A Bryk at a Time

Danielle's first project as a designer, an updated bathroom for a family of five, is not without its problems. Danielle must battle through delays in materials, ill-fitting products and an irregular layout of an old house. But no matter what, this bathroom renovation has to be absolutely amazing, since it will become her calling card to entice prospective clients. She must also adjust to life as a working mom, which she finds especially tough since her husband Greg is heading out of town for work. She has no idea how she will do it all on time, and on budget, while holding down the fort at home.

A contractor has recently taken advantage of Sammy, a mentor and father figure to Danielle's family, taking his money and leaving his main floor a construction zone. With her husband Greg still out of town, Danielle rallies the troops together to make this a true family affair. She enlists the help of her brother, her children, and calls in favors left-and-right in order to stretch what remains of Sammy's budget.

Danielle's first project through a referral is a real doozy. At her consultation with Annie, the homeowner, Danielle finds out that she has one month to do a huge basement project. The family needs this space to become a playroom, a bathroom, and a nanny suite! New walls will need to be constructed, and the bathroom needs to be built-up from scratch, with floor to ceiling tiles and new fixtures. Not only does Danielle think she's taken on too much for one person to handle, the deadline is set in stone, because at the end of the month the family is moving in! Luckily, her husband Greg has come home from working out-of-town. He finds that Danielle has overrun the house with product samples, drawings, and client meetings. Not accustomed to how Danielle's new business affects their home life, he realizes that he will need to adjust.

Danielle's sister Terry is about to ask her for a big favor: after 10 years of owning a rental home, and with all the wear and tear that comes with that, Terry wants to renovate and sell it. They want to start with the backyard first and it will be a complete overhaul ? replacing the deck, fencing, plants, trees, new aluminum siding and redoing the stonework. One of the biggest challenges facing Danielle is having her older sister as a client. Will they be able realize that they are now both grown adults or revert back to old childhood squabbles? Danielle is also approached by her son Dempsey, who needs extra money for a new bike. Instead of just giving him the money, Danielle suggests that he can come to Terry's with her and earn the money he needs from a few days of hard work.

Ingrid's basement is Danielle's first major renovation that involves serious construction and structural work. Plus, she'll be wearing two hats, as both designer and project manager. She's also excited because it's her first project with a healthy budget, or so she thinks. Ingrid wants a multi-functional basement with a washroom, guest room, and media area, but digging down a few feet, underpinning, installing radiant floor heating, and pouring a new concrete floor quickly eat up the budget. In order for Ingrid to get everything she wants, Danielle needs to convince her to raise her budget. Danielle's youngest daughter Ella's birthday is also coming up, and with the size of this project being what it is, Danielle has to ask her husband Greg to spearhead the birthday celebrations this year. This will be the first time she has relinquished this role in 16 years. Danielle learns to let go and trust Greg to plan this special activity, because Ingrid's basement needs her time and attention.

Danielle realizes she has a big project ahead of her after she's approached to do a massive overhaul on a house's original facade. This is an important job because Jenny is a brand new client, and Danielle's neighbor! With a healthy budget, Danielle thinks this will be easy to pull off, but instead she finds herself battling the nasty weather, material delays and testy workers. At the Bryk home, Greg is left in charge of the household while Danielle is away and realizes he can't do it all himself.

To her delight, Danielle has her first repeat customer after less than a year in business. After completely transforming her basement, Ingrid is eager to have Danielle gut her kitchen and make it more conducive to her family's lifestyle. Everything is on track, until the budget is completely derailed by Ingrid's champagne tastes. Will Danielle be able to reel her in?

Danielle's newest client, Justin, has been trying to renovate his bathroom and a loft bedroom for the past ten years. When his girlfriend is out of town, Justin decides this is the perfect moment to renovate and surprise his girlfriend! Danielle loves a good surprise, but is left blindsided when she has to make design choices for someone she's never met. Will this be a happy ending?

Danielle's first cold call clients, Darlene and Mark, want a complete kitchen and dining room overhaul?but in the middle of renovations they decide to take it to the next level and add an entire extension to the back of the house. Danielle scrambles at the last minute to make sure the design is modern, stylish and fully functional. At home, things get chaotic and Greg has to take the reins when the family misses the deadline for their son Billy's high school application.

Danielle's schoolyard friend and latest client, Naela, needs a major renovation revamp to fix the layout of her ten-year-old house. It just doesn't work for her family of six. There are big changes to be made, including moving the stairs and relocating a fireplace. Danielle also has to deal with major budgetary constraints and an HVAC scare. But she's determined to creatively solve all Naela's layout issues. Meanwhile, despite Greg's best efforts, Danielle has to intervene with some construction know-how when their daughter needs help with a school project.

Danielle is facing her craziest deadline yet. Her clients, Val and Ben, are expecting their first baby in a month and need a lot of help before the baby arrives. Danielle has only a couple of weeks to turn the master bedroom into a custom nursery and convert the third floor loft into a lavish new bedroom for mom and dad. But design challenges are impeding her tight timeline. At home, Danielle's daughter Ella has her own ideas when it comes to redesigning her own bedroom.

Danielle's latest project proves that nothing is ever as easy as it seems. During a simple bathtub remodeling, Danielle realizes the entire bathroom needs a major structural overhaul. To make matters worse her clients, Sean and Catherine, can't seem to agree on any design elements. How will this reno ever get done? Back at the Bryk's, Danielle's son gets creative when he decides to start his own business.

Danielle is delighted when she has the opportunity to redesign the kitchen, dining room and powder room in the home of her neighbours, Roger and Lisa. The renovation would be a snap except that Lisa reveals that she's already sent out invitations to their daughter's wedding shower that will be held at the house?in only six weeks. Danielle feels the pressure to pull everything together in record time. At the Bryk house, Danielle is deeply conflicted about the dangers of letting her son start sparring in the ring.

Danielle loves fun projects so when Will and Hailey ask her to create a playroom for their two daughters, she can't wait to start. The only problem is, their budget is pretty tiny and their expectations are pretty big. Danielle knows she can't afford to run into any of the issues she usually encounters in older homes?she just can't afford it. Is Danielle going to be able to turn this old sun room into a child's dream space without going over budget?