'Property Brothers' Drew And Jonathan Scott Use Controversial Design In Recent Renovation

Property Brothers stars Drew and Jonathan Scott used a controversial design in one of the latest episodes of their hit realty reality show, and it’s definitely a move that some interior designers absolutely hate. Though it was specifically requested by the homeowner, this particular design is bound to divide fans on either side of the issue. It also brings to mind the recent lawsuit filed against the owners of the show and contractors about a failed renovation that left the homeowners stuck in a home with misaligned baseboards and peeling paint, among a bevy of other complaints.

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Drew, Jonathan Scott Commit Design ‘No-No’

Jonathan and Drew Scott employed quite the controversial technique to satisfy a homeowner’s request in a recent episode of their popular realty series Property Brothers. In season 5’s episode “Heart of the Family,” Drew and Johnathan met Josefina, who wanted to turn her home into the ultimate family gathering place for her two grown daughters as well as her sister, who is in a wheelchair.

Before the brothers worked their magic, Josefina’s home featured rooms that were on different levels from each other, requiring the family to install ramps in order for her sister’s wheelchair to be able to navigate between rooms. The home also featured a stone fireplace, with a TV mounted to the wall beside it. Josefina wasn’t crazy about the stone feature, since it kept her from mounting the TV above the fireplace as she desired.

Many designers have shied away from this sort of thing, but the Scott twins instantly got on board with the plan. Anything to make the homeowner happy, right? The first order of business was to replace the floors of the home, making them perfectly level between rooms so Josefina’s sister could easily make her way around the house, no ramps required. The brothers also removed the stones surrounding the fireplace and installed a pale wooden mantle above it to match the wood floors that Josefina was so crazy about.

‘Property Brothers’ Already Under Fire From Past Homeowners

Just like Josefina wanted, the TV was dutifully mounted over the fireplace, which is a bit of an ironic placement considering the trouble contractors for the show have gotten into recently over allegedly faulty workmanship. Homeowners who had previously appeared on Property Brothers filed a lawsuit against Cineflex, which owned the show until 2019 when it was bought by Scott Brothers Entertainment, as well as the contractors involved in the renovation.

The homeowners claimed they’d abandoned plans for going on a honeymoon in order to afford to be able to go on the show. The couple wired a jaw dropping $193,000 to Cineflex in 2018 after responding to the show’s casting call. After appearing on the program, the couple complained of stuck doors, misaligned baseboards, peeling paint, and improperly installed plugs, which is just the tip of the iceberg of their claims. What does the lawsuit have to do with this recent design choice? Well, one of the reasons that people avoid hanging TVs over fireplaces is undeniably practical, and is best summed up by this tweet.

Am I the only person who winces every time they see a TV over a working fireplace?

That TV is made out of plastic and that is a FIREplace.
— Cole Leiter (@coleleiter) June 5, 2021

Heat plus plastic is generally a losing combination. Throw in all the delicate electronics inside a TV, and you’ve practically got a disaster waiting to happen. Hopefully, due diligence was performed to ensure that nothing bad will happen to Josefina’s TV, but since the request came directly from her, something tells us she’s prepared to deal with the consequences.