Ever fantasize that those gorgeous twins, Drew and Jonathan Scott (aka HGTV’s the Property Brothers), would come and personally fabulize your home? You’ll get the closest thing to it when the dynamic duo appear at BookCon to talk about their first book, Dream Home: The Property Brothers’ Ultimate Guide to Finding and Fixing Your Perfect House (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). “Get there early, bring great questions. This is the fans’ opportunity to ask any question they’ve ever wanted,” says Jonathan. As an added bonus, he announces slyly, “And this is our chance to make fun of Drew.”
On their three HGTV shows, Property Brothers, Buying & Selling; Brother vs. Brother; and Property Brothers: At Home, the brothers help first-time home buyers find and transform fixer-uppers into dream homes. Drew is the real estate agent; Jonathan is the contractor. On TV, it is easy to tell them apart, because... um... you know what clothes each one is wearing. Interviewing the brothers over the phone takes some doing since it is impossible to tell their voices apart, but with some auditory help (i.e., making each one announce his name when he speaks), BookCon has been able to get the goods.
Okay, who is the older one?
Jonathan: We are 37 years old. I was born four minutes ahead of Drew.
Drew: His age really shows.
Jonathan: I’m also 220 pounds and enjoy long walks by the beach.
Tell us about Dream Home.
Drew: The whole reason we wrote the book is because so many fans have been asking us if we can come in person to help them. Since we can’t be everywhere, we wanted to tell them how to get a dream house on a budget.
How did you come to be the property brothers? Was design a passion when you were kids?
Jonathan: We were overachievers, always looking to try to do something new with a space. When our parents would go out and leave us with babysitters, we would rearrange the furniture. At 14, I built a new house with my dad. Also, we grew up on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, so we were always building barns. At the same time, we had all these artistic endeavors, such as acting, comedy, and improv.
Drew: Jonathan is also a magician.
Jonathan: I heard that girls like magicians.
Drew: Jonathan, girls like musicians. We were also competitive bagpipers. Jonathan was better than I was.
Jonathan: Anyway, so we thought, how could we fund our artistic endeavors? We thought, let’s get involved in real estate. At 18 we bought our first home, sold it for $50,000 profit. That’s when the light bulb went off, and we said, let’s make that our career.
What else would you like to do?
Jonathan: We like to keep ourselves entertained so we do random things like trapezing. I have yet to skydive because the TV insurance company won’t allow it. At some point I’d like to.
Drew: I would like to do more acting and directing.
You guys are rock stars of the real estate world. Do you like meeting with your fans?
Drew: We love what we do on the show, but we love to see the fans, feel the energy. It’s really inspiring.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve been asked to sign?
Jonathan: People have shown up with garden gnomes, which is pretty funny.
You guys don’t seem to hold still for long. What’s coming in the future?
Jonathan: World domination.
Drew: And hopefully some sleep.
Jonathan and Drew will be on a panel today, 12:45–1:45 p.m., on the main stage, and they will be signing books, 2:30–4:30 p.m., in the Autographing Area.
This article appeared in the May 14, 2016 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.