Buying a home is hard enough. When you factor in the headache of flipping a fixer-upper instead of going with a new construction, oof, “hard” transforms into “nightmare” real fast. That’s the driving concept behind HGTV’s mega-hit mainstay Property Brothers, a show that whittles down the migraine-y, months-long task of turning a rundown abode into a dream pad into one comfortably formulaic hour of breezy and bingeable TV.
Hulu has 9 whole seasons of the show in its library, meaning you can plow through dozens of episodes featuring the Scott brothers buying and tricking out home after home. If you do that, though, you will quickly become aware of the blueprint behind every installment. The couple never wants a fixer-upper, he wants this and she wants that, Drew relishes in Jonathan doing all the manual labor–it’s refreshingly repetitive, just like these shows should be. There is, however, one moment that stands above all the rest, the only truly cringe-y bit of reality that Property Brothers lets slip into the otherwise gentle viewing experience. At one point in almost every episode, the couple gets upset.
They can get upset for a number of reasons, ranging from Jonathan knocking their lofty renovation expectations back to reality or Jonathan flat-out telling them no, they cannot have this random, last-minute, mad expensive add-on that they didn’t mention for the first five weeks of construction. The upset feels come in many forms, too. Sometimes it’s just a disappointed to-camera confessional, but other times the homeowners, uh, don’t exactly know how to filter their thoughts for cable TV. It’s understandable, too, because flipping a house is stressful enough, let alone flipping it on HGTV while producers are surely nudging you to ask for kooky things just to make “good television.”
What seems like a must-have in the moment or a dealbreaker design choice always always always turns out all right in the end (that’s why it’s comforting!). But before the smiles and brightly lit montage of a gorgeous flipped house plays out, the couples go through an emotional gauntlet. The list of what has made couples on Property Brothers deeply upset is as diverse as it is hilarious–and here’s that list.
1
When some windows were larger than other windows
2
When they had to choose between garage space and a laundry room
3
When he needed surround sound, a skylight, and room for a million appliances
4
When they needed four more inches of ceiling clearance
5
When she needed a huge, huge dining table
6
When they needed 42" tall counters
7
When they needed a fourth bedroom
8
When she hated Jonathan's choice of fixtures
9
When they didn't get double ovens
10
When she needed a piece of art displayed
11
When they needed French doors because their friends had them
12
When he needed more doors, period
13
When she wanted a giant slab of quartz on the fireplace
14
When she found out they had to totally replace the fireplace
15
When they found out they were stuck with a wood burning fireplace
16
When they found out they were only sent 4 1/2" wide hardwood planks
17
When she surprised Jonathan with new flooring
18
When she found out they had to do wall-to-wall carpet
19
When they didn't get a matte finish on their floor
20
When she found out they couldn't remove a step
21
When they found out they didn't have enough wide oak floor slats
22
When they asked for in-floor heating out of nowhere
23
When not enough progress had been made
24
When she thought they'd be further along
25
When she heard the original brick had to go
26
When she called Jonathan's choice of bricks "rash"-y
27
When her husband hated on her wallpaper choice
28
When her husband installed the drawer pulls
29
When the counter granite wasn't orange enough
30
When the dining room and kitchen were 22 steps apart
31
When she needed an all-white kitchen
32
When she really, really needed an all-white kitchen
33
When they found out they were getting a pass-through instead of an open concept
34
When they found out about a beam in their open concept
35
When they found out about a post in their open concept
36
When he found out about a bulkhead in his open concept
37
When they found out about multiple bulkheads in their open concept
38
When they found out about a column in their open concept
39
When she found out about a wall in her open concept