Amy Matthews' Tips: Renovate Like a Pro
Advantages of Floating Floors
Now Playing
Advantages of Floating Floors 01:17
Now Playing
New Backsplash Updates Kitchen 01:32
Now Playing
Renovate Around a Focal Point 01:14
Now Playing
Remove Interior Walls Safely 01:30
Now Playing
Shedding Light on Dark Spaces 01:28
Now Playing
Customize Your Renovation 01:16
Now Playing
Add In Architectural Details 01:07
Now Playing
Plan Ahead When Renovating 01:32
Now Playing
Add Color to Update Renovation 01:22
Now Playing
Reface Existing Elements 01:24
Before-and-After Transformations
Fixed in a Flash 53 Photos
See how Amy Matthews + crew quickly take rooms from drab to fab.
Reno Raiders Video Highlights 7 Videos
Watch the crew beat the clock in these best-ever makeovers.
Reno Raiders Photos
See All Photos
About the Host
Amy Matthews
All About Amy
About the Show
Episodes
See Episode GuideOpen Concept Kitchen Reno
Amy's team tackles a poorly designed kitchen and family room add-on for a family who loves the house, but hates the layout. Homeowner Jen, convinced her husband to buy a 1960's house because the size and neighborhood were perfect for their family. But once they settled in, the couple realized the kitchen needed more than the cosmetic makeover they had anticipated. It was trapped in the 60's with a poor layout, rundown appliances and an attached, dated, sunken family room. Jen asked Amy and her team to step in to surprise her husband, Kevin with a renovation. With help from Kevin's best Friend, Erik, acting as a spy, Jen gets her husband and two kids out of the house for the six-hour makeover. The team guts the entire space, refaces the fireplace, adds built-ins, levels the floor, creates a new kitchen floor plan with cozy kitchen nook and gives the family all-new contemporary furniture and decor. The finished room leaves the homeowners speechless and the children literally jumping for joy.
Kitchen with a View
The Renovation Raiders team takes on a cramped, dated kitchen. The 5-hour renovation includes a complete wall demolition and a brand new center island. The shocked homeowners are doubly thrilled now that they have a view from their lakeside home.
Creating a Speakeasy Pub in an Unused Basement
Amy and her team turn an unused and unfinished duplex basement into a hip Speakeasy pub, complete a bar, lager on tap and lounge area. The team is surprising John, whose sibling and roommate, Annie, wants to thank John for being such the rock of the family when their father suddenly passed away. John and Annie bought the duplex together so they could remain close. But John loves to entertain and the duplex had no room big enough to host their family and friends. So Amy and her team insulated the basement, added custom bookcases and sitting area on one side of the room, and a full-equipped bar on the other. But the crew faces one problem after another, as a sandblaster malfunctions, custom cabinets don't fit and the giant beer refrigerator seems to be bigger than the stairwell. Before the night is over everyone wonders whether the makeover will be finished before John returns home.
Open Floor Plan Redux
The Renovation Raiders take on a kitchen and dining area. It only takes the team five hours to tear down a wall, rip out the old kitchen and install brand new cabinets, a kitchen island with a built-in dog house and beer keg refrigerator for a home brew aficionado. This raid is tailor made.
Amy and Her Team Create a Knockout Kitchen by Taking Out Walls and Redefining the Kitchen Space
Built in the 1970s, Christa and Terry's kitchen is cramped, dated and loaded with oak from the floor to the ceiling. It's in desperate need of a makeover. Terry says Christa couldn't be more deserving of the surprise after helping nurse him to health after heart surgery not long after their premature daughter was finally healthy. With help from Christa's sister acting as our spy, Terry gets Christa out of the house for the raid so that Amy and her team can completely renovate the kitchen.
Zen Living Room
This time the Renovation Raiders have to tear down a load-bearing wall to redo a living room. But the crew comes through for the homeowners, and by the time the night is over there's a brand new staircase where there used to be a wall.
A Kitchen Proposal
Amy and her team raid a cramped kitchen, dining and living room, hoping to turn a bachelor pad into a family home. Travis is surprising his girlfriend Lun, with a kitchen renovation made even more special with a surprise marriage proposal! Amy plans a massive new space, worthy of the propoals. The teams starts by demo'ing the entire space, including taking out the claustrophobic kitchen walls and well-worn cabinets. In their place, new horizontal grain custom cabinets go in, along with stainless appliances, a solid surface resin countertop and a unique, eco-friendly backsplash made of coconut shells. All-new furniture gives the space the comfy yet modern vibe the couple likes. But will Lun love the kitchen and the marriage proposal?
