Treehouse? Lake house? Full-time family home? Dave and Jenny Marrs of “Fixer to Fabulous” know how to make a single dwelling serve all three purposes—and make it safe for everyone at the same time.

In the Season 5 episode, “Lakeside House in the Trees,” the Marrses meet Jessica and Erik Danielson, who bought a  three-story, four-bedroom, four-bath home on a lake. They call it the treehouse, because it’s set in the trees and rises so far above the water. But it has its drawbacks. There’s no decent entry, there are steep stairs everywhere, and the railings are dangerous for small kids.

They have a budget of $275,000 for Dave and Jenny to work their makeover magic. And they do, coming up with some genius ideas you might be inspired to apply to your own abode. Check out what we learned this week.

Tips from Dave and Jenny Marrs of Fixer to Fabulous

Old windows might be dangerous

The Danielson home has huge picture windows that look over the lake, but alas! They’re the original windows and are both a big pane and a big pain.

“If we want to make this all about safety, having that big a pane of glass that’s just a single pane of glass? I would want insulated window units,” Dave says.

Not only do the current windows lack insulation, but if anything breaks them, giant shards of glass could cause serious damage.

Even removing the glass is dangerous. Dave, wearing protective glasses, takes the utmost care in removing them so those large sheets of glass don’t shatter.

When the work is done, he tells the Danielsons, “We replaced all of the glass. It’s all insulated, double-pane glass now. It’s also energy efficient.”

An en suite bathroom is more valuable than a fourth bedroom

The more bedrooms, the higher the price. That’s a cardinal rule of real estate, right?

Not necessarily. In this house, the primary bedroom doesn’t have an adjacent bathroom. There is, however, a fourth bedroom right next to the primary bedroom. Dave thinks it would be a good idea to convert that spare bedroom into a bath and closet, making it a true en suite and not just another bedroom.

“Typically you wouldn’t want to take away a bedroom, because it would be detrimental to the real estate value,” says Dave. “But it’s also a bad thing not to have a main suite. So I think it’s also going to be a really good trade-off.”

Besides, they might have lost a bedroom, but they’ve gained a bath. Not bad!

Carpet and tile might hide hardwood floors

Once the carpet is removed, Dave and crew find out there are two-inch-thick tongue-and-groove pine floors underneath.

“As long as the tongue-and-groove pine is in good condition, we can salvage it,” says Jenny. “It will be really pretty once this is all sanded down. It will also save us money, which I love, but …”

Jenny points out that while they know there’s beautiful wood beneath the carpeting, wood might not also be under the tile. Or worse, the tile installation might have damaged the floor beyond repair.

“We just have to know what’s under the tile, because if it’s not in good condition there, it’s not gonna work,” she says. “I want the flooring to be consistent on this level. I don’t want it to be different in the kitchen and the living room.”

Once they very, very carefully pull the tile up, they find that the wood floors continue underneath the tile and can indeed be salvaged. What a relief!

“And that will save the Danielsons a lot money,” says Jenny.

Turn an old TV into a bar

Dave and Jenny find an old retro TV and record player combo in an antique shop, and while it’s cute and authentic and fits the home’s midmod theme, the TV’s guts have been pulled out.

“Since it was missing the TV, it kind of gives us the perfect opportunity to fill that hole with something cool,” Jenny says.

“Liquor!” suggests Dave.

“Yeah,” agrees Jenny. “If you could fill that hole and make a little bar? What a cool statement piece.”

Dave builds shelves to go in the television cabinet, polishes the whole thing, then announces, “it’s ready to be put into service again.”

Jenny is pleased.

“It’s really funky,” she observes. “I love a good, unexpected moment in a room, and that’s what this is.”

They even saved and refurbished the record player so it works. And while this particular piece was purchased at an antique store, it wouldn’t be that hard for anyone to find an old TV for free and make a cost-effective DIY for a delightful conversation piece.

An electric fireplace is safe for kids

There’s an old, wood burning fireplace in the living room, but the Danielsons are afraid to use it. Chimney flue, open flame—those sorts of things can be scary when you live in a forest in a house made of wood. But they like the idea of a nice warm fireplace.

Dave has the solution: “The electric fireplace,” he says. “It puts out heat, but you won’t burn yourself. It’s safe. You have a little one, and we wanted to consider that.”

In the end, the Danielsons are almost speechless with excitement when they see their new home. Eventually, they do find words, though.

“This is a complete game changer,” says Erik. “I’m blown away! ”

And Jessica feels the same.

“Absolutely perfect!” she says and rushes to give Jenny a big hug.

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