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00:00What makes a building a home?
00:05Or maybe the better question is, who?
00:10I'm Vern Yip, and I'm traveling across the country to follow the people who are stretching
00:15the definition of home to its limits.
00:17So nice to meet you.
00:19From abandoned churches and schools to defunct firehouses and factories, brave builders are
00:25giving these architectural relics new life by turning them into one-of-a-kind family
00:30homes.
00:31I'm fascinated by the type of people who have taken on these risks.
00:35Oh my gosh.
00:37Who are they?
00:38What makes them tick?
00:39And can they make their larger-than-average dreams a reality?
00:43As a designer myself, I'm eager to learn and hopefully help them.
00:47This is where I have a little bit of a problem as they turn these unconventional spaces into
00:52their forever homes.
00:54This is Home Reimagined.
01:11Hidden among the dense forests of maple and pine, Salem, New York is a classic American
01:17small town that's home to three covered bridges, a couple of dairy farms, and one not-so-busy
01:23intersection.
01:24Salem's even got this really cute old-fashioned main street that looks like it's been plucked
01:30right out of a storybook.
01:32There's something about it that just feels kind of magical.
01:35It's the type of place where neighbors don't just lend you a hand, they shovel your whole
01:40driveway.
01:42This is where I'm heading to meet my new friends, John and Dina, who fell in love with this place
01:48and are about to dive headfirst into a very unique renovation.
01:53They've purchased and plan to live in an old garment factory built in the 1800s.
01:59It's 14,000 square feet and I cannot wait to hear how they plan to turn this industrial
02:04structure into a home of their own.
02:13This place is so cool.
02:16I'm blown away.
02:18It's got so much character.
02:20You can instantly feel the years of history as soon as you walk up to the building.
02:25Look at that beautiful stonework and the amazing brick.
02:28What a gem.
02:29It's remarkable, the work that's gone into it.
02:32It's no wonder it stood all these years.
02:34Hey, Byron.
02:35Hey, how are you guys?
02:36Great.
02:37What do you think?
02:38This place is huge and so beautiful.
02:41Why don't you guys come on down?
02:42I want to talk to you about it.
02:43All right.
02:44Sounds great.
02:45I'm Dina.
02:46I'm John.
02:47When we met, we were 16 years old and we've been together for 20 years now, so longer than
02:52we haven't been.
02:53After we graduated from college, we found ourselves in Denver, Colorado.
02:56Dina and I started a company called New Color Goods.
03:00We design and build hardwood furniture.
03:03Heading into this renovation, I think we're really excited to make a lot of pieces that we've
03:06been wanting to make for ourselves.
03:08And I think that they'll really make our home a special place.
03:11We built a lot of furniture, but never a house.
03:14And we plan to do a lot of the work ourselves.
03:16It's a little daunting to convert a factory into a home, but we love to learn and we're up
03:21for the challenge.
03:22So nice to meet you.
03:23Nice to meet you.
03:24Oh my gosh.
03:25Hey.
03:26Nice to meet you.
03:27This place is truly, truly stunning.
03:29We love it.
03:30Yeah.
03:31We feel pretty lucky to have it.
03:32It has so many of the original parts, like the original stone and the brick and the windows.
03:37It's definitely what drew us in as well.
03:39We love all the beautiful original building materials, which came from Rutland, Vermont
03:43on a train here.
03:44You can't even build a building like this today.
03:47It's just not even feasible.
03:49Yeah.
03:50Now we feel really lucky.
03:51This part of the building was built in the mid-1800s.
03:54It was originally the Salem Steamworks and powered a grist mill that made flour for the town.
03:59This part of the building, where our house is going to be, was built in 1899.
04:03It was originally the Manhattan Shirt Company, so they made men's dress shirts.
04:07And then it was the pajama factory.
04:09With several different versions of garment factories and eventually a ski company as well.
04:14And then a local family bought it after it went up to the bank for back taxes and they kind of just held it for the last 25 years.
04:20This is not the usual home purchase that people make, right?
04:24People buy houses all the time, but they don't buy thousands of square feet of factory space.
04:29So how did this even happen?
04:31We grew up in the area and then we moved out west for 11 years.
04:34So we were back here visiting in 2019, drove by this building, which we were reminded of from years ago.
04:41We worked at the potato farm up the street.
04:42We used to pass by this.
04:44It wasn't on the market, but we inquired about it from the owners and they were willing to let it go.
04:50We offered $50,000 and they accepted.
04:53Yeah.
04:54No.
04:55Are you serious?
04:56We feel so lucky.
04:57So lucky.
04:58A lot of offers were made on the building in years past, but they liked our story and what we wanted to do and bring back to the town.
05:05So they chose us.
05:06I guess there's also going to be challenges too, because when you take on something that wasn't intended to be a home, you've got to deal with some stuff that is unusual.
05:17Like there's a giant smokestack.
05:19What is that?
05:20Like a whistle?
05:21Or what is that?
05:22It is.
05:23It was at one time, I believe the fire whistle for the town.
