is $340, which means Team Jonathan wins the challenge. So what are they going to do? They’re going to stick with what they know and renovate the house. Team Jonathan will have three days and $25k to renovate the house, plus they will get custom kitchen cabinets that do not come out of the budget. Jonathan organizes his crew and they eventually divide up between master suite, kitchen, master bathroom, and laundry area.

Team Drew’s home is a lot like the other home, only it’s a tiny bit smaller and with just one bathroom. The house is valued at only $282k, but because it is a mess, it should be easy to add value. Team Drew decides to divide up tasks amongst kitchen and bathroom, flooring, and the main living area.

After Team Jonathan is smashing the house to bits in a very cathartic demolition, Shannon is petting fabrics and choosing pillows, Francis has the kitchen mapped out, and Torche has the bathroom under control. Team Drew is also smashing tile to bits, and Oliver starts planning the new kitchen. When Drew arrives to check up on his team, he cautions against focusing too much on the kitchen at the expense of the rest of the house.

On the second day, Team Jonathan’s crew finds all of the hidden problems in the house including extra doors, damaged parquet floors, and a terrible layout for the laundry room. Although he likes his team’s ideas, Jonathan worries that they won’t pull it together in time. Meanwhile, Team Drew’s crew is calm and efficient. They are updating the fireplace, renovating the kitchen, and for some reason laying peel-and-stick tile in the bathroom. Drew reminds his team that it’s all about increasing value, so hopefully someone will rethink the bathroom floors.

It’s the final day and Jonathan is worried about the still-unfinished kitchen and the lack of progress in the master bedroom. To light a fire under their butts, he brings Shannon over to see the other house. She sees that Team Drew’s kitchen and bath is still completely gutted, so the whole “scared straight” thing may have just backfired on Jonathan. Then, Monica from Team Drew gets to see Team Jonathan’s house. She is impressed with the bathroom and the smart changes in the rest of the space.

With only six hours left, Brett dives into the bathroom and Team Jonathan is in total freak-out mode…except for Shannon, who is shopping for carpet tiles to spruce up a room the team wasn’t even planning on renovating. Then, Francis unveils the brightest chartreuse kitchen paint and everyone but Francis makes retching noises.

Time’s up, and in walks the real estate expert. First up is Team Jonathan.

Oh my gosh, that kitchen wall color is overwhelmingly ugly. But the rest of the kitchen is looking sharp with stainless steel appliances, new cabinets, a breakfast bar, and a tile backsplash. Plus, there’s a walk-in pantry where the laundry room used to be, and the laundry room has been tucked into a closet where it belongs. The bathroom is also a massive improvement with a slick space-saving design and top-quality craftsmanship. The master bedroom looks nice enough, but the real estate expert calls it “builder grade.”

Team Drew’s home gives a good first impression with a new tile fireplace and properly-sized dining table. The galley kitchen has been dramatically updated, and the master bathroom has been upgraded with a new vanity and a retiled bathtub. But, the team stuck with the peel-and-stick floor tiles, so the bathroom renovations are not up to snuff.

Let’s hear what the real estate expert thinks. Team Jonathan is up first. The new kitchen added the most value despite the atrocious paint color, and the new pantry also gave the house a jolt of value. Overall, the real estate expert would list the house for $380k, which means the team added $40k of value with a $25k budget.

Next is Team Drew. Their new kitchen also added a chunk of change to the home, and the bathroom renovations also helped to increase the value. With only a $12k budget, Team Drew was able to increase the home’s value from $282k to $332k, which is $50k and enough to beat Team Jonathan.

Jonathan puts Francis on the chopping block because his kitchen renovation was one of the reasons the team lost. Shannon is also up for elimination because she spent too much time on too many tasks that did not increase the value of the home. Jonathan decides to cut Shannon and keep Francis. Now Team Jonathan is a team of four, which makes their job even harder. After the team leaves, Drew arrives to gloat.

Next week, the teams have 48 hours to renovate.