What would your favorite room to renovate be when you get to work on the projects?
Drew: What I do is, see. . . you know I love the variety of different rooms, I love the rooms where I have the chance to do something unique. So, kitchens have more “bling”, which are always fun. But I actually like outdoor spaces because I find that a lot of people, you know, whether it’s renovating a condo with a small outdoor space, or even a townhouse..or even if it’s a house that has a good-sized yard. . . people don’t know how to utilize a good outdoor space to maximize its potential. You know, somebody [that] can’t afford an addition on their home, or doing a second level…the outdoor space is a way to add extra square footage, add extra livable square footage, without having to do a hard renovation. So I like that. To be able to design an outdoor space that feels like comfortable indoor living? It’s fun.
Me: Awesome. I’ve seen some of your outdoor designs that you’ve done in Vegas, and you can feel free to do that at my house anytime that you want.
Drew: Perfect! Well, since I’m out of town, I’ll send Tracy over and he’ll do the whole place for you, right Trace?
Tracy: (inaudible – but I assume he agreed!)
Is there a question that you are just beyond tired of being asked by homeowners?
Drew: Well, kind of tying in to your first question, the one thing just in general from fans, or anybody…I get tired of them saying, “Oh, wow! Why is it Jonathan does all the work?” Which, people now see, since the show’s a big fan[sic], the more they actually see…it’s just the part of Property Brothers that has me just doing the real estate side of it. In reality, I probably get just as dirty as he does.
Me: (Chuckles)
Drew: And another thing people don’t realize too, Property Brothers is just one small aspect of what we do, I mean, we have FIVE shows. Brothers Take New Orleans is our fifth series. We also do specials. We have a Halloween special coming out this year that we’ve produced that has Food Network talent…Travel talent…our production company, we produce shows that we’re not in as well, so you know, there’s our furniture line, and the book…there’s so many things that we do and I head up a lot of the other aspects when Jonathan’s hours on the construction site.
Me: Well, you guys are extremely busy, I’ve been watching all of the shows, and you guys…you guys get around a lot! I don’t know how you find the time to sleep!
Drew: The rumor is, we get around….
Me:(Laughing) I won’t spread that one.
Drew: (Chuckles)
Now one question specifically for my readers… I have a lot of readers that have young families, parents with young kids, or grandparents, and it’s something that I deal with myself.. . and I’ve seen it several times on episodes of Property Brothers…there always seems to be a problem with storing kid’s toys. Do you have a favorite option or recommendation for parents? You know, keep a nice clean home but still have access to kids’ toys without having to be tripping all over them?
Drew: Well it’s not necessarily one favorite, my favorite, and what you’ve seen us recommending it all the time is just having storage. The problem with so many people is that they think of a room and the set up of a space and how they want to use it. But the then they forget that they have STUFF. And especially if you have kids, you have a LOT of stuff, boys and whatnot. And, if the house isn’t big enough to have an independent kids’ room, like a toy’s room, then it’s mainly your living space. So, built-ins. Built-ins in my opinion are the way to go, you’re adding value – if you do it right – you’re adding value to the home. It could be low profile and decorative, it could look great, it could give you seating as well if it’s like a built in bench or something like that. Yet you’re hiding all the kids’ toys inside. Or, cubes. Like it’s basically like an ottoman or small poof, they’re just actually hidden storage as well, comfortable for seating if you have more people over or if the kids are there. Plus you get storage inside, so it’s two for one.
Excellent. So I have one last one for you, and this is actually because I used to live in Las Vegas myself before coming home to Chicago…What is your favorite thing to do in Vegas?
Drew: My favorite thing to do in Vegas…ha! Sleep in my own bed.
Me: Ha ha!
Drew: Look, I’m on the road and it’s nice to get home and just sleep in my own bed. You know, I’ll tell actually you right now, I’m a little addicted to – you’ll probably laugh, but it’s awesome – there’s a place in town called Hardcore Parkour and its a parkour training facility. You know what that is? Parkour?
Me: Yes, I do.
Drew: Yeah. So its a parkour training facility and in there they also have America Ninja Warrior skills, like, the different skill tests? So like they have the warped wall, they have the salmon ladder. So I’ve been going there and training and I’ve been working out with one of the guys there who’s been training my girlfriend, you know, Linda and me, and so, that’s what I’m addicted to right now, when I get home. I’m there probably every other day. Right now I have bruises on my arm, my knees, everything. Because I’ve been trying to do a back flip. So if you go on my Instagram and you look back a few videos? You’ll see, um, with a little bit of help, I got a standing back flip , but I still have a long way to do it on my own. Tracy, you should do it one time.
Tracy: Yeah, no way man.
Me: Wow. Well, my husband just got me into his mixed martial arts workouts, so I have a few bruises of my own before I start doing parkour, haha. Well, awesome, Drew, thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time and letting me ask a couple of questions . . .and sharing Tracy with me!
Drew: Yeah, no, of course! So if you have more questions for Tracy, I’ll hand you back over!
Me: Yes, thank you!
Drew: Right on! Well make sure if you’re posting about it on social and whatnot, tag MrDrewScott, that’s my handle. On Instagram. @MrDrewScott so it will link me wherever you are posting.
Me: Absolutely, thank you!
Drew: All right, thanks. All the best!
And that’s my conversation with Drew Scott, the very personable and like-able “realtor brother” of the Property Brothers. You guys would not believe just how easy it was to talk to him. (Tracy also assured me that I did not make an idiot of myself, so that was helpful!) Drew and Jonathan have so very much on their plate, but both my experience meeting them on the cruise and after this interview (Jonathan makes a surprise appearance in the next post!) have proven to me that they are the most grounded, considerate guys you could want to meet.
But that’s NOT all, folks. Check out the next half of the interview, Questions for a Contractor, where I get to ask Tracy all about home renovations and behind the scenes goodies from Brother vs. Brother.
Did you miss Part One of the interview? Check it out here!