05:26You're already in the building, right?
05:27Yes.
05:28We did some first floor renovations, brought our tools in last December.
05:32The floor was rotted and falling in, so we had to backfill that.
05:36So you're already really intimate with the building, which is great.
05:39For sure, yeah.
05:40It feels less and less intimidating the more we spend time in it.
05:44And no ghosts yet.
05:45No ghosts.
05:46As far as we know.
05:47Oh my gosh.
05:48My toes are basically dead.
05:50So let's go inside.
05:51I need to warm up.
05:52Sounds great.
05:55So because we've never attempted a home renovation, we're going to tackle it in phases.
06:00We've rebuilt the first floor as our woodworking shop.
06:03The second floor will eventually become an event space that we can rent out and share with the community.
06:07But first, we have to convert the third floor into our new home.
06:10We've got a budget of $100,000 and we really can't afford any missteps.
06:14So we're really happy to collaborate with Vern on this.
06:17Oh my gosh.
06:23This is stunning.
06:27I can tell why John and Dina fell in love with this building.
06:30I mean, it's got so much warmth, so much character.
06:32It's got the original wood columns that run down the center.
06:35The original beautiful old floors that have so much life and patina to them.
06:39It's a spectacular space.
06:41You couldn't fit one more window in here if you tried.
06:44It's like a tree house up here.
06:45It's so pretty.
06:47So this was actually part of the sewing manufacturing.
06:50I believe everything came in on the first floor.
06:52Second floor was where they would cut all the patterns and then they would sew up here.
06:55I want to see how you're going to use this space.
06:58So if you stand right here.
06:59Okay.
07:00Oh, right here.
07:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:02Okay, perfect.
07:03Here.
07:04John, open the door for us.
07:05Oh, hello.
07:06Here we are, yeah.
07:07Okay.
07:08And then...
07:09Well, first off, thank you for inviting me into their home.
07:11And then there'll be a bit of a hallway here because there'll be bedrooms and office.
07:16But once you reach this point, it's all open.
07:19Currently, the plan is to dedicate half the space as a rental unit, and then the other
07:22half will be our own.
07:23As you enter the front door, you're in a hallway that leads to two bedrooms and an office.
07:28Then as you continue toward the back, it opens up into the common areas, the kitchen,
07:32dining, and living room with a large bathroom off to the side.
07:36Is that an old elevator?
07:37Yeah.
07:38It's terrifying.
07:39To bring our groceries up.
07:40Might be scary to look down at the moment.
07:42Oh my gosh.
07:43I mean, is it working?
07:45Not yet, but we kind of know how to get it back into shape.
07:48And it was a freight elevator, but it's all counterweight driven, and it's got a wooden
07:52cart.
07:53I feel like I need to hold your sleeve to keep you from going in.
07:56Yeah.
07:57So that's not just cool looking.
07:59That's going to function.
08:00Yep.
08:01Tell me about these floors.
08:02You'll see some sewing machine oil here, and this weathering in the floor definitely
08:07tells a story, which we really love.
08:09We kind of just like to lightly sand these, oil them again, and kind of keep it as is,
08:13but clean.
08:14It is one of my absolute favorite things about old homes, the imperfections.
08:20Because it tells a story.
08:22It makes it interesting, right?
08:23Yeah.
08:24Yeah.
08:25But there's some stories that probably don't need to be told.
08:28It's got these long steel pipes that run down the entire length of the building.
08:33It's got fluorescent fixtures.
08:34It's got a drop ceiling.
08:35Those are some of the additions that have been made over the years that they're going
08:38to hopefully want to get rid of.
08:40Just off the main room is the old factory bathroom.
08:44It's got the old stalls and the rusty hand dryer.
08:47I think there's even an ashtray.
08:49It's big enough that they can really do something with it.
08:52Seeing the tall ceiling in the bathroom makes me really curious about what we're going
08:56to find in the main space when we get rid of that drop ceiling.
08:59I want to hear what you're thinking about with the ceilings.
09:02This has a dropped bit of drywall and insulation that was put in in the 80s.
09:07And above this, it's a beautiful piece of truss work.
09:10You know this to be true.
09:11Yeah.
09:12Okay.
09:13Oh, look at that.
09:14You're like, I think that there's beautiful truss work up there.
09:17Do you think we can take a portion of this down?
09:19Yeah, let's do it.
09:20Yeah.
09:21Okay.
09:22All right.
09:23Nice.
09:24Let's do it.
09:25You know, they don't really know what's above that drop ceiling.
09:26And that's an important component because it can impact everything about that space.
09:30The volume, how it feels.
09:31I mean, the sooner they know what's up there, the better.
09:41Uh-oh.
09:42Here we go.
09:43Here we go.
09:44Like a pinata.
09:45Oh.
09:46Oh, yuck.
09:47Let it rain.
09:48Just like I thought.
09:53There's a roof up here.
09:55Oh, my gosh.
09:57That is exciting.
09:59Oh, that's cool.
10:01You got a ton of space up there.
10:03And beautiful old wood.
