'Celebrity IOU': Shaun White Goes for Reno Gold

Before he was a legendary athlete, Shaun White was Chase’s best friend. Decades later, that bond has held through all the fortune and fame Shaun has amassed. “He’s the one that anchors me to, ya know, home,” says Shaun.

Chase has since gotten married and had two kids: Phoenix and Lily. When Chase and his wife, Kara, moved into their home, the two passed on square footage so they could be closer to the beach. Perhaps no room made a bigger sacrifice than the kitchen.

That’s why Shaun cashed in his Celebrity IOU, so Drew and Jonathan Scott could help give the family the kitchen of their dreams.

Chase and Kara’s kitchen shows potential, but its current layout is cramped and barely makes use of the space. Their washer and dryer setup is in a back closet at the end of the room, concealed by a wooden “door” that Chase made himself. The machines are aligned next to each other, taking up so much space that there isn’t room for a dishwasher. “It’s small,” notes Jonathan, “but it’s going to be a mighty project.”

The giant TV is mounted across the room from the couch, making it tough to see without squinting. The small entryway to the kitchen dramatically divides the two rooms, with a hazardous shift in flooring that’s dangerous for Chase’s two young children.

The rooms connect via a small entryway with two different types of flooring. Shaun has seen Chase’s kids trip on the gap where the two floors meet. The kitchen table is at the farthest point of the room, perfectly encapsulating how disconnected the two rooms are.

Shaun is heavily involved in the renovation process. The Olympian taps into his competitive side and makes a game of throwing the old pantry doors out the window. Almost instantly, he chucks one straight into the glass. It’s OK — that window has to go anyway.

The team installs porcelain countertops along the perimeter of the opposite wall up to where the counters previously were. They replace the washer and dryer with a stacked set that lives next to the refrigerator — both of which are hidden by wooden doors that match the new cabinets installed above the countertops. Even with all of this on just two walls, there’s still room for a new stove and a two-compartment dishwasher.

Rather than having its own wall on the far end of the room, they mount the TV inside a set of French cleat-style shelves. An L-shaped couch in the middle of the room creates a natural flow while living an optimal distance from the TV. With interchangeable shelves, the new “focal display wall” allows them to mix and match their TV display with ease.

Drew and Jonathan install uniform oak hardwood across the two rooms, uniting them while eliminating the hazardous threshold. The remodel blocks off one entrance to the kitchen, while the other entrance is moved down and expanded. A new banquette replaces the table, with ample space for big family dinners. The thought of this brings a wave of emotion out of Chase: “To enjoy a meal together finally in our house is beyond … it’s the most important thing in life.”