As the hosts of HGTV’s “Property Brothers” and “Buying & Selling” (and other offshoots, including “Brother vs. Brother”), twins Jonathan and Drew Scott, 37 — a contractor and real estate agent, respectively — wave a magic wand to turn the ordinary homes into extraordinary showplaces.
Their growing empire includes a book out next year, and the Scott Living home décor line, available at QVC.com. Since March, the duo have been feverishly working on 25 homes across the Bronx, Westchester County and Connecticut, which will be featured on Property Brothersand Buying & Selling, beginning in 2016.
The Post caught up with the brothers at a project in Tuckahoe, NY, where they shared design and renovation do’s and don’ts along with insights into their aesthetic sensibilities:
When selling a home, do bring in a third party
Drew: Bring in a third party who is emotionally unattached to your home, because everyone is biased about their own home. You need to bring in a real estate professional. Sometimes people say to me, “Oh, you’re too harsh.” Wouldn’t you rather that your real estate professional tells you everything that is wrong with the house before a buyer sees it and walks away?
Don’t focus on your own tastes
Jonathan: When you’re styling your house to sell and when you’re doing a light makeover, it doesn’t matter what you like. It matters what buyers like. So if you don’t like grey walls (the most sale-friendly color) that’s too bad, because if you go in and paint something a weird color, buyers will go in say, “Is this renovated? I can’t tell,” and they’ll walk away.
Expect the unexpected
Drew: You’ve got to be able to roll with the punches. For example, sometimes we can find something in the walls. We can try and plan ahead. but inspections don’t find everything. You can’t say, “Hey, contractor, you’re paying for the $5,000 issue. That’s not realistic.
Don’t spend a fortune on a makeover
Drew: You don’t have to go high-end if you don’t have the budget. You also don’t want to do an entire renovation before you sell it, because you probably won’t recoup all your costs, but finding all the areas that you can spend a little extra is what you need to do.
The most design-inspiring cities
Drew: New Orleans is great for a lot of the old-school charm and character. Whether it’s a Creole (French Colonial), Greek revival or Victorian, it’s a lot of inspiration.
Jonathan: New York City. There are influences from around the globe, a real attention to detail and an extra effort put into standing out.
Most favorite design period
Jonathan: I love the character of Gothic revival, that’s probably my favorite. But as a very collaborative designer with my clients…it’s all about their tastes.
Drew: The Renaissance era really speaks to us. I remember touring the Medici palace in Florence when I was younger and I was entranced by the beauty and elegance of every space.
Historical figure who’s been most influential
Jonathan: Rather than an individual, I’m influenced most by art and design concepts in commercial properties. I may see a material or design element that stands out to me in a resort, hotel or restaurant during my travels and will find a residential application for it.
Drew: There isn’t really one person specifically. I call my design style rustically modern. I like to take traditional or rustic features and fuse it into a more modern design.