10:06The ceiling is a big win, but this is an ambitious project.
10:11It's historical.
10:13It's got old materials that they're trying to salvage.
10:15They're trying to turn something that wasn't supposed to be a house into a house.
10:19I mean, there are a lot of challenges in front of them, but I think that they're ideally suited to tackle it.
10:26What are those things that you think we should really consider as we're starting to demo and build the space out?
10:33Number one, this space when you first walk into it is so, so, so special.
10:40So, the minute you start putting up walls, the feeling of the space is going to change.
10:47Before you lay down a wall, maybe put some tape down.
10:50That's the great thing about tape.
10:52You pull it up and you can move it.
10:53Mm.
10:54So, I would say that's going to be important.
10:55Yeah.
10:56I like that.
10:57I want to revisit their floor plan because this is such a great building with incredible architecture.
11:02And I really want their floor plan to be functional, but also celebrate all the great things about this building.
11:08With their current layout, you would enter into a hallway, which isn't a great first impression.
11:13It's something to think about now because once you put up those walls, there's no going back.
11:18At the end of the day, it's their home.
11:20I just want them to feel really confident with their decision moving forward.
11:23The second thing is, because there is a lot of hard surfaces in here, think about things like,
11:30how do we begin to insert materials, fabrics, textures that can begin to absorb sound, but also give you that sense of coziness?
11:39It's an amazing honor to be asked by John and Dina to be part of this project.
11:44I'm going to be along for the ride as a mentor, as a coach.
11:48I'll even be physical labor if they want it.
11:50But really, I want to help them make this the most successful version of their vision possible.
11:57I'm going to leave, but I'll be checking in in about a month.
12:00If you have any questions, feel free to pick up the phone.
12:03I am here to help you in any way, shape, or form.
12:06So exciting, guys.
12:07Thank you so much.
12:09So great to see you.
12:10That's great to meet you.
12:12That's wonderful.
12:13It's salation, I think.
12:14Dust that off a little bit.
12:24So this will be the entry here.
12:27I really hope John and Dina are taking a closer look at their floor plan.
12:31It's the foundation on which every other decision will be built.
12:35So it's really important to get it right.
12:38Before they spend all that time and money, I want to make sure they're highlighting the best parts of that building.
12:44Okay, so...
12:47You walk in.
12:49Yep.
12:50Yep.
12:51And then, I do think, if you imagine a wall being here, the one thing that's kind of scary is just you're blocking off all of this natural light from these windows.
13:00Yeah.
13:01So we're only getting some of this light from these two windows.
13:04Now that we have our floor plan all taped out, we're actually having second thoughts.
13:08We don't like that when you walk into the space, you enter a hallway, which blocks a lot of the natural light and all of the beautiful windows, which we love most about the space.
13:16So we decided to move forward with demo, and we'll revisit the floor plan once we're done. That way we can make a more informed decision.
13:22We've got Greg here today. We're about to start our demo. This is contractor Greg.
13:30You're flying for Dewey.
13:32Yeah.
13:33And we're going to take down some lights, some pipes, and some drywall.
13:38We know our budget can go really fast if we're not careful, so we're calling in some favors from friends and family.
13:44Not only is Greg our contractor, but he's also a dear friend who really understands our vision for the space.
13:50So we're glad to have him on board.
13:52All right, so we're about to move some of these old steam pipes. They used to heat the building.
13:58They're super antiquated, don't really work well, and we're going to update them with a modern HVAC system.
14:03Introducing the Danger Boys!
14:07With all of that out of the way, we are finally ready to remove the drop ceiling and uncover that awesome truss work.
14:23Our good friend Preston even came all the way out from Colorado to spend a vacation removing drywall with us.
14:33We're making some headway. Huge mess, but it's amazing. It really opens the space up a ton.
14:43Even our parents came down to help us out.
14:45So I'm on scaffolding with Deena's mom, Penny.
14:48And we're using these tools and we're clipping all these little screw heads that are coming up through the decking of the roof so that we can paint it.
14:56And it looks beautiful. Yes!
15:00Now that that's finished, we're ready to start building.
15:07The weather's warmed up, which is great because we're ready to put on a new roof.
15:11Like many aspects of this project, the roof is not typical.
15:14It's an industrial grade rubber roof that comes in large sheets.
15:18It's one of the most important things that we need to do to protect this building.
15:21One of the huge benefits of installing this kind of roof is that we can insulate on top of it,
15:27which means that we can keep that beautiful ceiling exposed.
15:30So what are you finding up there, Tony?
15:32Four generations of roofing. Three old built up roofs and one single ply roof.
15:38We did come across an old steam whistle up there that I think should be removed.
15:42It's pretty well deteriorated.
15:43If we can get it down and take a look at it and see if it's something that we can recondition
15:46or potentially use for something else, that'd be fantastic.
15:54Watch your noggin.
15:59Look at this.
16:00Wow. That's so cool.
16:02Yeah.
16:03Definitely rotten on the bottom.
16:05I don't think it would have actually functioned if we tried to hook it all up.
