The Nastiest Kitchen The Property Brothers Ever Saw

As one half of HGTV’s Property Brothers, Jonathan Scott hears it all the time: That house can’t really look that bad. It has to be staged for TV.

“No, people really put them on the market like this,” he insists. After nine seasons of the show, he’s seen it all, but one kitchen will truly stand out to him as unforgettable—and not in a good way.

The kitchen itself wouldn’t be so bad, if it weren’t for the upstairs bathroom located directly above it, and the fact that it didn’t have waterproofed wallpaper, which let moisture seep through the walls. Over time, the water damage caused the kitchen ceiling to rot away, prompting the homeowners to screw tuna cans overhead to keep the plaster from falling down. Those, combined with the water stains and corroded pipes, led to one huge mess (and a considerable headache to repair).

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“I’ve got to hand it to them—screwing those tuna lids onto the ceiling to hold it up was creative,” Scott says. “At this point, we’ve come across everything, but that one will always stand out.”

Since most people don’t have to worry about reversing a well-intentioned-but-ultimately-disastrous Chicken of the Sea-themed kitchen makeover, we asked Scott what everyday issues he sees all the time that keep the heart of the home from looking its best—and what little fixes you can do to make yours stand out in a good way. Here are his top tips.

Don’t Miss This Spot.

Many people regularly wipe down their counters, but totally ignore the areas where the countertops meet the cabinets. That little nook tends to get built up with dirt, making the kitchen look a little grimier than it is. “A Magic Eraser is really good for scrubbing those areas,” Scott says, explaining that it’s the most commonly overlooked area of the kitchen to clean.

The second most-overlooked space? Under the fridge and oven.

“It often looks like something died underneath there,” says the star, who recently partnered with Mr. Clean and Swiffer to help people get their spring (er, summer) clean on. “There’s usually food bits and pasta sauce, which can attract insects, so it’s worth sliding the appliances out and cleaning under there regularly.”

Score Some Extra Storage.

Even Property Brothers superfans may have missed one of Scott’s favorite features in the kitchen: Toe-kick drawers. “Every kitchen has four inches of wasted space between the floor and the cabinets,” he explains. These long, narrow drawers fit just there, which can be used to stow placemats, trays or baking sheets.

“There’s no handle; you just give them a little tap and they slide open,” he says. “In one house, we put dog dishes in them.”

Here’s what they look like:

Go Retro with Your Backsplash.

Bright, airy kitchens with floating shelves on the upper cabinets are as popular as ever, but one old-school trend is making a major comeback: Having the countertop extend to the backsplash. “You’ll see marble counters that go right up to a marble backsplash and marble floating shelf, for example,” Scott says. “I like to add some color and baskets to break things up a bit.”

Try Out Two-Tone.

As pretty as an all-white kitchen can be, it can also mean constant cleaning—and it can start to feel a little sterile. If you prefer a little more contrast (and less maintenance), try painting your perimeter cabinets and island a darker color. The two-tone look is really starting to take off, Scott says.

Move the Microwave.

In almost every kitchen Scott designs, one thing stays the same: He uses a drawer microwave. “If you put a regular microwave below the counter, it’s very hard to get to because it’s so low,” he says. “With a drawer microwave, you press a button and a drawer comes out that you can drop food into.” The buttons are right on top, so there’s no crouching, and it saves space. (In case you’re in the market, he swears by Sharp’s models.)

However you decorate your space, one thing’s for sure: “The kitchen should be spotless and fresh and clean,” Scott says. It may not be enough to make you overlook some tuna-can architecture on the ceiling, but it does go a long way.

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Candace Braun Davison writes, edits, and produces lifestyle content that ranges from celebrity features to roll-up-your-sleeves DIYs, all while relentlessly pursuing the noblest of causes: the quest for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie.