Rainn Wilson Teams Up With Property Brothers to Reno Home of Longtime Family Nanny

Rainn Wilson may be famous for portraying Dwight K. Schrute on The Office, but in reality he’s the complete opposite of the brash, egotistical “assistant to the regional manager” he portrays on the Emmy-winning comedy. In order to pay tribute to Leslie, his family’s kind-hearted longtime nanny, Rainn taps the Property Brothers to help him transform her cramped Los Angeles home into the open-concept house of her dreams.

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Drew Scott poses with Leslie, Rainn Wilson and Jonathan Scott in the newly renovated kitchen

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The Nanny

Ever since she moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala, Leslie has been a major provider for her family. For years, she made a steady income as the nanny for actor Rainn Wilson’s son, Walter. Although Walter is now a tall 16-year-old who isn’t exactly in need of adult supervision, Leslie is still tight with the Wilson clan – which isn’t surprising considering she took care of Walter during those formative years between three and 12. To pay Leslie back for her years of hard work and friendship, Rainn surprised the Property Brothers superfan with a home renovation.

Jonathan Scott, Rainn Wilson and Drew Scott chat together in a messy, mid-renovation kitchen

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Rainn Wilson Gets Messy

With a three-week timeline to complete the main floor renovation, Rainn teams with “Jimmy and Dave, the real estate brothers” to help with all the heavy lifting. The actor was involved throughout the entire process, suggesting a kid-friendly, open-concept space with plenty of room for Leslie, her three kids and her sister (and her kids!). It’s a busy house!

A sparsely decorated white dining room with cheap furniture and no additional decor

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Before: The Dining Room

There’s a sweet story behind this sparsely decorated dining room: Leslie once had a large, oak wood table as the focal point but, out of the kindness of her heart, gave it to a family in need. In the meantime, she’s been using this inexpensive collapsible table and chair set to have family meals.

A renovated dining room with a space-saving circular table and built-in hutch

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After: The Dining Room

Drew and Jonathan Scott dived right in, removing the outdated floor tiles and disposing the collapsible dining table in favour of medium-tone, engineered hardwood, a space-saving circular table and built-in hutch for extra storage. And look at all that natural light! Find more of our favourite Property Brothers dining rooms.

A tiny, outdated kitchen nook with old tiles, eye-level cabinets, yellow chairs and navy blue island

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Before: The Kitchen

Although the Property Brothers were impressed by the older home’s natural open-concept layout, they were shocked by this awkward kitchen nook that essentially traps the chef between a long counter and eye-level cabinets. Not only does it restrict movement, but it isolates the cook from everyone else. Drew and Jonathan knew this space would be a complete gut job, from top to bottom.

A topless Rainn Wilson holds medieval weaponry as the Property Brothers laugh while renovating the kitchen

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Dwight Demolition

We told you Rainn got really, really into the renovation process. The actor doffed his shirt and brought out some medieval weaponry (don’t ask why he has any), a la his TV alter ego Dwight Schrute. (Office fans just know Angela is out there somewhere, swooning.) Rainn even gave himself the new moniker: Zachariah van Helstone. We like it! Check out these stunning Property Brothers transformations that’ll inspire you to renovate ASAP!

A sleek white open-concept kitchen with a small sintered stone island and custom cabinets

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After: The Kitchen

A white kitchen is always in style. After demolishing the awkward kitchen peninsula, Drew and Jonathan completely reconfigured the space with sleek custom cabinets, additional storage and a sintered stone island that doesn’t disrupt movement in and out of the kitchen. Now, instead of feeling shoved off to the side, Leslie can feel more connected with her family as she cooks and entertains guests.

A close-up of the white sintered stone island that overlooks the open-concept dining area and living room

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After: Open-Concept

Now the kitchen is aligned with the rest of the space – wide open and brightly lit. The addition of collapsible panel doors that lead to the backyard was the perfect touch – bathing the main floor in lots of sunlight.

An outdated living room with the original ceiling beams and dark blue accent wall

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Before: The Living Room

The only feature the Property Brothers opted to keep in the living room? The original ceiling beams. Everything else had to go!

A renovated open-concept living room with a small L-shaped sectional sofa and new wood furniture

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After: The Living Room

The multi-surface engineered hardwood floors that run throughout lend the space a cohesiveness that was previously missing (goodbye, tile and wood combo!). Add to that this sleek living room overhaul and Leslie’s family has an ideal family entertainment area. The pops of green from the indoor plants also inspires some Zen vibes.

A renovated living room with greenery, gas fireplace and The Frame television set

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After: The Fireplace

The addition of a gas fireplace beneath The Frame television set is the perfect finishing touch. From this angle, you can also see how the collapsible panel doors completely open the room to the backyard patio.

The whole group look over the entire main floor renovation

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Surprise!

Rainn Wilson was joined by his wife, Holiday Reinhorn, and son, Walter, to help surprise Leslie with the grand reveal. Needless to say, Leslie was almost moved to tears by the transformation.