16:08Yeah, I know. With all this rust.
16:09Elsie, our neighbor, said that her house would rumble when this thing would go off.
16:14I think our first choice would be to try and get this working again.
16:17Right.
16:18But I just don't even know who we would call.
16:20What do you think it sounded like?
16:22Mmm.
16:25Maybe something like...
16:39Hi, Vern.
16:40How are you guys?
16:41Good. How have you been?
16:42Good.
16:43We've made a lot of progress.
16:45We pulled back everything on the ceiling.
16:47So now we have this spectacular kind of loft feeling ceiling.
16:51Oh, wow.
16:52It looks so good, you guys.
16:55We also took your advice and then we spent an afternoon taping out the space to make sure
16:59that we were getting the feeling right.
17:01And, yeah, we did end up changing our floor plans.
17:05So what we decided to do is kind of flip the layout.
17:08We moved one bedroom and office towards the back.
17:12And now we have the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room at the center of the home.
17:16This eliminates the hallway at the entry and allows your first impression to be the dramatic tall ceilings and the beautiful repetition of windows.
17:24It makes a statement right when you walk in.
17:26I'm so glad that you guys stayed open.
17:29I'm going to come back when you have walls up because that way we can really make good use of our time.
17:34That sounds great.
17:35Wonderful.
17:36I'm excited.
17:37Yeah.
17:38Good luck with everything.
17:39Thanks, Vern.
17:40Bye.
17:41On our property, there's one main building that was built in 1899.
17:46And there are two outbuildings that need a lot of love.
17:49And they were built about 40 years earlier and are in pretty tough shape.
17:53Let's have a look.
17:54Recently, we did discover openings in one of the floors of those buildings.
17:59We poked our head in and think there's some treasures, so we're going to investigate.
18:03Are you ready?
18:04Yeah, I'll hang out up here.
18:05Okay.
18:06You can hoist all the treasures up towards me.
18:08I can't wait.
18:10Okay.
18:11Hopefully, there are things we can reuse and incorporate into our new space.
18:14It was nice knowing you.
18:19It's damp and it's dark, and there are just piles of things kind of in the dirt.
18:24It's almost like workers 100 years ago were using this as a dumping ground for broken equipment.
18:29How much junk do you want?
18:30All of it.
18:31Don't call it junk.
18:32Oh, my gosh.
18:34There appears to be an endless supply of busted sewing machine parts and pieces of rusted metal from who knows what.
18:39Oh, my gosh.
18:40I love the scale and the shape of those.
18:44They're a little industrial, but I think we can make them work with, like, a little fusion of new and old.
18:48Yeah.
18:49Do some milk glass globes on the underside.
18:52Yeah.
18:53So cool.
18:54Oh, that's really cool.
18:55There are three different styles of lampshades, and one I'm particularly interested in.
19:02That's huge.
19:03It's really neat, and I really hope we can turn them into new lights for our space.
19:07These are really cute.
19:08You might not have to do much shopping for lighting.
19:14It sounds like things have been going really well at the factory.
19:19On the outside, the building has the first new roof it's seen in decades.
19:23Also, summer has arrived, so their landscaping is coming back to life.
19:28But I think it's the work on the inside that's been keeping them up at night.
19:32Hello.
19:33This is John.
19:34I'm royally tired and exhausted.
19:36We spent the last 13 days thoroughly scraping every one of these walls.
19:42Nina is finishing up the last little bit behind me.
19:47There was a ton of sewing machine oil on these floors that we had to clean.
19:51Nothing that some soap and water couldn't handle.
19:53So after that, we re-sanded the whole floor, and we were able to catch a glimpse of what they'll
19:58look like when we oil them up.
20:00My brother Ben's an engineer.
20:01He really understands how machines work, so he came over to help us get the freight elevator
20:05working again.
20:06I'm trying to see if the belts are slipping, but they all look like they're grabbing pretty
20:09well, which is good.
20:10All right.
20:11Going up.
20:12It's going up!
20:13Hey!
20:14It's going up!
20:15We're about to lift the largest wall we've ever lifted.
20:16Watch this!
20:17The biggest update is we now have interior walls.
20:30We spent the last several weeks with Greg framing everything, doing the electrical, and roughing
20:35in the plumbing.
20:36I have to say, it's really coming along.
20:38One detail that we're really excited about is that we designed arches throughout the
20:42space that mimic the same arch that's above the windows.
20:45So we're adding these arches to the bathroom and some of the transitional hallways as well.
20:50It's really starting to look like a home now.
20:52Yeah.
20:53And I guess for two people who have never built a house before, we're feeling pretty good about
20:56it.
20:57Explain the door.
20:58The door is going to go like this.
20:59Whoosh!
21:00Whoosh!
21:01Greg, we've got an idea.
21:10All right.
21:11Let's hear it.
21:12How about this fire alarm bell from the building turned into a doorbell?
21:16First, the old wiring, that's got to go.
21:19We're going to change that out for something a little more modern.
21:21Have a look what the inside looks like.
