Tag Archives: House of Bryan

Is House of Bryan: The Last Straw for Bryan and Sarah Baeumler?

Is this it for Sarah and Bryan Baeumler? After having TV cameras in their faces 24/7 for House of Bryan, have HGTV’s super-couple finally called it quits? The latest iteration of the franchise—returning Sunday with back-to-back episodes—is called The Last Straw. So, what gives? Is the title a reference to the show being set on their property close to farmland? Does it refer to this being the last-ever home they’ll renovate together? Or maybe it is, simply, the final steps in creating that forever home they’ve dreamed of.

“Is this the straw that broke the camel’s back and lead to divorce?!” Sarah says with a laugh during interviews at HGTV headquarters. The short answer is, no, the Baeumlers are not severing their marriage. As a matter of fact, their next TV project—read on for details on that—will bring them even closer together. “In the beginning, it was our goal to show our real lives. Bryan said at the very beginning that he wanted to show our house being built and everything that comes along with that, including what a couple goes through. The reality is, we have lives, there are jobs and kids and things happen.”

“Anyone that tells you, ‘I own a construction company and I’m building my house, it went perfectly, we were under budget and ahead of schedule and everybody is happy is full of shit,” Bryan says. “It’s just not like that. It’s not a railroad track. It’s a shipping channel and you’re meandering towards your destination.”

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Things do, however, begin Sunday night without a hitch. House of Bryan: In the Sticks followed Bryan, Sarah and their kids Quentin, Charlotte, Josephine and Lincoln as renovations began on their home. Those episodes showcased how weather and other obstacles pushed construction on the new wing of the property way past the original deadline. Now that section of the home is done, and attention is turned to the original part of the house and the challenges that come with bringing 70s-era style into the present day.

In The Final Straw, Bryan begins the season by taking advantage of Sarah being away for two days and gutting the original structure. In no time, he and his team have dispatched old panelling, addressed some minor moisture issues and prepped for a vaulted ceiling by hauling in a massive beam to provide strength to the structure. As Sarah tells it, Bryan knows his best option is just to begin work on a project and then reveal what he’s done. That way, she can’t say no. Her reactions, of course, make for great TV.

“They’ve gotten quite a few reactions, and have had to edit out some language,” she says with a laugh. What you get from watching the Baeumlers on screen—and in a conference room with no cameras to capture it—is their sense of humour. These two take everything in stride and don’t let construction drama—or what some fans say online—bother them.

As for their next television project? They’ll be working more closely together. Bryan Inc., which began production just a week ago, spotlights Baeumler’s business by following him around during a typical day. Building and renovating homes will be part of it, as well as Sarah becoming more involved in the 60-plus employee company based out of Burlington, Ont.

“As Bryan says, ‘It’s bring your wife to work day. Let’s see how this goes!'” she says. “Bryan does have me sweeping some floors and it’s good to learn a job from the ground up. We have a really great working relationship and we’re expanding on that.”

“There are going to be challenges,” Bryan teases.

House of Bryan: The Last Straw airs back-to-back episodes on Sundays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.

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Bryan Baeumler (and family) heads to the sticks in new reno series

The No. 1 no-no when it comes to renovating a house is living in it when such a tumultuous event is taking place. And yet that’s exactly what Bryan Baeumler and his family did when they decided to move their lives from busy Oakville, Ont., to the Niagara Escarpment, an event documented in House of Bryan: In the Sticks, debuting Sunday on HGTV.

“Looking back through this journey, moving my family out to barely a farm to what it is now blows the first two House of Bryan series out of the water,” he says from a sunny clime where he’s on vacation with his wife (and TV show co-star) Sarah. “It was just such an adventure and so much fun. The chaos that ensued with having four kids … there is a lot of stuff that goes on in this show. It’s unbelievable.”

The family really had no plans to move from Oakville, where they constructed the “forever home” documented in Season 1. But  the allure of living away from the trappings of the city was just too great for Baeumler and Sarah, who purchased a large property set back from a country road and got to work. The original home, an A-frame with a soaring ceiling in the main room, would largely stay intact save for some extensive updating. A large extension built onto the original would more than double the home’s size while providing the rustic environment on 16 acres that Baeumler experienced as a kid.

Unfortunately, they had to sell their home in Oakville so that they had the funds to start work on the new, meaning moving their belongings–and themselves–up to the new place. Drama, tears, setbacks, triumph and happiness was captured for posterity with In the Sticks. Bowing on Sunday with two back-to-back episodes, viewers will see everything that occurred during the process, with no filter keeping out the bad times from the good. Baeumler and Sarah wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This is the way we live our lives,” he explains. “Sarah and I look at something and say, ‘What if we get hit by a bus tomorrow?’ and we go out and do it. Life is all about an adventure and I think too many people live by the rule book and live conservatively. We say, ‘Screw it! Get it done.'”

That’s not to say the Baeumler’s adjusted to life in the country immediately. Things they hadn’t considered when buying the property was switching over to a septic system for waste and a gas tank for fuel. They also quickly learned that a quick two-minute run for some milk in the city wasn’t the same in the country. The most important things ceased to be what was in the fridge and more about spending time together.

“What it’s changed is that we spend that extra five or 10 minutes with the kids,” he says. “It has changed our family dynamic way, way for the better. It’s been great.”

House of Bryan: In the Sticks debuts Sunday with two back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. ET on HGTV.

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