The Property Brothers name the worst renovation mistakes homeowners can make

The goal of Jonathan and Drew Scott's new show, "Property Brothers: Forever Home," is to help people actually stay in their homes, rather than sell it and buy a new one. The brothers' mission is to convert the existing space into a place where the family can live happily ever after.

And who can blame Troy and Susan for wanting to stay put? They have a six-bedroom (yes, six bedrooms!), two-story Mediterranean, built in the 1980s in a neighborhood they love. So in the episode titled "Dream Home in the Vegas Suburbs," the Scott brothers attempt to make it work better for their family of five. At present, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

The main floor is wide open, but broken up by raised and sunken floors covered with cool, hard tile. With three young children and three dogs, there are infinite opportunities for someone to take a tumble — including the adults, who trip over the low gates that are meant to keep the kids safe. It doesn't look good, and it doesn't work.

"It needs flow," says Drew.

Jonathan and Drew aim to make the main floor more family-friendly, and Troy and Susan have $100,000 to make it so. As they work hard to realize this dream in the five weeks allotted to them, we glean some clever tips to use in our own spaces. Take a look:

Wait until the babies are bigger before renovating

So what's the biggest renovation no-no a homeowner can make? Spending tons on a renovation that will just get wrecked by very young kids.

"When kids are really little, they destroy everything," says Drew as he surveys the large home. Luckily, Troy and Susan's kids are all past the toddler stage.

"Now you fix the place up, and they're not going to trash it like they would when they're 1 year old," Drew says.

Why have two kitchen islands when one will do?

"In some high-end homes, I love to see dual islands — it's actually an upgrade," says Drew. "However, in this house it doesn't work — it's choppy."

The two narrow islands don't make sense here, seeming more like grocery store aisles.

"Clean up on Aisle 2!" Jonathan calls during demolition. He'll build one large kitchen island with a rounded edge that extends out so that the entire family of five can breakfast there, do homework, or just gather for any occasion.

Match the faucet with the hardware

In moving the kitchen sink from the wall to the island, Jonathan needs to make some design decisions. He picks a black faucet, which is quite the trend now, and notes that it's important to tie it in with the drawer pulls and cabinet handles, to make sure everything looks unified.

Consider porcelain countertops

The brothers are all about quartz countertops, but this time they make a different choice.

"These are porcelain counters, which means you don't have to reseal them. You don't have to do anything to them," says Jonathan. "They're beautiful and clean."

Pot hangers aren't as great as they might seem

A pot rack that hangs from the ceiling is an attractive way to expand storage space, but it's not necessarily good for head space. And if the pot hanger is mounted higher, it's often too high to reach. That's why the Scotts usually favor building more storage space so there's room to store pots and pans.

For four more renovation tips, continue reading the original article, "The Property Brothers Point Out the Worst Renovation No-No," which appeared first on Realtor.com®.