21:23Check nothing's burnt out and it's all safe.
21:25Try and shine these bells up to the old beautiful selves.
21:28So have you guys ever heard this thing ring?
21:30I have no idea.
21:31It could be so loud.
21:32I don't.
21:33You might need earplugs in your apartment.
21:40This is why we're getting rid of all this stuff.
21:43It's all brittle and that would be a live cable.
21:46There's also no ground itself.
21:48We're going to have to ground it as well.
21:50This and this.
21:51A bit of work on here.
21:54How's it looking?
21:55Great.
21:56Years of dirt coming off.
21:58Back to chrome.
21:59No more rust.
22:00So everything looks pretty good in here.
22:02Looks great.
22:03Nothing's burnt out.
22:04We can reattach our wires to here.
22:06We'll make a grounding point to the actual metal frame.
22:09These are going to look beautiful.
22:11We've got two electromagnets in here,
22:13which pulls this bar from side to side.
22:16And as it pulls side to side,
22:18it also dings either side of the bell.
22:20So let's put some power to it and see how it sounds.
22:22Awesome.
22:23All right.
22:24Let's give her a little ding.
22:25Nice.
22:26Yeah.
22:27As far as doorbells go.
22:28What?
22:29As far as doorbells go.
22:30Okay.
22:31I love this one.
22:32It's amazing.
22:33Yeah.
22:34Yeah.
22:35It's been a few months since I've seen John and Dina.
22:36I know that they've been through most of their rough trades at this point.
22:41I know that they even have a few walls up.
22:42So I'm excited to see where they're at.
22:43So beautiful this time of year.
22:45Hey.
22:46How are you?
22:47Welcome back.
22:48Good to see you.
22:49Hi.
22:50How are you?
22:50How are you doing?
22:51Good to see you.
22:52Good to see you.
22:53Good to see you.
22:54Good to see you.
22:55Good to see you.
22:56Okay.
22:57I love this one.
22:58Amazing.
22:59Yeah.
23:00It's been a few months since I've seen John and Dina.
23:03I know that they've been through most of their rough trades at this point.
23:05I know that they even have a few walls up.
23:08So I'm excited to see where they're at.
23:11Welcome back.
23:12Good to see you guys.
23:13Good to see you too.
23:14Come on in.
23:16Whoa.
23:18I love it.
23:21I love, like, the instant energy you get from this place.
23:26The ceiling, it's incredible.
23:28I love that you painted it white.
23:30You notice all the shadow lines, which means these beautiful trusses are accentuated even
23:35more.
23:36I'm so glad that they changed their floor plan because now when you enter, it's light, it's
23:40bright, and you get to really celebrate all the beautiful architecture that's in this
23:44space.
23:45So over here will be our bedroom.
23:47Ooh.
23:48I love this bedroom.
23:49I love the exposed trusses.
23:51I love the natural light that you're getting in.
23:53It's the perfect size.
23:54Come check out the bathroom.
23:55We're really excited about this.
23:58Oh.
23:59What a huge improvement.
24:01You took a room that really didn't have a lot of architectural character, right?
24:04It's essentially just a box.
24:05Yep.
24:06You infused the architectural character, which is such a smart, smart thing to do.
24:11So, a huge architectural detail for the whole space was all these arches.
24:15To kind of continue that through, we wanted to have a few openings that had that same arch.
24:20That is such a smart detail.
24:23I think John and Dina are really showing that they're so much more than just great furniture
24:27designers.
24:28They're just great designers, period.
24:30I want to now encourage them to think about the interior components, the softer things
24:34that are really going to make it a home.
24:35I'd like to have the discussion about whether or not you're open to the concept of adding
24:40drapery to this space.
24:43The windows are also closed, so it could look like a wall of fabric.
24:47Ultimately, it's your place, and you have to make the decision that's right for you.
24:51But I think there's both functional and aesthetic reasons to get behind it.
24:55You know, my experience has shown that when you take the drapes all the way up to the ceiling
24:59line, it accentuates the architecture, it'll absorb sound, it'll add texture, and it'll
25:05give them privacy.
25:06I think that's a really valuable suggestion.
25:09But I want to show you a few more things.
25:11Can we show you this space?
25:12Yes.
25:13Oh my gosh.
25:14So we're planning on building our own kitchen cabinets, dining table, coffee table, and bookshelf.
25:19And because all of these elements are going to be within the same open space, we need
25:23some help with wood finishes.
25:24So we're, I think we're pretty set on this.
25:27We're going to go with, I think, a soapstone for our counters, the back bar of the kitchen,
25:31and the island as well, and a white oak for our kitchen cabinets.
25:34But I think we're kind of struggling with, I guess, finishes for a dining table, the built-in
25:40shelf, and the coffee table.
25:42We want it to kind of flow nicely, but we don't want it all to be the same.
25:45Which I think is such a smart thought, because when it's all the same finish, it just looks
25:50like you purchased it at one time as a set.
25:52Yes.
25:53And we want it to be a little, like, more nuanced.
