HGTV

Jen “Six” Hawn

Jen Hawn, my friend, former Sarasota resident now living in Chicago, and experienced house flipper decided to show up at a casting call last year for HGTV (House and Garden TV) on a whim, at a kitchen and bath show in New Orleans and was selected to be a contestant on The Property Brother’s spin off show, Brother vs. Brother. The show features Drew and Jonathan Scott, handsome twin brothers, and it was the number one show on HGTV last year. Each brother has a team of 5 people and the teams compete in renovating separate houses, and the team that produces the most property value through renovations wins. The losing team has to vote a team member off and the last man/woman standing wins a $50,000 grand prize.

Kitchen Before

So, on one of Jen’s recent trips to Sarasota she stopped in for a night at my house and we talked about her TV experience. The show will air starting on Sunday, June 8 but has already been filmed in Los Angeles area last winter (2014). For Jen it was perfect timing to have a respite from the brutal Chicago winter, however she didn’t have time to see a lot of southern California. Filming 6 days a week kept her busy and the cast ate, worked, and at night slept together in the same condominium complex; men on floor one and women on another. Plus she was sworn to secrecy and had to sign a 30 plus page document that said she would not reveal any personal details from the show.  I did

Kitchen After

find out that it was a lot of hands on work,  stressful working conditions on a the tight time schedule, and that living with a bunch of different personalities was at times difficult. From the sounds of it I would have been gone the first day, but Jen said she was determined to work as hard as she could so she wouldn’t be voted off.  I asked her if she won and she said, “I cannot tell you, you’ll have to watch the show.” I plan on it!

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Jen and I met when she responded to my Craiglist’s ad offering services as a bookkeeper specializing in construction. She asked me to meet her at the house she was renting and I got there ahead of her and she soon pulled into the driveway.  I watched as this beautiful and tall young woman (she is 6′ tall) got out of her car and she enthusiastically held out her hand for me to shake and profusely apologized for being late. She was friendly plus fun and we started working together after that meeting. (Funny fact: Jen’s mother and I have the same name.) Jen needed someone to help her not only with the costs of the different house flips, but also with project management which I was only too happy to do. When I came on board she was just putting the finishing touches on a house in the Gulf Gate area and soon sold it at a nice profit. For the next house I was there at the beginning and got to see the house before improvements, and to tell you the truth, I was scared to go inside because it needed so much work. But Jen has the amazing ability to visualize what renovations need to be done to turn a once neglected house into a beautiful home. She has no problem taking the drywall down to the studs, moving walls to open up a kitchen, add bedrooms, picking out the right plants for curb appeal, and knows how to design great kitchens and baths. I learned from her the importance of selecting the correct tile to go with the granite, to splurge on the faucets, and to choose lighting fixtures with a little pizazz!

The next house she flipped was also in scary condition and was renovated into a gorgeous three bedroom with modern updates and a new kitchen and bathrooms. It too sold quickly and after that Jen had opportunities calling her back to Chicago and she moved away. We still keep in touch through Facebook and text messaging and I truly miss our flipping days and wish she would return to Sarasota, but TV has found Jen and they are in “talks” to create a new show with her as the star.

Please tune in to HGTV and watch Brother vs. Brother on June 8 and see if Jen wins. If she does she owes me a drink!

Terry Ryan

Terry Ryan lives in Sarasota, FL and is a health blogger at www.slimhealthysexy.com. She is very fortunate to have a great home, family and wonderful friends.