After buying his Ormewood home, Dan Bush confidently drew a giant “X” on the wall of the kitchen, promising to remodel the outdated, cramped and dingy space.
Four years later, the kitchen hadn’t changed much. That is, until Bush and his wife, Caroline, were randomly chosen by DIY Network’s Josh Temple for his show “House Crashers.” The family will be featured in Monday night's episode.
Temple, a high-energy handy host based in California, pounced on the unsuspecting couple last spring as they shopped at The Dump in Atlanta.
“I was like, ‘Why is that guy staring at me? And wait, there’s a light behind him and a camera behind him,’” Dan Bush recalls of the ambush.
The couple, who work in Atlanta's film industry, didn’t hesitate when Temple asked if they would turn over the keys of their home in exchange for a new room. Temple, a licensed contractor, briefly considered remodeling their living area, until he saw the kitchen, he said.
“The impact of this kitchen will be huge," Temple said. "And I didn’t come here to Atlanta just to do a living room.”
That’s not to say the homeowners didn’t have fears, said Dan Bush, a filmmaker.
“I was extremely nervous, but I thought if I get new appliances and the wall out – I can finish it [if they don't],” he said. “I said, ‘Just don’t give me a lime kitchen with a stupid back-splash.'”
With the help of Atlanta-based builders Clear Sky Homes, DIY overhauled the Bushes’ kitchen in three days. Under Temple's direction, the crew and homeowners took out the awkward partial wall and laid out a new, open floor plan. They built an island with a new cook-top and constructed a bar from barn wood. Outdated cabinets and counter tops were replaced. . A stainless steel farmhouse sink and stained concrete floors add to the contemporary look.
As with any project compressed into three days, there were a few snags. The old sink had damaged portions of the sub-floor; time prohibited the crew from replacing all of the old plaster walls; the dishwasher broke within days of installation and some of the wiring was incomplete, Bush noted.
However, even with those hang-ups, the homeowners said the new kitchen has transformed the way they use their home.
"It feels bigger and cleaner. It’s my favorite room in the house now. We eat in there, and hang out in there," Dan Bush said. "They inspired me to take matters into my own hands to take what they had done and expand on it."
To that end, the couple have carried the barn wood motif into their pantry and are now tackling a laundry room makeover, he said.
And in a way, that's exactly what host Temple wants.
“This is not a tear-jerker thing. We just try to have fun," Temple said. "We show people how to do it themselves.”
Highlights of DIY projects from the episode:
- How to prepare and pour self-leveling concrete floors
- Easy cosmetic fixes for decrepit walls and ceilings
- Building a kitchen island from cabinetry
- How to make a rustic counter-top from barn wood
TV preview
"House Crashers"
9 p.m. Monday, DIY Network
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