25:55What you want to do is make sure that the finishes that you are working with dialogue
25:59with each other.
26:00Sure.
26:01And I would say this black finish doesn't really showcase the grain as beautifully as
26:07these three do.
26:08Would you agree?
26:09Yeah.
26:10Yeah, definitely.
26:11Okay, so let's eliminate this black finish.
26:13Okay.
26:14Okay.
26:15What I think is really interesting about these three finishes is that they play really nicely
26:20with each other.
26:21Because when you look at this finish, it does have that oak poking through.
26:26It does have some of this walnut color poking through.
26:29Even though it's not walnut, it's got some of that same brown walnut.
26:33So I think these three finishes are really smart to focus on.
26:37What do you call this, an oxidized black?
26:39Oxidized oak.
26:40Oxidized oak, which is really gorgeous, I have to say.
26:44I think it would make an incredible dining table.
26:47Why not have something unique kind of be a wonderful statement?
26:50Yeah.
26:51Definitely.
26:52So I'm going to make a suggestion, but at the end of the day, it's your house.
26:54Yeah.
26:55This is where I have a little bit of a problem.
26:57This combination for the kitchen looks a little dated.
27:01It doesn't mean that there's not a way to make it work.
27:04So think about how you can make it feel fresh.
27:07More stuff to think about.
27:08Well, what I will say is, at the end of the day, I mean, it is your home.
27:12You will know the right answer.
27:13Yeah, we really appreciate your input, and I think it really all makes sense.
27:18Yes, I appreciate it.
27:19You're so welcome.
27:20Thank you for making our lives so much harder.
27:26John and Dina have invited me to partake in a project today.
27:29I'm not really sure where we are or what's going on, but I can say that it's obviously
27:33a creative hub.
27:35What planet have I landed on?
27:37It's very cool wherever we are.
27:40This is Salem Artworks, and it's kind of an artist community, and they do residencies
27:44and teach programs for kids, but all centered around the arts.
27:47And it's in your backyard.
27:48Yeah.
27:49They have this beautiful sculpture park up the hill.
27:51No wonder you guys landed here.
27:53There's something in the water in Salem, clearly, because there's so many artisans here.
27:56This is very, very cool.
27:58What's going on here?
27:59So we have found a ton of old sewing machine parts that were kind of...
28:03Oh, wow.
28:04There was essentially a dumping ground of them in one of the outbuildings at the factory.
28:09So this is all iron, and you can smash it to bits, melt it down, and turn it into a sculpture.
28:15So that's what we're doing here.
28:16We're trying to pay homage to the trade that built the building.
28:19So we designed and made this large replica sewing needle out of wood.
28:24Watch where you're pointing that thing.
28:26So we used this to create a form, and then we're going to glue this together, hopefully with your help.
28:31And then we're going to wait until the metal is all heated up and pour it in to create a metal version of this sewing needle.
28:37Wow.
28:38It will be hung over our dining table with a light that represents like a thread.
28:44Very conceptual.
28:45Yeah.
28:46I love it.
28:47I love it.
28:48I've never seen anything like what they're describing, but this is what has been so cool for me about being part of an unusual run-o.
28:55The people who attack these kinds of projects tend to be out of the box thinkers.
29:00So I'm not completely surprised that this idea sprung from John and Dino.
29:04It's summer and I'm covered in leather from head to toe.
29:07This is incredible.
29:08When that metal goes into the furnace, sparks are everywhere.
29:12It's red hot.
29:13It looks like a mini volcano.
29:15It looks like you should be running the other way, not towards it.
29:18Design with danger.
29:20I love it.
29:21This is a huge team effort.
29:23There's somebody who's in charge of pouring all that metal into the furnace, and then the metal melts, and then it goes into these crucibles that you then have to carry and pour into all those molds.
29:34Oh my gosh, that's cool.
29:36So my first job is like being one end of the crucible that then brings the molten melted metal into all of these molds.
29:45And it's very hot, very heavy.
29:48You feel like you're just melting.
29:50Yeah.
29:51Nice.
29:52Okay.
29:53All right.
29:54Let's crack this thing open.
29:55Yeah.
29:56Very nice.
29:57Oh, look out.
29:58Oh my goodness.
29:59That's cool.
30:00That is so cool.
30:15There's still fire in there.
30:17John, if you scratch this, Dina will not let you forget.
30:20I will be very upset.
30:21Roll it over.
30:26Here we go.
30:27Woo!
30:28Wow, it's completely perfect.
30:30The next time I'm going to see you guys, you'll be done.
30:35I have so much confidence in you guys.
30:38You guys have incredible taste, such great work ethic.
30:41Thank you so much.
30:42Thanks for all your help.
30:43Oh my gosh, thank you guys.
30:47John and Dina have just entered the home stretch.
30:59They're now working on their finish items.
31:01These are the elements that will really turn this cold factory into a warm and welcoming home.
31:06We're making cabinets!
31:10So we're installing the first kitchen this building's ever had.
31:12It's very important to us to make sure that it feels like it belongs.
