The Property Brothers Go By The Book

Drew (left) and Jonathan Scott, the Property Brothers | Photo by Dennys Ilic

Realtor Drew and interior designer Jonathan Scott have acquired a legion of fans who follow their exploits in the world of real estate on their four HGTV series, “Property Brothers,” “Property Brothers at Home,” “Buying & Selling” and “Brother vs. Brother.” Their combination of jocular banter, friendly sibling rivalry and no-nonsense real estate strategy have made them a team to be reckoned with in the world of home improvement shows.

Now the duo have packaged their formula in a convenient take-along size—that is to say, a book.

“Dream Home,” being released today, combines in one place all of the various tips, tricks, recommendations and strategies they have offered over the seasons on their TV shows. In this book you’ll find how to determine the right price for your home and how much you should pay for the one you buy, improvements that add value to your home when you sell it and enjoyment right now, examples of why staging helps when it’s time to sell, and plenty of beautiful illustrations.

The brothers used the original hardwood studs from a home they renovated to create a dining table. © 2016 SB Publications LLC; interior photography © 2016 David Tsay

The tone of the book is sprightly and is liberally sprinkled with the good-natured ribbing the Scott brothers give each other on the TV shows. The advice offered is sound as well, especially the hard-nosed warnings against letting emotions trump facts or numbers in choosing whether to stay or move and where to buy if one moves. And while they’re not against do-it-yourself renovations and design work, they also point out the advantages of hiring a contractor or interior designer for major projects as well; this advice is followed by a slew of recommendations for worth-it and warnings for not-worth-it additions, renovations and makeovers.

Dream Home also offers plenty of color illustrations to help fire your interest, including illustrations of things you might even be able to pull off yourself, from simple staging tips to more challenging items. It’s probably one of the most useful single-volume advice books on all aspects of buying, selling and improving one’s home, the equivalent of several seasons’ worth of the Scott brothers’ TV shows. Especially if you’re a devotee of their approach, you should go buy the book.

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