Surprised, elated, proud, relieved—these are just some of the emotions felt by Hollie and Graham Laird of Mono when they heard their names announced as Home Network TV’s Renovation Resort season two champions. The father/daughter design/build team from Laird Kitchen and Bath in Orangeville earned the prestigious title plus $100,000 in prize money. Renovation Resort is hosted by Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler who announced the winners during the show’s season finale on Sunday May 18.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard our names and I started sobbing immediately,” said Hollie. “I turned my head away as it was so emotional. It was so surreal. It was such a tough competition, and it was shocking to hear our names called. In that moment I felt so much pride. Physically and emotionally the competition was so demanding so to know all that hard work had paid off, I was elated. I have never had a feeling like that before when you are so shocked and happy at the same time—it was like a surprise birthday party.”
Graham said it was a tremendously joyful moment, but it was also bittersweet because they had grown so close to the other teams.
“It was great to win, but also emotional as standing right beside you on national television are your friends who you knew were hurting.”
Graham and Hollie were one of four contractor-designer duos from across North America chosen to renovate four waterfront resort properties near Trent Hills, Ontario. The new builds provided the teams with an empty shell (and a blank canvas) to be transformed room by room, into a luxury four-season vacation property during the eight-week series.
Asked what set their home design apart from the other competitors, Hollie said the design theme was ‘Heritage Homestead’ and the focus was her Granny’s Rug (a rug made by her late grandmother Audrey).
“The rug was the colour palette inspiration for the whole house,” she said. “My grandmother made it back in the 1960’s, so it was also the inspiration behind the nostalgic feeling I tried to incorporate. I talked a lot on the show about how she is my biggest inspiration creatively. The design idea is a traditional cottage, but because it’s a new build, I tried to bring that heritage theme into the space. I added pieces from different time periods, so the home felt comfortable and familiar; like someplace you’ve been before. I think having colours that came from a different time also helped. Homestead is like being one with the land. You are on the river, you recognize where you are, and you are craving an environment that feels nostalgic. Traditional, but not stuffy.”
Graham said Hollie’s design was beautiful. The house was on the river, and she did an exceptional job of tying the room to the outside elements and bringing the outdoors in.
“There’s a special connection to the surroundings,” he said. “The constant goal was to bring a sense of her grandmother and things she loved into the space. When you do that, it goes beyond a paint colour and creates a feeling you can actually sense when you walk into the house. It has an aura to it. It’s comfortable and easy and familiar. Full credit to Hollie for the colour scheme and all the ideas she came up with.”
Graham smiled when he said he was “asked-told” by his daughter Hollie when she applied to be competitors on the show. After all, the two have worked together for more than six years at their family business.
“I follow one of the designers online from the first season and noticed the casting call for the show and thought, I’m a designer and my dad is a builder, so we fit the description,” Hollie said. “So, I sort of told my dad we were applying. Just the possibilities that fathers and daughters can do this kind of thing together is exciting.”
Graham was just 18 when he started in the construction business with his uncle serving as his mentor. By age 21 he launched a small flooring business while he continued taking on small home renovation projects. He eventually focused solely on renovations. Hollie grew up visiting her dad on construction sites and running around in the back of the family store. After university, she landed a job in Toronto with a real estate developer, but one night during a family dinner, the two decided to join forces as the father-daughter builder-designer team at Laird Kitchen & Bath.
Graham and Hollie made history by becoming the first father and daughter duo to compete on Renovation Resort. They admit to facing some challenges while competing on the television series. A bit of drama and head butting between the two while designing the Great Room, turned out to be a good thing—they ended up winning The Great Room Challenge. (Each episode focuses on one room in the home and celebrity judges tour the projects and choose one team as the winner of that week’s challenge).
“We struggled with the space a bit at first, but we went back to the hotel room that night where I’m crying a bunch, and we just sat there and said we have to have a little meeting,” said Hollie. “What went wrong, why are we not communicating like we could? We figured it out and came up with a better game plan. That really helped us get that win. I think it had a lot to do with hitting rock bottom and realizing this is important and we need to work harder. We realized—we can do this—we can make this happen.”
Graham said pulling on the same rope makes it easy to solve things quickly. They both want the design and the build to be as good as possible so with a shared goal the confrontations are limited to, okay how do we solve this?
“We want to get to a solution. Time restraints are real. The pressure is real. The builds are real. And it’s going on for two months, so you are starting to add fatigue into all these things.”
Summing up their experience on Renovation Resort, Graham said it was a whirlwind, but they did it.
“It’s really cool that we did this project together and we stuck to what we said we were going to do. Hollie has a lot of input in terms of kitchen and bath design, but to see her design an entire house made me realize, wow, this girl is really talented!”
Hollie said they’ve always had a great relationship, and their relationship is even better than ever.
“It was so much fun and reinforced that it’s possible for a father/daughter team to do this,” Hollie said. “I knew my dad worked hard, but this was next level. It was incredible to see how fast he is, sprinting around, and seeing how beautiful the work is and how capable he is. You are just go, go, go, but at the end of it you feel so rewarded because you worked hard and created something so special. If I had to sum it up in one word it would be rewarding.”
And now the big questions—what will Graham and Hollie do with the $100,000 in prize money?
“I got a cheque for $100,000 and Hollie got a Renovation Resort hoodie,” Graham said.
Hollie said it would be her dream to design and build a space with her dad that’s curated to the people staying there such as a boutique hotel, bed and breakfast or Airbnb. Graham said it could also be an apartment or a duplex or anything—maybe something in a different province.
“I’m at the age now where I’m ready to go after any type of adventure. This experience has made me want more; to do more for us. Winning the show gave us such a feeling of reward that I’d like to have that feeling again in our own environment.”
Graham and Hollie continue to design and renovate kitchens and bathrooms for their clients including a family near Georgetown who are one of their biggest TV fans.
“One evening one of our clients were sitting in their living room of the house that’s being renovated by the people they are watching on TV doing renovations. It’s a weird dynamic,” Graham said.
Not only is Graham commonly recognized around Orangeville and Mono for his work on the show, but he is also often asked if he and Hollie would do something like this again. It’s a resounding yes from the pair. His advice to other design-build teams, “Be prepared that it’s a pressure cooker. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever done, but just to be open, flexible and be honest with yourself and each other. Work hard, have good communication and you can do anything you put your mind to. It’s just a matter of going for it. It’s doable and fun and the work is just so next level, it’s totally worth it.”
Home Network’s Renovation Resort Season two is available to stream on STACK TV. For more information on Laird Kitchen & Bath visit: lairdkitchenandbath.com