31:15We want the kitchen to be reflective of our style, but also not look out of place in the historic building.
31:21So we glued up this huge panel and then just cut out all of our kitchen cabinet faces.
31:26So all the grain is going to be continuous along the faces once we build the cabinets.
31:31We've decided to go with white oak with a water-based finish, so it has a dull, natural look to it.
31:36And the contrast of that with the old, weathered, rich floors will play well together.
31:42So Vern did have a little bit of a concern of the wood selection with the stone looking a bit dated.
31:48So we decided to add a reeded panel on the underside of the island.
31:52It's a little bit more elevated and it's a little more current.
31:55We love it and hopefully Vern feels the same way.
31:57Sit down slow.
31:59Perfect.
32:04It's so beautiful.
32:05It's a fun little textural accent that I think really makes this island.
32:09It's going to be so interesting sitting at like the dining table or the living room.
32:13You'll still be able to appreciate that texture and kind of a little pop of interest.
32:18It's just kind of entirely modern aesthetic, just really cool.
32:22I love it.
32:23This is where we wash our hands and brush our teeth.
32:30This is our double shower wall.
32:32It looks great.
32:47I'm really happy with this taupe polished tile and then the floor has a nice matte finish,
32:52which I'm really pleased with.
32:54I like that it's more of a textural contrast rather than color contrast.
32:58So it feels like a spa.
33:00It feels really calm.
33:01Yeah.
33:04Stand under it please.
33:05Perfect.
33:06So this one has more of a gooseneck so you can get your head under it.
33:14It's his nurse.
33:16Wonderful.
33:17We have built a lot of dining tables over the years.
33:24It's kind of what we do for a living primarily.
33:26And we're so excited to build our own and to try something new.
33:30We're going for quite a large table.
33:32It's going to be about ten feet long and three feet wide.
33:35The top shape is kind of like a modern oval shape.
33:38So it's rounded at the ends but it still has that nice curve at the edges.
33:41For the finish of the table we're using an oxidation treatment.
33:44We use steel wool and we place it in vinegar and you kind of let it sit for a few days.
33:48And what it does is it breaks down the steel wool and it reacts to the table.
33:51It almost rusts it but it pulls out these natural colors from the wood.
33:56And then you get some purples and you get some dark browns.
33:59And it's really, really awesome to see because it's like this painting is kind of coming to life in front of you.
34:04All right, so where do you want this?
34:12I was thinking centered to this column and then to the range.
34:16Maybe a little to your, a little less the other way.
34:18Yep.
34:19Okay.
34:20That looks good to me.
34:21Okay.
34:22One, two, three.
34:25Okay.
34:26Slow.
34:27Okay, down slow.
34:30What do you think?
34:31Do you think it's large enough for this vase?
34:33I do.
34:34I'm glad we went with a darker tone.
34:36A lot of wood in one space but I feel like, you know, and we have a lot of different tones going.
34:40How do you feel like it's working?
34:41I really like it.
34:42I think that if we had chosen the same wood tone all the way through it would just be too much.
34:48Yeah.
34:49There's still some connections between these two because there's some gold tones here and there.
34:54And then some of the darker tones here look really nice with the windows.
34:58So I'm really pleased with it.
35:00It's been so long since we've been able to have a lot of friends over and eat food with them.
35:05So I'm so looking forward to doing that here.
35:07Me too.
35:08Finish a couple other projects and we'll be ready to have some people.
35:11So excited.
35:12Yeah.
35:13Under the floor of the old building we found these old enamel lights.
35:22They were trash to somebody but they definitely weren't to us.
35:26To fix these up we're going to sand them, spray paint them, and then we're going to make a little wooden feature that holds a modern globe inside.
35:33Hey, so I just cleaned them up and I just gave them a fresh spray.
35:37What do you think?
35:38I really like it.
35:39I cleaned up some of the rust and then I went over it with some paint.
35:43Yeah, no they look really good.
35:45I'm curious how that like matte sheen is going to look with a globe.
35:49I do have one temporarily wired up.
35:51Do you want to try and put it in?
35:52Yeah.
35:53Let's see how it looks.
35:54Okay, cool.
35:55So let's slide this through the top.
35:56And this will have a wood plug eventually but this is just a temporary little trial.
36:01Something like this.
36:03So let's just temporarily hang it.
36:06Where do you think you want to put these by the way?
36:08I thought it'd be cool to have three of them over the island in the kitchen.
36:11Yeah, I love that.
36:13You ready?
36:17I love it.
36:18Cute.
36:19I think these will be perfect over the island.
36:21The coolest part is that we found these in the building and now they're being repurposed.
36:25It's actually a huge cost savings too if you think about it.
36:27Yeah, between these three and then the four big spun shades that'll go in the hallway,
36:32that's a significant amount of lighting to the main space.
36:35Yeah, great job.
36:36Thanks.
36:37Let's get back to work.
36:38Too much to do.
36:45We've been working very hard for a very long time.
36:47And we finally were able to put a bow on it and it's beautiful.
36:54It doesn't feel like it's ours.
