Charlie Kawas Brings Brooklyn Bravado to a ‘Botched’ Florida Kitchen

The title Botched Homes tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this new HGTV series. From homes with construction shortcuts that aren’t standing the test of time to code violations that are barely legal, these houses need serious help. For that, Charlie Kawas is the one to call. This Brooklyn-born-and-bred general contractor has been in the construction industry since he was a teenager and has seen everything. Through it all, he has the same philosophy: “I won't sleep until my client's home is safe and things are done right." After moving his business — including his top-notch crew — from New York to Florida, Charlie is cleaning up the dirty work of shoddy construction in the Sunshine State one house at a time.

In the premiere episode, Charlie meets his clients, Heather and Lucas, who moved into their fixer-upper lakefront home several years ago. They loved the waterfront views and were willing to look past the many red flags signaling the house had some serious problems. “We underestimated how much work it was,” Heather admits. After living with a kitchen that has been barely livable for the last few years, they finally decided enough was enough and called in Charlie and his crew for help.

Charlie’s first impression is nothing short of shock. “How do you live like this?” he asks with complete sincerity, taking in the exposed wires, the sink with no hot water and the multiple issues that range from inconvenient to downright dangerous. “We gotta fix this.”

The condition of Heather and Lucas’ kitchen was beyond repair, so Charlie decides that the only option is to completely demolish the space and take it down to the studs. After removing everything, including the moldy drywall, Charlie has a blank slate to work with. He brings Heather and Lucas back to the job site to show them what he’s thinking for the floor plan. He shows them the new location of the central island, which Heather immediately realizes will have direct sight lines to the waterfront. “Look at the view!” she says.

As work progresses at the job site, Charlie takes Heather to a local cabinet and stone fabricator to pick out the kitchen’s finishes. Heather, an artist, wants her space to have a vintage feel and is drawn to a dark cherry cabinet sample. While Charlie understands her request to have a more unique design, he also wants to ensure he gives Heather something that won’t feel dated. “Twenty years ago, people were doing kitchens in cherry … nowadays, it's more like white oak, you know, more of a lighter color.”

Nevertheless, Charlie takes both the cherry cabinet sample Heather likes and a white oak sample that he prefers into the stone yard so they can look at all of the finishes together. Once Heather sees the cabinet samples against the dark countertops that they’ve already chosen, she agrees the cherry is too dark. “It might be a little too much vintage,” she admits.

“When I first saw this house, it was upside down,” Charlie says, remembering the “Scotch tape and prayers” state of DIY the kitchen was in when he arrived. He and his team have worked magic, ensuring that the house is now a beautiful, functional and, above all, safe space for this family. The new kitchen features a wood slat ceiling, a butcher-block center island and beautiful slate tile flooring.

Heather walks in first and a smile lights up her face. “This is so amazing,” she beams as she takes in her brand-new kitchen. Charlie made sure that Lucas’ personality came through in the design, too, creating a custom light fixture over the center island filled with plants to satisfy his green thumb. “This is just like a greenhouse masterpiece in here,” he exclaims.

Previously, Heather and Lucas’ kitchen had four separate refrigerators. Charlie replaced all of them with one side-by-side refrigerator and a matching freezer. Everything is paneled to match the cabinetry, so it blends seamlessly into the new kitchen. “Just one nice, clean unit,” Heather says in disbelief.