Craft Room Reno
When homeowner Jennifer faced a health crisis, her daughters and husband became her strong supporters and gave her the courage to fight back. Now that doctors have given her a clean bill of health, Jennifer wants to thank her family with an amazing basement reno. Amy and her team will create a fun craft room and family media room to surprise the family. Jennifer takes her daughters and husband to the fair for a planned 5-hour adventure. Her best friend Tammy will act as a spy, and communicate with Amy to make sure the family stays away long enough for the team to complete the job. Amy and her crew demo the current basement, and divide the L-shaped room into two rooms with a wall of sliding doors and windows. The craft room gets custom built-ins including a craft table, sewing station and fabric wall. In the family room, the team refaces the dull brick fireplace and creates a new media center, installs new bookcases, flooring, paints and refurnishes the entire space. But the basement space creates havoc with cell phone communications, and when Amy needs more time to complete the reno, she is unable to reach the spy. The floors and bookcases are unfinished, and the new furniture isn't in place. If the spy hasn't delayed the family on her own, this reno will be busted.
Kitchen Makeover Race
Amy and her team tackle a dull, dated kitchen for a family of four who crave more space to hang out together and entertain. Homeowner Greg, is surprising his wife Patty, who thought they were moving into a basic starter home 20 years ago, but after children arrived, they ended up staying. Patty's teenage daughter, Casey, got her dad on board for the makeover, and she will act as the spy while Greg takes his wife to dinner and a night at the horse track while Amy renos the space. The team will demo the entire kitchen and take down walls to create an open flow between the kitchen and living room. They will bring in new cabinets, fridge and dishwasher in the kitchen. In the living room, they will add a fireplace focal point, new flooring, paint and new furniture with the country chic decor Patty loves. But the fireplace and flooring have unexpected delays and spy Casey must come up with creative ways to delay her mother's return home at the end of the night. With a dramatic change in store, Patty has no idea her delays will be well worth it when she returns home.
Homeowners Hit the Roof When They See a Vaulted Ceiling and New Bath in Their Attic Renovation
Amy and the team tackle a project they've never attempted before when they open up a cramped attic master bedroom, turning it into an awe-inspiring master suite, complete with an all-new bathroom. Homeowner Dan wants his wife Ashley to have a master bedroom retreat, but after the couple tackled renovations on their first floor, they have no energy or imagination to continue the updates upstairs. Amy and her team gut the attic bedroom and leaky bathroom, which haven't been updated in decades. They create a vaulted ceiling with faux wood beams and a chandelier for visual interest in the bedroom and new his-and-hers walk-in closets on the other side of the room. But work almost grinds to a stop when they discover problem after problem in the bathroom, which had been installed without permits by previous owners. When the couple's friend, acting as a spy, loses track of the homeowners during the raid, she tries to warn Amy. But Amy's phone has died and she doesn't get the message that no one knows when the couple will arrive home. With renovations hours behind, the team is in serious danger of getting busted.
The Downes Job: A Kitchen, Dining Room and Family Room Reno in Just Six Hours
Amy and her crew agree to a huge kitchen and family room reno that requires them to invent new ways to work fast. Homeowner Sara wants Amy to surprise her husband, Nate, with a reno because he had to give up his restaurant when they moved to a new city for Sara's job. Since then, Sara has always dreamed of giving Nate the chef's kitchen he deserves. But with only six hours for such a massive overhaul, the crew has to work smart and fast. Sara recruited a friend to act as the spy, and help Amy keep the couple away from the home. And while Amy thought the size of the makeover was going to be the biggest obstacle to completion, it turns out the spy becomes the issue, leaving everyone wondering whether they can finish remodeling the beautiful new kitchen and great room.
A Mid Century Modern Home Gets a Beautiful Family Room Renovation
When a couple buy a foreclosed Mid Century Modern home, they're thrilled with the renovation potentialuntil they get to the plain family room add-on that lacks the character of the rest of the home. Homeowner Ashley asks Amy and her team to tackle the project so her husband Adam can be finished with the 2-year renovation of their house and spend more time with her and the kids. The team decides to bring Mid Century character to the completely plain family room, by opening up some walls and adding windows, adding a retro fireplace and numerous built-ins that were common in the 1950s. With only five hours to complete the renovation and install the design elements, the team is hard-pressed when they run into unexpected complications with the floor-to-ceiling windows they plan to install. Amy calls for a stall to keep the family away from home, but will they buy enough time to get the design finished?
Holistic Kitchen Update with Juice Bar, Homework Station and Dining Room
A poor floor plan, beat-up appliances and countertops, and no room for homework are the problems Amy and her team solve as they renovate a kitchen and family room. The homeowner asks Amy for help renovating the kitchen to surprise his wife, who overcame health issues with good nutrition. But her kitchen was hardly inspiring and is in desperate need of updating. Amy and the team demolish the old kitchen, and open up the space to allow for a more contemporary use of the area. On one end of the kitchen, they create a tech-friendly homework station for the couple's children, and on the other end, the family gets a new dining room. But the center piece of the reno is a brand new kitchen, with earthy colors and a unique juicing station to fuel the family's healthy habits. Everyone is moved by the homeowner's heart-felt thanks when she sees the surprise.
You Might Also Like...
See All Shows
Sweat Equity
Holmes on Homes
.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.161.121.suffix/1520351448098.jpeg)