36:55It feels way too nice.
36:56It's nicer than anything we've ever had.
36:58John and Dina have taken on a huge project.
37:09They're not only designing everything, they're also executing everything with their own two hands.
37:17They're now done and I am so excited to see what they've accomplished.
37:21Hi.
37:22How are you?
37:23Welcome back.
37:24Good to see you.
37:25Good to see you guys.
37:26Nice to see you.
37:27I'm guessing you're done, right?
37:28We're all done.
37:29Oh my gosh.
37:30Let's see it.
37:31What?
37:32What?
37:35Wow.
37:39It's incredible.
37:42The first time I saw this space, there was a low ceiling, there were like metal pipes everywhere.
37:49But now it's been turned into a home.
37:51It feels both fresh and timeless and that's such a hard, that's such a hard thing to achieve.
38:01You guys have really dedicated yourself to turning this into something truly unique, truly special and reflective of you.
38:09I mean, this has got to be the most stunning space in all of upstate New York.
38:13It's truly, truly special.
38:15I am in love with the floors, the beautiful scars that this floor should probably wear, telling the history of all the people who have dragged who knows what across it.
38:25But I can completely tell that they've been restored without taking away the character.
38:30A large goal at the onset of this was preserving history of this building and I feel like we've done that in rehabbing the floors, the elevator, the brick walls, the ceiling.
38:41It goes on and on.
38:42These lights are so cool.
38:45We were able to rehab these from the building.
38:47We found a stack of these old enamel lights.
38:49Oh my gosh, these are from the building? They're like original to the building?
38:53They were sitting in dirt for decades and decades.
38:56We were able to sand them and paint them and then we made these little wood plugs and modern globes.
39:02They're so cool.
39:03And I love, again, that marriage of letting the materials from the building itself tell the story.
39:08But at the same time, the modern globe and the little piece of wood, they tell your story.
39:13You're now that added layer of history to the building.
39:16So what do you think of the kitchen?
39:18Simply stunning.
39:20This looks completely fresh.
39:21You really thought about what are we about and how are we going to infuse that into the kitchen?
39:25And you've done it.
39:26When we were looking at those kitchen finish samples, I had some real concerns because that color combo can look really dated.
39:34Yeah.
39:35And this does not.
39:36The front of this island?
39:37Yeah.
39:38That's sick.
39:39I love the detailing.
39:41That is...
39:42Can I touch it?
39:43Yeah.
39:44Of course.
39:45Oh, man.
39:46It's so beautiful.
39:47And you'll be able to see it from the dining room.
39:50It brings a little character and funkiness to the space.
39:53Yeah.
39:54It's one of the things that really makes this color combo work.
39:58This needle is so unique, so cool, and literally and figuratively very, very sharp.
40:05I love it.
40:06This is the perfect piece to sum up what this project is about.
40:12It's infused with history.
40:14That needle was made out of sewing machine parts that you salvaged from this building.
40:19It's the materials of this building coming back and, you know, speaking in a whole new way.
40:25I'm assuming that you guys probably designed it and built this beautiful table, right?
40:30Yeah, that's right.
40:31Of course you did.
40:32You overachievers, you.
40:33You very smartly introduced another color.
40:37It shows that you can layer in different things.
40:40Not everything has to match.
40:41In fact, it's better when it doesn't.
40:43It just feels richer.
40:45This is going to be the scene for so many special moments in your life, and I'm so excited for you.
40:50Thank you, Bart.
40:54It really is so cozy and so nice.
40:57Love the bookshelf, the coffee table, all the elements that you've made with your own two hands
41:02and designed with your two incredible brains.
41:04It makes me feel really warm inside that you took the note on the drapes.
41:08When we put it up, we were still like, I don't know.
41:11And once it was all up, it was like, yep, that's the answer.
41:14That's definitely one of the things that transforms it from a factory to a home.
41:18John and Dina have managed to find that balance between preserving all the historical components that make this structure so special, and at the same time, it feels like a home.
41:30The bathroom came out fantastic.
41:32From the tile selections, to the metal finishes, to the vintage tub that they refinished, it's spa-like, it's serene, and it works beautifully in that space.
41:42It was such a pleasure working with you on this project.
41:45As furniture designers, we're typically focused on a singular piece and how it looks.
41:51From your perspective, you're thinking of how does that piece and everything else all float together.
41:55So having some of those prompts that you offered us really kind of kept us on track to think about the whole picture.
42:01You knocked it out of the park, and I hope that you live beautiful, wonderful, happy lives full of incredible memories that transpire in this space.
42:11When we set out, we thought it was a renovation project for our business and our home, and ultimately what we got was so much more.
42:19It's crazy how much hard work our family and friends have put into this space, and I don't think we could ever express our gratitude enough.
42:26This building was here a long time before us, and it will be here a long time after us, and we're just really happy that we're able to be a part of that timeline.
42:35Before, this space felt super industrial and super neglected, and now it just feels like a space that you really want to live in.
42:45To see that jump happen really makes my heart light up.
42:49It's
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