Love It or List It designer Hilary Farr had a surprise for her co-host and realtor David Visentin. She bought a house — without him knowing! The renovation held a few surprises for Hilary, but she was able to rebuild and design a home that’s stylish, grandchildren-friendly and ready for entertaining.

David’s take on Hilary’s new home: “This is a phenomenal location. Unfortunately, there’s a shoebox sitting on it.” He couldn't get over how tiny the house was and wasn't confident Hilary would be happy with what she had to work with. Her response, “I saw it. I loved it. I bought it. I didn’t look at anything else. I’ve always had big houses and now I want to consider a different lifestyle. I like the idea of living in a smaller, but fabulous space.”

After a long process, Hilary designed the home of her dreams. But you may notice the oh-so-petite house had a bit of a growth spurt. Unfortunately, once the team took the original home down to the studs, they discovered the entire foundation had rotted and was full of termites. Hilary decided to rebuild on the exact footprint, but take her rebuilt house up and add a second floor.

Hilary was set on taking advantage of the expansive lot by adding an outdoor living space to the back of the home. Though David wasn’t happy that Hilary bought a house without him, he agreed a patio could be a game-changer for the property.